Unemployment in the haiku industry is still undefeated.

By Robert Scucci
| Updated 6 seconds ago

Ever wonder what happened to the raunchy college comedy? Animal House (1978). Road Trip (2000). Van Wilder (2002). The list goes on and on, but then drops off hard around the mid-aughts. As we approached the 2010s, we stopped getting raunchy college party movies, and instead got a wave of films like The Hangover (2009) and its sequels, which are about grown adults acting like college kids in places like Las Vegas. So what happened? The answer is simple. The illusion of carefree college life was shattered during the 2008 recession, and it never recovered.

Starting with Millennials, the idea that college automatically improves your adult life started to fall apart. Unless you’re in a hyper-specialized field that requires formal education, a lot of people on the wrong side of their 30s will tell you the same thing. They’re not working in their field of study, they’re earning far less than a livable wage from a single full-time job, they’ve had to lean on gig work to close the gap, and they’re all thinking some version of, “I could have done this without being buried in debt.”

The Top Gun Parallel

Before getting further into why the raunchy college comedy disappeared, it helps to look at a genre that still works as a measuring stick: military porn.

Films like Top Gun (1986), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Black Hawk Down (2001), Act of Valor (2012), and Lone Survivor (2013) all share something in common. They glorify military life. Yes, they show the horrors of war, but they’re framed through a hero’s journey. Even if you enlist knowing your life is on the line, there’s still a clear upside for people who are built for that lifestyle.

You can be trained in fields like IT or logistics during your service and transition into stable work afterward. There were even reports of U.S. Navy representatives appearing at Top Gun: Maverick (2022) screenings, which coincided with a spike in recruitment interest tied to the film’s portrayal of the lifestyle.

Here’s the difference. Compared to raunchy college comedies, movies like Top Gun are not necessarily selling a lie. Most people understand the risks of military service. But the infrastructure being sold is real. If you complete your service honorably, there is a clear path forward. You can stay within the system or move into the private sector with experience that translates.

You can’t say the same thing about a feminist studies and basket weaving degree from even the most prestigious private university. Last time I checked, unemployment in the haiku industry is still undefeated.

The Lie That Was Sold 

Melanie Hanson’s “Average Cost of College & Tuition,” published in February 2026, breaks down tuition across public and private universities, both in-state and out-of-state. The takeaway is straightforward. Many graduates walk away from a bachelor’s program with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and in some cases much more depending on the school and living situation.

That means kids who can’t legally rent a car, drink alcohol, get a tattoo, or purchase a lottery ticket are encouraged to take on long-term predatory loans and pause their lives for four years. The opportunity cost alone “can ultimately cost upwards of $500,000.”

Most people my age were part of the last wave of kids who were told that a degree guaranteed a better life. We were told it didn’t matter what we studied, as long as we got the degree. We were told that without it, we’d be stuck in menial, low-paying service jobs, as if honest hard work in any industry isn’t just that: honest, hard work. Now, in 2026, I’ve lost count of how many people I know with advanced degrees who are bartending because it pays more than their chosen field of study.

I can’t speak for everyone, but from kindergarten through 12th grade, the messaging was constant. We all remember authority figures pointing to the school janitor or someone wearing a hard hat and saying, “If you don’t go to college, this could be you.” Meanwhile, a lot of blue-collar workers I know who skipped college and went straight into the workforce or military are now in a position to retire early or pivot careers without experiencing total financial collapse.

And we all remember the Education Connection ads. The waitress sings about how a degree would lead to a bigger salary (that’s the rhyme). We also remember decades of raunchy college comedies selling the same dream. Party for four years, then walk into a stable white-collar life.

The Reality, And The Genre’s Downfall

By the early 2000s, most of us knew college wasn’t just toga parties and running from the dean after filling the campus pool with instant mashed potatoes. What we believed was that if we worked hard early, we could relax later.

Even then, college comedies still leaned into feel-good endings. Road Trip wraps with everyone’s lives improving. Accepted (2006) ends with personal growth and forward momentum. The illusion was still there, just softened. Expectations were already shifting, and the tone reflected that.

Then the 2008 recession hit.

Speaking from experience, the economy collapsed while I was deciding whether to matriculate as a Junior. I doubled down and finished my degree. I lived at home, worked full-time, and commuted to a state university. I still ended up over $80,000 in debt, with payments starting before my diploma even arrived in the mail. 

Six months after graduating, I was paying $700 a month and still making $12.50 an hour flipping burgers.

This situation wasn’t unique to me, and it felt like it was becoming the new expectation. I eventually landed a corporate job, but it required a three-hour round-trip commute that cost about $10,000 a year in gas and maintenance. The job paid $30,000, before taxes. This was considered by many to be gainful, post-grad, white-collar work. Meanwhile, my bartending friends made more money, had nicer things, and zero debt. They could afford to live alone.

Since then, the raunchy college comedy didn’t disappear overnight. It mutated. The behavior is still there, but it shifted to older characters. Neighbors (2014) is technically college adjacent, but the frat house is framed as a nuisance. The main character isn’t aspiring to that lifestyle. He’s disgusted by it.

Movies like The Package (2018) picked up some of the slack, but the setting changed. The antics happen at home during spring break for a bunch of college-bound teenagers, not on campus. Everybody still lives with their parents. It feels like Hollywood recognized that the traditional college fantasy no longer landed the same way, even though some of the humor from those films still did.

When the audience stops believing in the premise, the genre has to adapt.

Lower Your Expectations, And You’ll Never Be Disappointed

So is college worth it? Maybe. That’s a personal decision you have to figure out for yourself.

As a parent with two kids under eight, I think about this constantly. I don’t want to set them up for failure or lock them into decades of loan payments that limit their options to live a meaningful life. There are other paths. Starting a business. Taking a risk on a startup. Learning a trade.

Right now, I’m neck deep in gig work because most job listings, according to LinkedIn, require a Master’s degree for entry-level roles, pay what my first corporate job paid 16 years ago, offer no benefits, and still expect you to show up on site and play dressup. I’ve told recruitors that if I ended up working for them, it would set me back, while simultaneously destroying my work/life balance. In so many words, they agreed with me.

Imagine spending eight years in higher education just to land there.

At that point, movies like Van Wilder stop feeling aspirational and start feeling like a joke, while something like Top Gun suddenly looks like a more honest pitch.

Not Spirit Airlines shutting down like this… whew! The budget airline that had folks choosing chaos for a $39 flight is now making headlines for all the wrong reasons. And let’s just say—this one hit a little different for travelers who knew exactly what they were signing up for. Between the memes, the yellow planes, and the “you get what you pay for” experiences, Spirit Airlines carved out a lane. Unfortunately, it’s now coming to an unexpected stop.

RELATED: Final Boarding? Spirit Airlines CEO Addresses Possible Shutdown Amid Company’s Struggles (VIDEO)

Spirit Airlines Cancels All Flights & Announces Shutdown

According to the company, Spirit Airlines has officially canceled all flights effective immediately and announced an “orderly wind-down” of operations, impacting thousands of flights and employees. In a statement, the airline notified customers that all flights are canceled and customer service is no longer available. Furthermore, the move comes after ongoing financial struggles, including multiple bankruptcy filings and challenges recovering post-pandemic. Executives say rising fuel costs and a lack of funding ultimately pushed the airline to this point, with leadership admitting the company needed hundreds and millions in additional support to stay afloat but couldn’t secure it.

“To our Guests: all flights have been cancelled, and customer service is no longer available,” the company revealed in a statement. “Despite the Company’s efforts, the recent material increase in oil prices and other pressures on the business have significantly impacted Spirit’s financial outlook,” it continued. “With no additional funding available to the company, Spirit had no choice but to begin this wind-down.”

Thousands Stranded As Spirit Flights Vanish Overnight

White House Efforts Couldn’t Save Spirit Airlines

Whew—because not too long ago, it really looked like Spirit Airlines might get a lifeline from the White House. President Donald Trump even hinted that a rescue deal was on the table. He also claimed that officials were exploring options to step in if the numbers made sense. Behind the scenes, reports say officials were discussing a $500 million bailout proposal.

Additionally, there were talks involving creditors and even other airlines preparing to step in if things went left. But after disagreements and stalled negotiations, that potential save never fully came together. Now, it’s leaving Spirit to move forward with shutting things down. Ultimately, folks are wondering what could’ve been if that deal actually went through.

RELATED: Uh-Oh! Spirit Airlines Is Reportedly Preparing To File For Bankruptcy

RELATED: 2024 Child Neglect Probe Into Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s Parents Resurfaces Amid D4vd Murder Case (REPORT)

By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 25 seconds ago

The Insidious franchise has followed psychic heroine Elise (played by horror and comedy classic Lin Shaye) as she helps other psychics learn to cope with or even suppress their powers, as she did for the Lambert family through much of the series. For many of the people she helped, the problem was that they could visit a world she calls The Further, a place of demons and ghosts. The most recent Insidious movie, The Red Door, shows Elise, who was trapped in The Further in the previous movie, observing a college-aged Dalton Lambert as he escapes from the other dimension.

Insidious: Out of the Further introduces a new family in the form of single mom Gemma (Amelia Eve) and her daughter Maya (Island Austin), who live together on what looks like a quiet little block in a neat suburban neighborhood. Gemma works in dentistry, and lives a happy, peaceful life with Maya until horrific nightmares begin invading her sleep and causing her to see what she thinks are hallucinations. Somehow, she is led to a psychic (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) who, after a brutal preparation process, channels Elise from The Further.

Elise explains, as viewers are treated to a montage of warped, otherworldly human-looking demons that seem to be stalking Gemma, that Gemma’s psychic abilities not only consist of the typical ability to cross into The Further, but also the potential to bring things back with her. This makes her a huge target for the malevolent demons that lurk beyond the Red Door.

The trailer’s highlights are its numerous jump scares and a cringy moment involving a Novocain needle, but director Jacob Chase seems heavily guided by the producer and the original film’s director, James Wan. Wan’s signature is all over the eerie faces and shadowy places that lurk around Gemma, Maya, and their home. Chase also co-wrote the script, indicating that his vision was already aligning well with the franchise’s premise; the other writers are Davis Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Leigh Whannell.

It also expresses some interesting potential for lore geeks who have followed the series. Elise has been the expert on The Further all along, aiding families who’ve had brushes with it at great risk to her material and mental health. Her character is the thread that has tied the rest of the movies together, even after she herself was lost. The hint from The Red Door that she has been sneaking around The Further all along, keeping an eye on things from the other side and aiding the escape of anyone unfortunate enough to find their way there, has been confirmed with this trailer.

The obvious question is, if the demons can get through from The Further, will Elise be able to come through, too? Or will she decide she should stay behind and continue to defend humanity by guiding lost souls back home? In the delicate interaction between The Further and our world, this is even more central of a question than whether or not the demons make it through. Whatever side Elise stays on will have an impact on how much damage the demons can do to our world. This glaring question almost overtakes the premise and becomes more important than whether anything else passes through.

How powerful will Elise be from beyond The Further? What will happen if humanity is overrun by demonic entities? Have Gemma’s gifts been inherited by her innocent pre-teen daughter? Insidious: Out of the Further releases the demons in theaters sometime in August.

Each movie in the Insidious storyline has seemed more like a chapter from a book as they have added to the lore behind Elise. She even started the series almost like a rock star, with two paranormal investigators flanking her and filming her adventures with the beyond. While The Red Door did follow the Lambert family whose tribulations started the series, I know I for one was looking for Elise’s more competent experience with The Further. And now, she has been residing there for an indeterminate amount of time and have probed even more of its secrets.

The sci-fi genre has given us some of the most acclaimed films of all time, ranging from exciting action adventures to deeply philosophical dramas. Using scientific (and science-adjacent) concepts to explore various aspects of the human condition, these films are an integral part of the global cinematic landscape. But while many sci-movies are universally beloved, there are also quite a few that have caused very mixed reactions from viewers and critics.

Sometimes these movies are divisive because they lean too heavily into the science of it all, leading to a dense story that isn’t easily palatable to the general audience. Other times, it’s simply because they faltered in execution or failed to fulfill the expectations of their fan base. Whatever the reasons may be, the one thing all these films share is the fact that they’re not meant for everyone, but they can still be enjoyable to certain audiences. Read on to discover our ranked selection of the most divisive sci-movies of all time.

8

‘The Core’ (2003)

Image via Paramount Pictures

A sci-fi disaster film, The Core follows a group of scientists on an impossible mission to save the world. When the planet’s molten inner core inexplicably stops spinning, it prompts a team of daring people to take up an experimental mission to drill to the core and set off nuclear explosions that they hope will restart the core’s rotation. The film features an ensemble cast led by Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank, with Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, D.J. Qualls, Richard Jenkins, Tcheky Karyo, Bruce Greenwood, and Alfre Woodard in key roles.

The Core premiered in March 2003 to highly negative reviews and was a box office flop, drawing widespread criticism for being one of the most scientifically inaccurate Hollywood movies of all time. The fact that it’s a terrible film is almost universally accepted, but while some viewers consider it unwatchable garbage, others regard it as a deliciously campy movie that’s so bad it’s good. Again, it’s not a good film, but its combination of ridiculous self-seriousness and a highly unrealistic plot makes it an entertaining watch for fans of absurd unintentional comedy.

7

‘War of the Worlds’ (2005)

Image Via Paramount Pictures

Based on H. G. Wells‘ eponymous 1898 novel, Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds is a 2005 science fiction action-thriller starring Tom Cruise as an American dockworker who must protect his children during an alien invasion. The film follows his attempts to keep his family safe and reunite them with their mother while the mysterious extraterrestrials cause devastation across the world using seemingly indestructible war machines. Besides Cruise, the movie also stars Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, Miranda Otto, and Tim Robbins, with narration by Morgan Freeman.

War of the Worlds was critically and commercially successful at the time of its release, but it still divided audiences because of its ending. On the one hand, the film is a faithful adaptation of the novel that captures the suspense of its story while enhancing the action with modern special effects, but it’s that same faithfulness that proves its downfall, as the book’s ending is quite anticlimactic and unsatisfying. It’s one of the rare cases where a movie adaptation would have been better off straying a bit more from its source material, but it’s still a pretty entertaining experience nonetheless.

6

‘Solaris’ (2002)

Image via 20th Century Studios

Adapted from Polish author Stanislaw Lem’s eponymous 1961 novel, Solaris is a psychological science fiction drama set aboard a space station orbiting the titular planet. George Clooney stars as psychologist Dr. Chris Kelvin, who is invited to the station to investigate some mysterious phenomena. The film also stars Natascha McElhone, Viola Davis, Jeremy Davies, Ulrich Tukur, and John Cho in key roles.

Solaris premiered in 2002 to positive reviews but an underwhelming box office performance, which has been largely attributed to its slow pacing and meditative storytelling. The film isn’t as concerned with the usual sci-fi space tropes as the general audience might like, focusing more on an intimate exploration of grief and memory. Ultimately, it’s not a movie that’s exciting or really even that entertaining, but it does have some great performances and a compelling philosophical narrative.

5

‘About Time’ (2013)

Image via Universal Pictures

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A romantic science fiction comedy-drama, About Time follows a young man who inherits a family ability to time travel and decides to use this power to find love. With the guidance of his father, he embarks on a life-long journey of self-discovery and romance, helping the people he cares about in any way he can, but not everything goes according to plan. The movie stars Domhnall Gleeson in the lead, with Rachel McAdams, Lydia Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Richard Cordery, Bill Nighy, and more in supporting roles.

About Time premiered in the United Kingdom in 2013 to a mixed critical reception, but it had a solid box office run and has developed a dedicated fan following in the years since. The film has proven somewhat divisive due to its shaky time travel rules, and some audience members have found the protagonist’s use of time travel for romance to be problematic. However, it’s also a warm, sentimental film with a heartwarming story and great performances, making it a great watch for fans of slice-of-life sci-fi movies that explore the value of human connection through sci-fi tropes.

4

‘Don’t Look Up’ (2021)

Image via Netflix

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A satirical black comedy film, Don’t Look Up stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as two astronomers who discover a comet on a collision course with Earth that would wipe out life on the planet. However, the government refuses to accept this, driven by corporate interests, and encourages the public to deny their impending extinction. Besides DiCaprio and Lawrence, the film also stars an ensemble supporting cast that includes Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, Kid Cudi, Cate Blanchett, and Meryl Streep.

A biting allegory about climate change, Don’t Look Up premiered in 2021 to a highly mixed reception. Though the movie was praised for its performances and production, writer-director Adam McKay’s approach left critics divided between those who found it insightful and intelligent and those who thought McKay was just being smug and holier-than-thou. Whether the film’s satire is cynical or thought-provoking is really a matter of personal opinion, but the movie is undoubtedly well-made and has a very important core message, and it earned numerous accolades, including four Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe nominations.

3

‘Eternals’ (2021)

Image via Marvel Studios

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The 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Eternals follows an ancient group of immortals tasked with protecting the Earth and humanity from violent, invasive entities called Deviants. The film charts their story over thousands of years and follows their attempts to deal with a world-ending event in the present day that turns them against each other. The movie features an ensemble cast led by Gemma Chan, with Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie in key roles.

Released in theaters in 2021 as part of the MCU’s Phase Four, Eternals was the first film in the franchise to receive largely negative critical reviews. A unique combination of Marvel’s bombastic superheroics and director Chloé Zhao’s intimate, artful storytelling, the movie was highly polarizing as it didn’t give the fans of either camp what they truly wanted. Despite its divisive storytelling choices, the film did receive praise from some viewers and critics for its inventive deconstruction of superhero tropes, touching emotional beats, and stunning visuals.

2

‘Tenet’ (2020)

Image via Warner Bros.

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Tenet is a sci-fi action thriller that takes a unique approach to time-travel stories. The film stars John David Washington as a former CIA agent who is recruited into the titular secret organization and tasked with thwarting a complicated conspiracy involving objects that are traveling backward through time. Besides Washington, the movie also features Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh in key roles.

A highly layered work of science fiction, Tenet was the first major Hollywood film to open in theaters during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have contributed to its critical and commercial failure. The film was highly divisive, largely because its extremely dense plot was far too confusing for most critics and audience members. It’s not an easy movie to understand, but it’s arguably the most ambitious film Christopher Nolan has ever made, and while it may not be to everyone’s tastes, it’s still an important work of cinema with intricate sci-fi storytelling and amazing visual effects.

1

‘Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi’ (2017)

Image via Walt Disney Studios

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The second film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi is an epic space opera adventure film that picks up immediately after the end of 2015’s The Force Awakens. Starring Daisy Ridley as new Force user Rey, the film follows her attempt to seek the aid of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the fight against the villainous First Order. The movie also stars Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Kelly Marie Tran, and more, with Carrie Fisher featured posthumously.

The Last Jedi premiered to a positive critical reception and was a massive box office success, becoming the second-highest-grossing film in the franchise. However, it was highly polarizing among Star Wars fans, largely because its climactic twist broke the expectations set by the previous film. The situation got even uglier as angry fans resorted to racist and misogynistic harassment of actress Kelly Marie Tran. Despite the division the film caused in the fanbase, it’s arguably one of the best movies in the franchise, taking bold risks and presenting a genuinely entertaining story that prioritizes thematic development over fan service, a choice that was disastrously reversed with the 2019 sequel Rise of Skywalker.

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Release Date

December 13, 2017

Runtime

152 minutes

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Director

Rian Johnson

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Writers

Rian Johnson

Producers

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Kathleen Kennedy, Ram Bergman, Leifur B. Dagfinnsson

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