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Higher Learning is a 1995 drama film
Drama film

A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth characterization of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves, others, society and even natural phenome...
, starring an ensemble cast
Ensemble cast

An ensemble cast is a cast in which the principal performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows for flexibility for writers to focus on different characters in different episodes....
. It also featured Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks

Tyra Lynne Banks is an American Model , television host, actress, singer and businessperson. She first became famous as a model in Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo and New York, but television appearances were her commercial breakthrough....
' first performance in a theatrical movie
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
.

Laurence Fishburne won an Image Award
NAACP Image Award

The NAACP Image Awards is an award presented annually by the American National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music, and literature....
 for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture" for his performance; Ice Cube was also nominated for the award.

UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, California, United States....
 filled in for the college, Columbus University. The exterior shots and outdoor scenes were shot on the campus.

In addition to "Higher", performed by Ice Cube, the soundtrack includes performances of newer material (at the time) by OutKast
OutKast

OutKast is an United States hip hop music duet based out of East Point, Georgia, a city south of Atlanta, Georgia, Georgia . The duo was originally known as The OKB but later changed its name to OutKast....
, Liz Phair
Liz Phair

Liz Phair is an United States singer-songwriter and guitarist.Phair began her career in the early 1990s by self-releasing lo-fi audio cassettes under the moniker Girly Sound, before signing with Matador Records and becoming one of the leading artists of the 1990s DIY punk ethic indie rock underground music....
, Tori Amos
Tori Amos

Tori Amos is a pianist and singer-songwriter of dual United Kingdom and United States citizenship. She is married to England sound engineer Mark Hawley, with whom she has one child, Natashya "Tash" L?rien Hawley, born on September 5, 2000....
 and Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine is an American Rock music band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1991. The band's lineup, unchanged since formation, consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk....
.

Plot Summary
This drama examines the personal, political, and racial dilemmas facing a group of college freshmen as they begin their first semester at Columbus University.






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Higher Learning is a 1995 drama film
Drama film

A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth characterization of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves, others, society and even natural phenome...
, starring an ensemble cast
Ensemble cast

An ensemble cast is a cast in which the principal performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows for flexibility for writers to focus on different characters in different episodes....
. It also featured Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks

Tyra Lynne Banks is an American Model , television host, actress, singer and businessperson. She first became famous as a model in Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo and New York, but television appearances were her commercial breakthrough....
' first performance in a theatrical movie
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
.

Laurence Fishburne won an Image Award
NAACP Image Award

The NAACP Image Awards is an award presented annually by the American National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music, and literature....
 for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture" for his performance; Ice Cube was also nominated for the award.

UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, California, United States....
 filled in for the college, Columbus University. The exterior shots and outdoor scenes were shot on the campus.

In addition to "Higher", performed by Ice Cube, the soundtrack includes performances of newer material (at the time) by OutKast
OutKast

OutKast is an United States hip hop music duet based out of East Point, Georgia, a city south of Atlanta, Georgia, Georgia . The duo was originally known as The OKB but later changed its name to OutKast....
, Liz Phair
Liz Phair

Liz Phair is an United States singer-songwriter and guitarist.Phair began her career in the early 1990s by self-releasing lo-fi audio cassettes under the moniker Girly Sound, before signing with Matador Records and becoming one of the leading artists of the 1990s DIY punk ethic indie rock underground music....
, Tori Amos
Tori Amos

Tori Amos is a pianist and singer-songwriter of dual United Kingdom and United States citizenship. She is married to England sound engineer Mark Hawley, with whom she has one child, Natashya "Tash" L?rien Hawley, born on September 5, 2000....
 and Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine is an American Rock music band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1991. The band's lineup, unchanged since formation, consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk....
.

Plot Summary


This drama examines the personal, political, and racial dilemmas facing a group of college freshmen as they begin their first semester at Columbus University. Malik (Omar Epps
Omar Epps

Omar Hashim Epps is an American actor and musician. He is famous for his movies Higher Learning, Love and Basketball, In Too Deep , and The Wood, and as his small role in Scream 2....
) is an athlete attending on a track scholarship who struggles to succeed academically. Fudge (Ice Cube
Ice Cube

O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube is an United States of America rapper, actor, screenwriter, and film producer.He began his career as a member of the rap group N.W.A along with group leader Eazy-E, and later launched a successful solo career in music and Film....
), a "professional student" who has been at Columbus for six years so far, becomes friendly with Malik and challenges his views about race and politics in America, while Professor Phipps (Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne

Laurence John Fishburne III is an Academy Award-nominated and Tony Award-winning United States actor of film and theater, as well as playwright, film director, and Film producer....
), a professor of political science, mentors Malik and lets him know that he will not be graded on a different standard either because of his race or his ability to run quickly. In Deja (Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks

Tyra Lynne Banks is an American Model , television host, actress, singer and businessperson. She first became famous as a model in Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo and New York, but television appearances were her commercial breakthrough....
), Malik finds a girlfriend, a tutor, and a training partner all rolled into one.

Meanwhile, Kristen (Kristy Swanson
Kristy Swanson

Kristen N?el "Kristy" Swanson is an United States actress best known as the original Buffy Summers in Joss Whedon's 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer ....
), a naive freshman from Orange County, California
Orange County, California

Orange County is a county in Southern California California, United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana, California. The state of California estimates its population as of 2008 to be 3,121,251, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County, California and San Diego County, California....
, meets a boy named Billy (Jay R. Ferguson
Jay R. Ferguson

Jay Rowland Ferguson Jr. is an American actor.His notable roles include Taylor Newton in four seasons of the CBS sitcom Evening Shade, and a starring role as Rich Connelly in the 2005 NBC Universal television series Surface , which was originally conceived as a mini-series and then expanded to a run of 15 episodes, though it was no...
). After both have too much to drink at a beer blast, Billy rapes Kristen, who later involves herself with a campus feminist group to deal with the painful experience. While working with the women's group, Kristen gets to know Taryn (Jennifer Connelly
Jennifer Connelly

'Jennifer Lynn Connelly' is an United States film Actor and former child modeling. Although she has been working in the film industry since she was a teenager and catapulted to fame on the basis of her appearances in films like Labyrinth and Career Opportunities , she did not receive wide exposure for her work until the 2000 drama R...
), a strong but understanding lesbian, and she finds herself becoming attracted to her.

Remy (Michael Rapaport
Michael Rapaport

Michael David Rapaport is an United States actor and a comedian. He has acted in more than twenty films since the early 1990s.Early life...
) is a confused young man from Idaho who feels lost in the multi-cultural atmosphere of Columbus. He is approached by Scott Moss (Cole Hauser
Cole Hauser

Cole Kenneth Hauser is an United States film and television actor....
), a member of a group of white supremacists, who take advantage of his sense of being outsider to recruit him to a sinister cause.

Cast


  • Omar Epps
    Omar Epps

    Omar Hashim Epps is an American actor and musician. He is famous for his movies Higher Learning, Love and Basketball, In Too Deep , and The Wood, and as his small role in Scream 2....
     - Malik Williams
  • Kristy Swanson
    Kristy Swanson

    Kristen N?el "Kristy" Swanson is an United States actress best known as the original Buffy Summers in Joss Whedon's 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer ....
     - Kristen Connor
  • Michael Rapaport
    Michael Rapaport

    Michael David Rapaport is an United States actor and a comedian. He has acted in more than twenty films since the early 1990s.Early life...
     - Remy
  • Jennifer Connelly
    Jennifer Connelly

    'Jennifer Lynn Connelly' is an United States film Actor and former child modeling. Although she has been working in the film industry since she was a teenager and catapulted to fame on the basis of her appearances in films like Labyrinth and Career Opportunities , she did not receive wide exposure for her work until the 2000 drama R...
     - Taryn
  • Ice Cube
    Ice Cube

    O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube is an United States of America rapper, actor, screenwriter, and film producer.He began his career as a member of the rap group N.W.A along with group leader Eazy-E, and later launched a successful solo career in music and Film....
     - Fudge
  • Jason Wiles
    Jason Wiles

    Jason Austin Wiles is an American actor known for his role in the TV series Third Watch.Wiles was born in Kansas City, Missouri, Missouri, United States, and raised in Lenexa, Kansas where he attended Holy Trinity Catholic School....
     - Wayne
  • Tyra Banks
    Tyra Banks

    Tyra Lynne Banks is an American Model , television host, actress, singer and businessperson. She first became famous as a model in Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo and New York, but television appearances were her commercial breakthrough....
     - Deja
  • Cole Hauser
    Cole Hauser

    Cole Kenneth Hauser is an United States film and television actor....
     - Scott Moss
  • Laurence Fishburne
    Laurence Fishburne

    Laurence John Fishburne III is an Academy Award-nominated and Tony Award-winning United States actor of film and theater, as well as playwright, film director, and Film producer....
     - Professor Maurice Phipps
  • Bradford English
    Bradford English

    Bradford English is a character actor who has starred in film and on movies. He is best known in the horror film community for his role in the 1995 horror movie Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers as John Strode....
     - Officer Bradley
  • Regina King
    Regina King

    Regina King is an American film and television actress....
     - Monet
  • Busta Rhymes
    Busta Rhymes

    Trevor Smith, Jr., better known as Busta Rhymes , is a Grammy Award-nominated Jamaican?United States rapping, songwriter, and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the name Busta Rhymes after watching him perform....
     - Dreads
  • Jay R. Ferguson
    Jay R. Ferguson

    Jay Rowland Ferguson Jr. is an American actor.His notable roles include Taylor Newton in four seasons of the CBS sitcom Evening Shade, and a starring role as Rich Connelly in the 2005 NBC Universal television series Surface , which was originally conceived as a mini-series and then expanded to a run of 15 episodes, though it was no...
     - Billy
  • Andrew Bryniarski
    Andrew Bryniarski

    Andrew Bryniarski is an United States actor and a former bodybuilder. He is 6'5.Bryniarski was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of North Penn High School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania....
     - Knocko
  • Trevor St. John
    Trevor St. John

    Trevor Marshall St. John is an United States actor.With appearances in many films, and having worked with actors such as Eric Roberts and Mel Gibson, he is currently portraying character Todd Manning on the American Broadcasting Company daytime drama One Life to Live....
     - James
  • Talbert Morton - Erik
  • Adam Goldberg
    Adam Goldberg

    Adam Charles Goldberg is an United States actor, Film director, and Film producer....
     - David Isaacs
  • J. Trevor Edmond
    J. Trevor Edmond

    J. Trevor Edmond is an United States actor appearing in film and television....
     - Eddie
  • Bridgette Wilson
    Bridgette Wilson

    Bridgette Wilson , also known as Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, is an American actress, singer, and Model . A Miss Teen USA in 1990, Wilson holds several acting roles in television and movies, including the role of Veronica Vaughn in the movie Billy Madison, and the role of Sonya in the movie Mortal Kombat ....
     - Nicole
  • Kari Wührer
    Kari Wührer

    Kari Samantha W?hrer is an United States actor and singing, sometimes credited as Kari Salin....
     - Claudi
  • Cindy Brunson
    Cindy Brunson

    Cindy Brunson is an anchor for the weekend morning edition of SportsCenter.She is married to current ESPN and former SportsNet New York anchor Steve Berthiaume....
     - News Anchor
  • Dan Pollard - Football Coach


Soundtrack

  1. Ice Cube
    Ice Cube

    O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube is an United States of America rapper, actor, screenwriter, and film producer.He began his career as a member of the rap group N.W.A along with group leader Eazy-E, and later launched a successful solo career in music and Film....
     - "Higher"
  2. Ice Cube
    Ice Cube

    O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube is an United States of America rapper, actor, screenwriter, and film producer.He began his career as a member of the rap group N.W.A along with group leader Eazy-E, and later launched a successful solo career in music and Film....
     - "Something To Think About"
  3. Meshell Ndegeocello - "Soul Searchin' (I Wanna Know If It's Mine)"
  4. Mista Grimm - "Situation: Grimm"
  5. Raphael Saadiq
    Raphael Saadiq

    Raphael Saadiq is an United States singer, songwriter and record producer associated with the soul music movement.Saadiq has been playing music since the age of six....
     - "Ask Of You"
  6. Tori Amos
    Tori Amos

    Tori Amos is a pianist and singer-songwriter of dual United Kingdom and United States citizenship. She is married to England sound engineer Mark Hawley, with whom she has one child, Natashya "Tash" L?rien Hawley, born on September 5, 2000....
     - "Losing My Religion
    Losing My Religion

    "Losing My Religion" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. The song was released as the first single from the group's 1991 album Out of Time ....
    "
  7. Outkast
    OutKast

    OutKast is an United States hip hop music duet based out of East Point, Georgia, a city south of Atlanta, Georgia, Georgia . The duo was originally known as The OKB but later changed its name to OutKast....
     - "Phobia"
  8. Cole Hauser
    Cole Hauser

    Cole Kenneth Hauser is an United States film and television actor....
    /Michael Rapaport
    Michael Rapaport

    Michael David Rapaport is an United States actor and a comedian. He has acted in more than twenty films since the early 1990s.Early life...
     - "My New Friend"
  9. Rage Against the Machine
    Rage Against the Machine

    Rage Against the Machine is an American Rock music band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1991. The band's lineup, unchanged since formation, consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk....
     - "Year of tha Boomerang
    Year of tha Boomerang

    "Year of tha Boomerang" is a song by the United States political rapcore musical group Rage Against the Machine. It originally appeared in the movie and on the soundtrack of Higher Learning in 1994....
    "
  10. The Brand New Heavies - "Higher Learning/Time For Change"
  11. Liz Phair
    Liz Phair

    Liz Phair is an United States singer-songwriter and guitarist.Phair began her career in the early 1990s by self-releasing lo-fi audio cassettes under the moniker Girly Sound, before signing with Matador Records and becoming one of the leading artists of the 1990s DIY punk ethic indie rock underground music....
     - "Don't Have Time"
  12. Tori Amos
    Tori Amos

    Tori Amos is a pianist and singer-songwriter of dual United Kingdom and United States citizenship. She is married to England sound engineer Mark Hawley, with whom she has one child, Natashya "Tash" L?rien Hawley, born on September 5, 2000....
     - "Butterfly"
  13. Zhane
    Zhane

    Zhan? was an United States R&B/hip hop soul duo, best known for their 1993 hit "Hey, Mr. D.J.", which reached #6 in the U.S. Other popular hits include "Groove Thang" and minor hit "Sending My Love," both released in 1994....
     - "By Your Side"
  14. Eve's Plum
    Eve's Plum

    Eve's Plum was a rock band that originated in 1991. They released two albums and numerous singles in the early and mid-1990s, before disbanding in 1998....
     - "Eye"
  15. Stanley Clarke
    Stanley Clarke

    Stanley Clarke is an United States jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores....
     - "The Learning Curve"


The film also featured the tunes "Formaldehyde" by Sons of Elvis
Sons of Elvis

Sons of Elvis was a post-grunge group active in the early 1990s. Their only official release was titled Glodean which featured the single "Formaldehyde." "Formaldehyde" received airplay at radio and on MTV, and was also featured on the soundtrack of the feature film Higher Learning, by director John Singleton....
, Tire Me
Tire Me

"Tire Me" is the sixth song and third single from the album Evil Empire by Rage Against the Machine. Although "Tire Me" never had a music video, nor any radio airplay, the song won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance....
 by Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine is an American Rock music band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1991. The band's lineup, unchanged since formation, consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk....
 and "Corner of my Mind" by Blanket Party (band)
Blanket Party (Band)

Blanket Party was an United States alternative rock band formed by Dan Ores, Tom Kutzer and Tim Reiland in Beecher, Illinois circa 1990.The group was know for a guitar-heavy sound, containing elements of power pop, heavy metal and punk rock....


External links