1
00:00:09,010 --> 00:00:11,179
["Vivaldi: Gloria in D Major, RV 589"
playing]

2
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♪ Gloria, Gloria ♪

3
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♪ Gloria, Gloria ♪

4
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♪ In excelsis Deo ♪

5
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♪ Gloria, Gloria ♪

6
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♪ Gloria, Gloria ♪

7
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♪ In excelsis Deo ♪

8
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♪ Gloria in excelsis ♪

9
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♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪

10
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♪ In excelsis ♪

11
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-[chair snaps]
-What the fuck?

12
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-[thuds on floor]
-[groans]

13
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[indistinct chatter]

14
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Ah! There she is. [applauding]

15
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-[man] Woman of the hour.
-Morning.

16
00:01:40,184 --> 00:01:41,811
-Hey.
-Ah, condolences.

17
00:01:41,894 --> 00:01:44,605
-Oh, thank you. Where's Joan?
-I don't know.

18
00:01:44,689 --> 00:01:46,524
Welcome back, everyone.

19
00:01:47,608 --> 00:01:50,069
-Here's a little swag from Dean Larson.
-[man 2] Whoa.

20
00:01:50,153 --> 00:01:53,447
-Our first lady chair.
-Woman chair.

21
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Aren't you gonna sit
at the head of the table?

22
00:01:55,908 --> 00:01:58,411
Chair sits at the head of the table.

23
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Thank you, Elliot.

24
00:02:01,622 --> 00:02:03,249
-Don't mind if I do.
-[chuckles]

25
00:02:03,332 --> 00:02:04,709
Is this green or brown?

26
00:02:06,127 --> 00:02:09,088
Let's try this again.
It's lovely to see you all.

27
00:02:09,172 --> 00:02:11,299
In a couple of minutes,
we'll know if that was right.

28
00:02:11,382 --> 00:02:13,217
Okay, first order of business--

29
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Bill's not here.

30
00:02:16,470 --> 00:02:19,974
Maybe we could cut him some slack,
given his situation.

31
00:02:23,561 --> 00:02:26,939
Bill is sending his daughter
off to college. He'll be here any minute.

32
00:02:28,608 --> 00:02:29,609
[girl] Hey.

33
00:02:32,737 --> 00:02:34,197
Get your shit together.

34
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I'm gone now, and that's the way
it's gonna be for the rest of your life.

35
00:02:39,493 --> 00:02:41,829
Um, you're not… gone.

36
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Yes, I am.

37
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And what happened, happened.

38
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[inhales deeply]

39
00:02:46,542 --> 00:02:48,169
The time when people were, like,

40
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leaving casseroles and whatever
at the house, it's over.

41
00:02:52,089 --> 00:02:54,675
Okay. Are you finished?

42
00:02:54,759 --> 00:02:56,219
-Yes, I'm done.
-[Bill] Okay.

43
00:02:56,802 --> 00:03:00,348
I'm not gonna miss you.
I'm just gonna miss this guy and this guy.

44
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-Stop.
-[Bill] Goodbye to you and you.

45
00:03:02,266 --> 00:03:03,351
Uh-huh, okay.

46
00:03:03,434 --> 00:03:04,727
Go. Get outta here.

47
00:03:09,690 --> 00:03:12,777
-Text me when you land.
-[girl] Okay, stalker.

48
00:03:14,237 --> 00:03:18,157
I'm not gonna sugarcoat this.
We are in dire crisis.

49
00:03:18,241 --> 00:03:20,493
Enrollments are down more than 30%.

50
00:03:20,576 --> 00:03:21,953
Our budget is being gutted.

51
00:03:22,954 --> 00:03:26,082
It feels like the sea

52
00:03:26,165 --> 00:03:28,960
is washing the ground
out from under our feet.

53
00:03:31,003 --> 00:03:33,965
But in these unprecedented times,

54
00:03:34,048 --> 00:03:36,926
we have to prove
that what we do in the classroom…

55
00:03:37,510 --> 00:03:39,178
-[urinating]
-…modeling critical thinking,

56
00:03:39,262 --> 00:03:41,264
stressing the value of empathy,

57
00:03:41,347 --> 00:03:43,015
is more important than ever,

58
00:03:43,516 --> 00:03:45,935
and has value to the public good.

59
00:03:46,018 --> 00:03:46,936
[zipping]

60
00:03:47,019 --> 00:03:51,274
It's true, we can't teach our students
coding or engineering.

61
00:03:51,357 --> 00:03:54,527
What we teach them cannot be quantified

62
00:03:55,027 --> 00:03:57,697
-or put down on a résumé as a skill.
-[keys jangling]

63
00:04:00,992 --> 00:04:02,618
But let us have pride

64
00:04:03,244 --> 00:04:06,289
-in what we can offer future generations.
-[clicking]

65
00:04:06,372 --> 00:04:08,499
We need to remind these young people

66
00:04:08,582 --> 00:04:13,671
that knowledge doesn't just come
from spreadsheets or… or Wiki entries.

67
00:04:13,754 --> 00:04:17,591
Hey, I was thinking this morning
about our tech-addled culture,

68
00:04:17,675 --> 00:04:21,137
and… and how our students
are hyperconnected 24 hours a day,

69
00:04:21,220 --> 00:04:25,308
and I was reminded of something, um,
Harold Bloom wrote.

70
00:04:25,391 --> 00:04:26,892
He said,

71
00:04:27,768 --> 00:04:30,396
"Information is endlessly available to us.

72
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Where shall wisdom be found?"

73
00:04:35,443 --> 00:04:36,319
[door opens]

74
00:04:36,402 --> 00:04:39,780
They moved my office
to the basement under the gym.

75
00:04:39,864 --> 00:04:40,698
-[uproar]
-What?

76
00:04:40,781 --> 00:04:45,661
All my books, my… my stuff, my drawers,
dumped into these open carts

77
00:04:45,745 --> 00:04:48,998
that are sitting on the floor
of the basement over there right now.

78
00:04:49,081 --> 00:04:50,791
-[uproar]
-Why would they do that?

79
00:04:50,875 --> 00:04:52,001
I heard a rumor.

80
00:04:52,084 --> 00:04:55,755
They're forcing everybody over 55
to take early retirement.

81
00:04:55,838 --> 00:04:57,465
[man 3] This is the beginning
of the end.

82
00:04:57,548 --> 00:04:59,300
Okay, people.
People, let's try not to panic.

83
00:04:59,383 --> 00:05:01,802
Well, it's easy for you to say. You're 51.

84
00:05:01,886 --> 00:05:02,928
I'm 46.

85
00:05:03,512 --> 00:05:04,430
You're kidding.

86
00:05:05,931 --> 00:05:07,099
[inhales deeply]

87
00:05:09,310 --> 00:05:10,811
I want to make you this promise.

88
00:05:11,896 --> 00:05:15,483
I will not allow this department
to be ransacked.

89
00:05:16,942 --> 00:05:18,361
This is a list of names.

90
00:05:18,986 --> 00:05:23,074
These folks have the highest salaries
and lowest enrollments in your department.

91
00:05:23,741 --> 00:05:25,701
I'm sorry to spring this on you
your first week.

92
00:05:26,452 --> 00:05:29,914
-There's no one here who's dispensable.
-Oh, come on. These old-timers?

93
00:05:31,374 --> 00:05:33,667
They're averaging five students a course.

94
00:05:36,045 --> 00:05:40,591
I mean, I'm not denying their profound
contribution to American letters, but…

95
00:05:40,674 --> 00:05:41,550
[Joan] I got it!

96
00:05:41,634 --> 00:05:45,262
[Larson] …we've been offering
very generous retirement packages, and--

97
00:05:45,930 --> 00:05:48,099
So, before I bring out the stick,

98
00:05:49,100 --> 00:05:51,310
maybe you could use
your persuasive powers as chair.

99
00:05:51,394 --> 00:05:54,480
I've got some ideas
on how to increase enrollments.

100
00:05:54,563 --> 00:05:57,108
Now, Yasmin McKay
is up for tenure this year.

101
00:05:57,191 --> 00:05:59,944
I wanted to talk to you about giving her
the Distinguished Lectureship.

102
00:06:00,027 --> 00:06:03,989
We can't talk about opening any lines,
or the Distinguished Lectureship.

103
00:06:04,782 --> 00:06:07,660
Student enrollment was down before.
Now it's catastrophic.

104
00:06:07,743 --> 00:06:10,371
Is that why you put Joan
in the basement of the wellness center?

105
00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:13,541
How'd that happen? Oh, let me talk to Deb.

106
00:06:14,458 --> 00:06:16,836
Now, listen. I know you, um…

107
00:06:18,504 --> 00:06:20,548
I know you had big plans for this year.

108
00:06:20,631 --> 00:06:24,343
I know this place is antiquated.
A lumbering dinosaur.

109
00:06:24,844 --> 00:06:28,639
But you remember when I… when I
called you, told you you had tenure?

110
00:06:28,722 --> 00:06:29,974
Remember what I said?

111
00:06:30,057 --> 00:06:34,770
If anyone can bring Pembroke
into the 21st century, it is you.

112
00:06:37,231 --> 00:06:38,232
Well…

113
00:06:41,193 --> 00:06:43,404
I just need three names.

114
00:06:44,196 --> 00:06:46,198
[classical music playing]

115
00:06:50,077 --> 00:06:50,953
[sighs]

116
00:06:54,248 --> 00:06:55,541
Is this Sex and the Novel?

117
00:06:55,624 --> 00:07:00,463
Oh, no, this is Survey of American Letters
1850 to 1918!

118
00:07:03,632 --> 00:07:06,218
My office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays
from 1:00 to 2:00,

119
00:07:06,302 --> 00:07:09,388
but you can really come anytime
because I basically live here.

120
00:07:09,472 --> 00:07:11,891
Oh! If any of you are on the wait list,
shoot me an email.

121
00:07:11,974 --> 00:07:13,976
[classical music continues]

122
00:07:22,151 --> 00:07:24,153
[indistinct chatter]

123
00:07:28,908 --> 00:07:32,369
Hey. Thank you so much
for agreeing to chair my tenure case.

124
00:07:32,453 --> 00:07:34,872
-Ji-Yoon just gave me the news.
-Sure.

125
00:07:35,789 --> 00:07:36,874
Are… Are you okay?

126
00:07:37,374 --> 00:07:40,920
Why'd she schedule
two American Lit courses at the same time?

127
00:07:41,003 --> 00:07:42,546
Oh, uh, I don't know.

128
00:07:42,630 --> 00:07:45,674
Maybe she thought that our content
was different enough.

129
00:07:46,383 --> 00:07:49,345
Sex and the Novel?
That's what you're calling this?

130
00:07:50,346 --> 00:07:51,263
Yeah.

131
00:07:51,347 --> 00:07:54,517
[gasps] You know, actually,
I have a list of external reviewers.

132
00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:55,643
Um… [smacks lips]

133
00:07:55,726 --> 00:07:57,186
Where is it? Shoot, did I…

134
00:07:57,269 --> 00:07:58,979
[footsteps receding]

135
00:08:02,316 --> 00:08:04,818
[Ji-Yoon] Between you and me,
he's on the list.

136
00:08:04,902 --> 00:08:06,612
What list?

137
00:08:06,695 --> 00:08:08,697
What if we combined your sections?

138
00:08:09,615 --> 00:08:12,618
You want me to co-teach
with the chair of my tenure committee?

139
00:08:12,701 --> 00:08:15,955
I want him to see you in action
in the classroom.

140
00:08:16,038 --> 00:08:17,665
He's gonna think I'm his TA.

141
00:08:17,748 --> 00:08:19,583
There's no way
he's gonna be able to dismiss you

142
00:08:19,667 --> 00:08:21,502
when he sees
how fuckin' brilliant you are!

143
00:08:21,585 --> 00:08:24,296
I already set my syllabus, so…

144
00:08:25,089 --> 00:08:27,800
Listen, when Bill was an undergrad,

145
00:08:27,883 --> 00:08:29,802
Elliot was the one
who packed the halls here.

146
00:08:29,885 --> 00:08:33,430
You couldn't even get into his lectures
without special permission unless you--

147
00:08:33,514 --> 00:08:36,684
Yeah, and he hasn't updated
those lectures in like 30 years.

148
00:08:36,767 --> 00:08:37,768
Still.

149
00:08:38,602 --> 00:08:40,688
He makes or breaks careers.

150
00:08:43,065 --> 00:08:44,316
-[exhales]
-[Ji-Yoon] Yaz,

151
00:08:44,817 --> 00:08:47,987
I get it. When I started, it was like,

152
00:08:48,070 --> 00:08:50,489
"Why's some Asian lady
teaching Emily Dickinson?"

153
00:08:50,573 --> 00:08:51,615
[chuckles]

154
00:08:53,325 --> 00:08:55,661
But we have a real opening here.

155
00:08:56,328 --> 00:08:57,788
You're going up for tenure.

156
00:08:57,871 --> 00:09:00,541
I-- I'm chair of this department.

157
00:09:00,624 --> 00:09:04,587
The dean has my back,
so let's just get your case through,

158
00:09:04,670 --> 00:09:06,714
and then let's
fucking shake this place up.

159
00:09:08,549 --> 00:09:10,968
[uplifting music playing]

160
00:09:18,225 --> 00:09:20,227
[indistinct chatter]

161
00:09:30,738 --> 00:09:32,740
[breathing heavily]

162
00:09:41,665 --> 00:09:42,666
Shit.

163
00:09:47,254 --> 00:09:48,255
[grunts]

164
00:09:57,765 --> 00:09:59,725
[student] The male adventure narrative?

165
00:10:01,101 --> 00:10:02,353
Sure. Anybody else?

166
00:10:02,978 --> 00:10:05,272
When we talk about
the American Renaissance, what--

167
00:10:05,356 --> 00:10:06,273
Okay.

168
00:10:06,774 --> 00:10:09,902
We're playing catch up here
since our lectures merged.

169
00:10:09,985 --> 00:10:12,988
-Uh, you wanna help hand these out?
-Um, sure.

170
00:10:13,072 --> 00:10:15,240
That's Professor McKay, by the way,

171
00:10:15,991 --> 00:10:18,327
who has graciously agreed
to join our class.

172
00:10:18,410 --> 00:10:20,371
[students murmuring]

173
00:10:22,206 --> 00:10:24,667
["Uncontrollable Urge" by Devo playing]

174
00:10:32,216 --> 00:10:33,467
Whoo!

175
00:10:34,051 --> 00:10:35,094
Whoo!

176
00:10:35,177 --> 00:10:36,428
Oh-- [grunts]

177
00:10:39,890 --> 00:10:40,891
[brakes screeching]

178
00:10:41,558 --> 00:10:42,559
[panting]

179
00:10:43,143 --> 00:10:44,144
Professor Dobson?

180
00:10:45,521 --> 00:10:46,772
Are you okay?

181
00:10:46,855 --> 00:10:47,856
[spits]

182
00:10:48,732 --> 00:10:50,192
[Joan] "Love is blind."

183
00:10:51,568 --> 00:10:53,320
Who popularized the phrase?

184
00:10:53,404 --> 00:10:55,030
You can all probably guess.

185
00:10:59,451 --> 00:11:00,536
Chaucer.

186
00:11:00,619 --> 00:11:04,039
Otherwise known
as the father of modern English.

187
00:11:04,540 --> 00:11:07,876
You'll be astonished
how many images and idioms

188
00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:09,712
from our everyday speech

189
00:11:09,795 --> 00:11:13,549
come to us directly from the 14th century.

190
00:11:13,632 --> 00:11:15,634
[breathes deeply]

191
00:11:18,053 --> 00:11:19,555
You don't have to have an answer.

192
00:11:19,638 --> 00:11:22,641
I-- I'm more interested in your questions
than your answers.

193
00:11:22,725 --> 00:11:26,103
It's… It's not about having
a fixed analysis.

194
00:11:26,186 --> 00:11:27,354
[students murmuring]

195
00:11:27,438 --> 00:11:32,109
When… When… When I get up in the morning,
I'm excited to come to class,

196
00:11:32,192 --> 00:11:36,029
not because I get to teach you,
but because I… I get to learn from you.

197
00:11:36,113 --> 00:11:37,322
-Professor Kim…
-Mm-hmm.

198
00:11:37,406 --> 00:11:38,907
…would you be willing to sign?

199
00:11:39,992 --> 00:11:42,536
We're trying to put some pressure
on the administration.

200
00:11:43,454 --> 00:11:44,788
Oh, isn't this a student petition?

201
00:11:44,872 --> 00:11:47,916
Yeah, but we're trying to get some
faculty of color on board too.

202
00:11:49,543 --> 00:11:50,544
Sure thing.

203
00:11:54,131 --> 00:11:55,632
-[girl] Is this okay?
-[sighs]

204
00:11:56,300 --> 00:11:57,718
Yeah. Uh, thanks again.

205
00:11:57,801 --> 00:12:02,848
Uh, I'm actually… I'm on the wait list
for, uh, Death and Modernism.

206
00:12:05,309 --> 00:12:06,769
Would you mind signing? [chuckling]

207
00:12:07,436 --> 00:12:08,604
-Mm-hmm.
-[girl] Thanks.

208
00:12:08,687 --> 00:12:11,231
Um, my brother told me
you're the reason to come here.

209
00:12:11,815 --> 00:12:14,651
-What's your brother's name?
-Jesse Eisenstadt. Remember him?

210
00:12:15,778 --> 00:12:16,612
Um…

211
00:12:16,695 --> 00:12:19,406
In my family, you're like a household god.

212
00:12:21,116 --> 00:12:22,034
[sighs]

213
00:12:22,117 --> 00:12:23,577
"I grow old, I grow old"

214
00:12:24,077 --> 00:12:26,747
"I shall wear the bottoms
Of my trousers rolled"

215
00:12:30,334 --> 00:12:31,335
What?

216
00:12:32,336 --> 00:12:33,337
I read.

217
00:12:37,674 --> 00:12:38,842
[car door closes]

218
00:12:39,968 --> 00:12:41,303
[whispers] Holy shit.

219
00:12:41,386 --> 00:12:43,430
[loud hip-hop music playing]

220
00:12:46,767 --> 00:12:48,977
[Joan] I mean, I can't hear myself think.

221
00:12:51,104 --> 00:12:53,106
Yes, it's… terrible.

222
00:12:54,399 --> 00:12:56,401
[music continues]

223
00:12:59,112 --> 00:13:00,072
Let's go.

224
00:13:01,281 --> 00:13:02,282
Okay.

225
00:13:06,662 --> 00:13:08,705
They're putting me out to pasture.

226
00:13:09,665 --> 00:13:12,668
I mean… what else could this be?

227
00:13:12,751 --> 00:13:15,712
This is a Title IX lawsuit
waiting to happen.

228
00:13:16,380 --> 00:13:17,548
How do… How do you know?

229
00:13:17,631 --> 00:13:20,259
Because we're gonna march over there
and report it as such.

230
00:13:20,884 --> 00:13:23,554
What's the point in having
a Title IX office if we don't use it?

231
00:13:24,263 --> 00:13:26,890
I'll make the report myself.
It'll be like it was my idea.

232
00:13:28,141 --> 00:13:32,437
Our first female chair,
already a troublemaker.

233
00:13:32,521 --> 00:13:33,814
-[chuckles]
-I'm proud of you.

234
00:13:33,897 --> 00:13:35,858
[Ji-Yoon] Oh, don't thank me yet.

235
00:13:35,941 --> 00:13:37,150
-I didn't.
-[Ji-Yoon] Oh.

236
00:13:38,193 --> 00:13:39,194
Hey, uh…

237
00:13:42,906 --> 00:13:45,367
when's the last time
you checked out your student evals?

238
00:13:45,450 --> 00:13:46,952
1987.

239
00:13:47,578 --> 00:13:48,662
Will you?

240
00:13:48,745 --> 00:13:51,915
I don't cater to… to consumer demands.

241
00:13:53,417 --> 00:13:57,212
-I'm not trying to be popular.
-Well, then you're wildly succeeding.

242
00:13:57,296 --> 00:13:58,338
[Joan] Oh. [scoffs]

243
00:14:00,257 --> 00:14:02,885
[Ji-Yoon] Our department
is hemorrhaging enrollments.

244
00:14:02,968 --> 00:14:04,553
We have to retain students,

245
00:14:05,554 --> 00:14:06,513
or…

246
00:14:07,139 --> 00:14:08,807
Or? Or what?

247
00:14:10,976 --> 00:14:13,186
Larson just painted
a very ominous picture.

248
00:14:13,979 --> 00:14:15,731
More ominous than usual?

249
00:14:19,067 --> 00:14:20,193
Yeah.

250
00:14:22,195 --> 00:14:23,780
Are you asking everyone?

251
00:14:24,823 --> 00:14:25,824
Yes.

252
00:14:26,408 --> 00:14:29,244
I mean, it'll take some coercion
in Bill's case, but yes.

253
00:14:29,328 --> 00:14:31,914
[scoffs] He worships you.

254
00:14:31,997 --> 00:14:33,040
Mmm.

255
00:14:34,041 --> 00:14:35,834
-[Joan] What?
-No, it's just--

256
00:14:38,253 --> 00:14:39,504
[inhales deeply]

257
00:14:39,588 --> 00:14:41,298
It's still weird between us.

258
00:14:41,381 --> 00:14:43,133
Of course it is, you moron.

259
00:14:44,426 --> 00:14:46,011
Sharon died…

260
00:14:50,474 --> 00:14:53,518
so now there's no guardrail.

261
00:14:56,647 --> 00:14:57,648
Sorry I'm late.

262
00:14:58,231 --> 00:14:59,191
[door closes]

263
00:15:04,363 --> 00:15:05,739
Give me one second.

264
00:15:06,740 --> 00:15:07,658
[woman] Hi.

265
00:15:08,241 --> 00:15:09,242
[Bill] Okay.

266
00:15:10,494 --> 00:15:12,871
-Where's my dongle?
-Your dongle's in your hand.

267
00:15:14,414 --> 00:15:16,708
-How'd that happen?
-I put it there.

268
00:15:18,001 --> 00:15:19,002
All right.

269
00:15:21,380 --> 00:15:25,175
We are going to start
with a few images I've assembled,

270
00:15:25,258 --> 00:15:27,135
if I can get this thing to cooperate.

271
00:15:27,219 --> 00:15:30,138
Pembroke English teacher
electrocutes himself while--

272
00:15:30,222 --> 00:15:32,641
-[students laugh]
-[Bill on screen] Are you okay?

273
00:15:32,724 --> 00:15:33,558
Sharon?

274
00:15:33,642 --> 00:15:37,437
I can't tell whether I have to take a shit
or whether she's coming.

275
00:15:37,521 --> 00:15:39,398
[Bill] I think I might be cumming.

276
00:15:39,481 --> 00:15:41,108
[Sharon] Don't make me laugh.

277
00:15:41,733 --> 00:15:43,485
[Sharon and Bill laughing]

278
00:15:47,155 --> 00:15:48,865
[Sharon speaking indistinctly]

279
00:15:48,949 --> 00:15:51,326
[Bill] No, I'm a good businessman.
We'll run a little side--

280
00:15:51,410 --> 00:15:53,036
-Professor Dobson?
-Oh fuck.

281
00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:55,122
-[students murmuring]
-[Bill exhales]

282
00:15:55,205 --> 00:15:56,915
Sorry about that. [chuckles]

283
00:15:59,126 --> 00:16:01,545
Wow, okay. Um, this is Lila.

284
00:16:01,628 --> 00:16:05,048
She is writing a brilliant dissertation.

285
00:16:05,132 --> 00:16:07,509
[softly] Which I will finish reading soon.

286
00:16:07,592 --> 00:16:11,138
-Um, welcome to Contemporary Lit.
-Death and Modernism.

287
00:16:11,221 --> 00:16:12,556
[students murmuring]

288
00:16:13,432 --> 00:16:15,434
Welcome to Death and Modernism.

289
00:16:15,976 --> 00:16:18,979
I usually have them tweet
their favorite line from Moby-Dick.

290
00:16:19,062 --> 00:16:19,938
Tweet?

291
00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:21,982
Last semester "Call me Ishmael"

292
00:16:22,065 --> 00:16:24,317
tied with
"From hell's heart I stab at thee."

293
00:16:24,401 --> 00:16:27,654
No, no, no, I want them to become
absorbed in the story,

294
00:16:27,738 --> 00:16:29,239
in the beauty of the phrasing.

295
00:16:29,322 --> 00:16:34,536
I mean, if all they're doing is looking
for the flashiest soundbite, I…

296
00:16:35,162 --> 00:16:36,621
It's just an exercise, so…

297
00:16:36,705 --> 00:16:38,540
It's low-hanging fruit.

298
00:16:40,125 --> 00:16:41,752
It's a way of connecting with them.

299
00:16:42,252 --> 00:16:45,088
And I find that it mobilizes
the skills of close reading.

300
00:16:45,172 --> 00:16:46,673
[sighs]

301
00:16:46,757 --> 00:16:48,175
[laptop keys clacking]

302
00:16:48,258 --> 00:16:50,385
You're the Melville scholar,
so… [chuckles]

303
00:16:51,011 --> 00:16:52,095
[creaking]

304
00:16:52,179 --> 00:16:53,805
[door opens]

305
00:16:56,183 --> 00:16:58,393
-What happened to your chair?
-How did you get in here?

306
00:16:58,477 --> 00:17:00,353
Couldn't bear the weight
of a little Korean lady?

307
00:17:00,437 --> 00:17:01,688
How did you get in?

308
00:17:02,564 --> 00:17:03,899
[keys jangling]

309
00:17:03,982 --> 00:17:05,650
Give me those keys. Give them to me.

310
00:17:05,734 --> 00:17:07,986
-There, you can have them.
-Oh, my-- Stop it.

311
00:17:08,070 --> 00:17:10,197
Give me the keys.
You're not the chair anymore.

312
00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:12,282
-Gimme--
-[grunting] Get off!

313
00:17:12,365 --> 00:17:13,533
-They're right here.
-Ooh!

314
00:17:13,617 --> 00:17:14,951
-Oh my God!
-[both laugh]

315
00:17:15,035 --> 00:17:16,453
-[Ji-Yoon] Come here.
-[Bill laughs]

316
00:17:16,536 --> 00:17:18,497
You-- I totally have them! Yes! Yes!

317
00:17:18,580 --> 00:17:19,998
-Oh shit!
-[Ji-Yoon] I can feel them!

318
00:17:20,082 --> 00:17:21,083
Oh my God!

319
00:17:21,166 --> 00:17:22,918
-[laughs]
-Sorry.

320
00:17:23,627 --> 00:17:25,212
Oh. No, we're just--

321
00:17:26,004 --> 00:17:28,090
-[sighs]
-Mm-mm.

322
00:17:28,173 --> 00:17:30,926
[sighs] You're making me
look unprofessional.

323
00:17:31,843 --> 00:17:33,428
[groans, sniffles]

324
00:17:34,387 --> 00:17:36,807
[clears throat] I'm sorry I missed
your first meeting.

325
00:17:36,890 --> 00:17:40,185
Well, I defended you
against the hordes of actual attendees.

326
00:17:40,769 --> 00:17:42,187
-How'd it go?
-How did-- [sighs]

327
00:17:44,648 --> 00:17:46,983
No, really, how was it?

328
00:17:48,026 --> 00:17:50,278
Uh, she read me the riot act.

329
00:17:50,362 --> 00:17:54,658
She wants me to pull my socks up,
'cause I'm on my own now.

330
00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:56,743
That's not true, I'm here.

331
00:17:58,954 --> 00:18:01,915
I mean… I mean, we're all here.
I di… I didn't…

332
00:18:01,998 --> 00:18:03,125
I didn't… I di…

333
00:18:03,875 --> 00:18:04,709
Yeah.

334
00:18:04,793 --> 00:18:08,922
Uh, you know, I'm gonna give Yaz
the Distinguished Lectureship.

335
00:18:11,424 --> 00:18:12,634
-He said yes?
-Well…

336
00:18:12,717 --> 00:18:14,052
Well, not exactly.

337
00:18:14,636 --> 00:18:17,264
He gave me a list
of the three faculty members

338
00:18:17,347 --> 00:18:20,016
who are paid the highest
and have the lowest enrollments.

339
00:18:20,100 --> 00:18:22,060
-Joan, Rentz, McHale.
-McHale.

340
00:18:22,144 --> 00:18:24,688
I mean, he wants me
to talk them into retirement?

341
00:18:24,771 --> 00:18:26,565
I hope you told him to fuck off.

342
00:18:26,648 --> 00:18:28,567
I serve at the pleasure of the dean.

343
00:18:28,650 --> 00:18:30,110
[Bill scoffs] He wishes.

344
00:18:30,777 --> 00:18:32,863
You know, it's your job as chair
to advocate--

345
00:18:32,946 --> 00:18:34,823
Well, in five years,
do you think we'll exist?

346
00:18:35,574 --> 00:18:39,077
The English Department?
I feel like I arrived at the party after…

347
00:18:39,161 --> 00:18:40,370
after last call.

348
00:18:41,997 --> 00:18:45,167
-It's also your job as chair to boost--
-Punch you in the fucking face?

349
00:18:45,250 --> 00:18:47,919
[chuckles] My face is my fortune, baby.

350
00:18:48,003 --> 00:18:51,840
-That's why I'm totally broke. [laughs]
-Oh, that's why you're flat broke.

351
00:18:53,258 --> 00:18:54,301
Mm-hmm.

352
00:18:56,386 --> 00:18:58,847
-I gotta-- I gotta get some work done.
-Yep.

353
00:19:00,056 --> 00:19:03,268
Oh, and also,
no more rides from female students.

354
00:19:05,437 --> 00:19:07,522
My car's impounded.
I'm getting it back this afternoon.

355
00:19:07,606 --> 00:19:09,941
-What are you, a spy?
-What are you, a moron?

356
00:19:10,025 --> 00:19:12,360
Some flunky
from the Dean of Students emailed me.

357
00:19:12,444 --> 00:19:14,946
You know that was Dafna Eisenstadt?

358
00:19:15,906 --> 00:19:19,201
Eisenstadt,
like Board of Trustees Eisenstadt.

359
00:19:19,284 --> 00:19:20,994
[smacking lips] Oh.

360
00:19:21,494 --> 00:19:24,497
Yeah.
I need everyone on their best behavior.

361
00:19:24,998 --> 00:19:28,043
It's important
for the health of the department.

362
00:19:28,126 --> 00:19:29,085
[sighs]

363
00:19:29,586 --> 00:19:31,296
"Important for the health
of the department?"

364
00:19:31,379 --> 00:19:33,423
-I don't know why I just-- Get out.
-[Bill] What?

365
00:19:33,506 --> 00:19:34,966
-I feel it now.
-Get out.

366
00:19:35,050 --> 00:19:35,967
[car door closes]

367
00:19:36,051 --> 00:19:37,427
[dog barking]

368
00:19:37,510 --> 00:19:38,553
[keys jangling]

369
00:19:41,223 --> 00:19:42,224
[door unlocks]

370
00:19:44,768 --> 00:19:45,894
[sighs]

371
00:19:47,687 --> 00:19:48,605
-Hi, Appa.
-[man] Hi.

372
00:19:48,688 --> 00:19:49,689
Hi, sweetheart.

373
00:19:52,984 --> 00:19:55,070
[grunts] Did she finish all her homework?

374
00:19:55,153 --> 00:19:56,154
[in Korean] Yes, she has.

375
00:19:56,238 --> 00:19:57,280
[in English] Good.

376
00:19:57,364 --> 00:19:58,698
[sighs] Appa…

377
00:20:00,575 --> 00:20:01,701
I told you to take this down.

378
00:20:01,785 --> 00:20:02,953
[in Korean] I'll put it away.

379
00:20:05,330 --> 00:20:06,831
I need to talk to you.

380
00:20:06,915 --> 00:20:10,252
[in English] Well, are you still
sending him frozen steaks to Michigan?

381
00:20:11,836 --> 00:20:14,297
[in Korean] So about Ju Ju…
I have to tell you something.

382
00:20:14,381 --> 00:20:17,300
Ju Ju's teacher told me she needs to see
a psychiatrist as soon as possible.

383
00:20:17,384 --> 00:20:20,262
-[in English] Shh. What?
-[in Korean] She can't understand Korean.

384
00:20:20,345 --> 00:20:22,889
-[in English] She's starting to.
-[in Korean] She drew this.

385
00:20:27,018 --> 00:20:29,521
They said in 17 years of teaching

386
00:20:29,604 --> 00:20:32,065
they have never seen anything
this disturbing.

387
00:20:35,944 --> 00:20:36,987
[spits]

388
00:20:37,070 --> 00:20:39,072
[Ju Ju spits]

389
00:20:52,502 --> 00:20:54,546
[Ju Ju] How old were you
when your mom died?

390
00:20:56,673 --> 00:20:57,674
Fourteen.

391
00:21:00,135 --> 00:21:02,637
Hey. I'm not gonna die when you're 14.

392
00:21:03,430 --> 00:21:04,597
How do you know?

393
00:21:04,681 --> 00:21:05,682
Look at me!

394
00:21:06,641 --> 00:21:07,684
[grunts]

395
00:21:09,394 --> 00:21:11,229
Oh, I think I just hurt my shoulder.

396
00:21:11,313 --> 00:21:12,689
[grunts, groans]

397
00:21:12,772 --> 00:21:14,024
[laughs]

398
00:21:14,107 --> 00:21:17,610
If something happened to you,
who would take care of me?

399
00:21:17,694 --> 00:21:19,112
Habi's so old.

400
00:21:19,988 --> 00:21:22,407
You don't have to worry about that. Hmm?

401
00:21:23,867 --> 00:21:26,286
When you die, would you still remember me?

402
00:21:29,331 --> 00:21:30,332
Yes.

403
00:21:31,750 --> 00:21:32,917
Want me to lie with you?

404
00:21:34,336 --> 00:21:35,337
No.

405
00:21:46,389 --> 00:21:48,058
[dog barking in distance]

406
00:22:09,788 --> 00:22:11,790
[upbeat music playing]

407
00:22:17,087 --> 00:22:18,546
[typing]

408
00:22:31,059 --> 00:22:32,060
[Lila] Dr. Kim?

409
00:22:32,602 --> 00:22:33,603
Dr. Kim.

410
00:22:34,270 --> 00:22:35,355
-Hey.
-[Ji-Yoon] Hey.

411
00:22:35,939 --> 00:22:37,023
I can't find Bill.

412
00:22:37,107 --> 00:22:38,191
What do you mean?

413
00:22:38,274 --> 00:22:39,442
He's AWOL.

414
00:22:39,526 --> 00:22:40,527
[sighs]

415
00:22:43,405 --> 00:22:44,239
Okay.

416
00:22:45,281 --> 00:22:48,868
Hey. Did you lose your phone?
You're late for class. Again.

417
00:22:49,744 --> 00:22:51,830
And you can't just hang out in my office.

418
00:23:02,298 --> 00:23:04,342
Oh my God. Jesus, really?
Are you kidding me?

419
00:23:04,426 --> 00:23:06,803
-Sorry. Sorry.
-[Ji-Yoon] Get the other one.

420
00:23:14,936 --> 00:23:17,522
Um, maybe we should just start.

421
00:23:18,356 --> 00:23:19,774
I'm sure she'll be here.

422
00:23:20,316 --> 00:23:21,151
[woman] Great.

423
00:23:21,693 --> 00:23:24,779
First of all, I have to let you know

424
00:23:24,863 --> 00:23:29,159
that we are not a designated
confidential resource here on campus.

425
00:23:29,242 --> 00:23:31,161
I mean, we try to maintain privacy,

426
00:23:31,244 --> 00:23:33,163
but if there are safety concerns
in regards to--

427
00:23:33,246 --> 00:23:36,583
Oh, there aren't. I'm not being stalked.

428
00:23:36,666 --> 00:23:39,669
This isn't an unwanted overture
type of thing. [sniffles]

429
00:23:39,752 --> 00:23:43,173
At my age, I'm not sure there's
such a thing as an unwanted overture.

430
00:23:45,508 --> 00:23:47,927
-And are you yourself the complainant?
-Yes.

431
00:23:48,928 --> 00:23:51,306
How long have you been
working here at Pembroke?

432
00:23:51,806 --> 00:23:54,976
-Thirty-two years.
-Wow. That's a really long time.

433
00:23:55,643 --> 00:23:56,644
Which department?

434
00:23:56,728 --> 00:23:57,687
English.

435
00:23:57,770 --> 00:24:02,567
I wonder if I might speak with the person
who's actually going to handle my case.

436
00:24:02,650 --> 00:24:05,862
Unfortunately, there isn't going to be
an investigator assigned to your case

437
00:24:05,945 --> 00:24:07,697
until I decide
whether it rises to the level

438
00:24:07,780 --> 00:24:09,574
of a Title IX policy violation.

439
00:24:11,659 --> 00:24:15,163
They moved my office
into some kind of subterranean shithole

440
00:24:15,246 --> 00:24:17,081
in the athletics building.

441
00:24:17,165 --> 00:24:21,419
Other instructors of my rank,
all of whom are men, were not moved.

442
00:24:21,503 --> 00:24:23,546
What's your relationship like
with your chair?

443
00:24:23,630 --> 00:24:25,840
-Have you mentioned this to him?
-Her.

444
00:24:26,549 --> 00:24:27,550
Sorry.

445
00:24:28,176 --> 00:24:30,011
Her. [laughs]

446
00:24:30,094 --> 00:24:31,513
Maybe I should write myself up.

447
00:24:31,596 --> 00:24:34,349
Uh, she was supposed to be here.

448
00:24:34,432 --> 00:24:36,434
This… This was her idea.

449
00:24:37,060 --> 00:24:38,811
I don't know what happened.

450
00:24:38,895 --> 00:24:44,484
Ah, so she's aware that you feel
that your new office is a shithole?

451
00:24:44,567 --> 00:24:47,403
-You don't think I'm telling the truth?
-Truth is a very loaded word.

452
00:24:47,487 --> 00:24:48,321
[Joan] Is it though?

453
00:24:48,404 --> 00:24:51,449
If something's true,
there's no moral weight applied to it.

454
00:24:51,533 --> 00:24:52,700
It's a mere statement of fact.

455
00:24:52,784 --> 00:24:55,411
For example,
it would be true for me to say

456
00:24:55,495 --> 00:24:57,247
everyone can see your fanny.

457
00:24:59,749 --> 00:25:02,544
-What?
-Your butt is sticking out of your shorts.

458
00:25:02,627 --> 00:25:03,670
When I walked in.

459
00:25:04,254 --> 00:25:07,924
You are the first point of contact
for people who are coming in here,

460
00:25:08,007 --> 00:25:11,761
some of whom need to report
having been violated.

461
00:25:12,428 --> 00:25:14,597
Uh, and you… you…

462
00:25:18,268 --> 00:25:21,229
I understand you want to be body-positive.

463
00:25:22,438 --> 00:25:27,193
But maybe the place to do that
isn't a Title IX intake office.

464
00:25:27,986 --> 00:25:29,153
Professor Hambling,

465
00:25:30,363 --> 00:25:32,323
one of the great things about Title IX

466
00:25:32,407 --> 00:25:34,826
is that it protects women
regardless of how they dress.

467
00:25:34,909 --> 00:25:36,327
You're not a lawyer, are you?

468
00:25:36,911 --> 00:25:38,162
How did you get this job?

469
00:25:38,246 --> 00:25:39,455
I came from a non-profit

470
00:25:39,539 --> 00:25:42,959
where I helped place refugee
immigrant children into foster families.

471
00:25:43,042 --> 00:25:46,963
Well, I hope they didn't have to look
at your fucking fanny while you did that.

472
00:25:48,006 --> 00:25:50,717
Lila mentioned
there's still some holes in your syllabus.

473
00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:53,595
-It has "TBD" for the next eight weeks.
-[grunts]

474
00:25:53,678 --> 00:25:56,931
The kids are asking her what they're,
you know, actually gonna study.

475
00:25:57,473 --> 00:25:59,809
They're gonna study death and something.

476
00:26:00,351 --> 00:26:01,477
Taxes?

477
00:26:01,561 --> 00:26:02,562
Modernism.

478
00:26:02,645 --> 00:26:04,063
-Nah, it's not that.
-Hey.

479
00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:07,650
I don't know how to say this,
so I'm just gonna say it.

480
00:26:08,901 --> 00:26:10,445
Get your shit together.

481
00:26:11,195 --> 00:26:13,448
That's exactly what Doodles said.

482
00:26:13,531 --> 00:26:16,743
-It's funny, the two of you are like--
-There's nothing funny about it, Bill.

483
00:26:16,826 --> 00:26:18,328
Pay attention to your courses.

484
00:26:18,411 --> 00:26:21,623
The only reason you enroll high
is because of your reputation.

485
00:26:24,208 --> 00:26:25,209
What does that mean?

486
00:26:28,755 --> 00:26:30,465
You need to start showing up.

487
00:26:31,257 --> 00:26:32,884
Wow. Okay. Really?

488
00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:35,762
When I was chair,
I didn't ride your ass like this.

489
00:26:35,845 --> 00:26:38,348
When you were chair,
I wasn't fucking phoning it in.

490
00:26:58,826 --> 00:27:01,204
How many of you did the reading for today?

491
00:27:02,705 --> 00:27:03,790
I mean honestly.

492
00:27:05,708 --> 00:27:07,585
Okay. All right. Okay.

493
00:27:08,961 --> 00:27:11,172
How many of you are drunk right now?

494
00:27:11,255 --> 00:27:12,507
[students laugh]

495
00:27:12,590 --> 00:27:13,508
Or stoned?

496
00:27:15,468 --> 00:27:17,595
See? That's fine.

497
00:27:19,430 --> 00:27:20,890
[writing on chalkboard]

498
00:27:28,147 --> 00:27:29,524
Life isn't what you think.

499
00:27:30,608 --> 00:27:32,110
It'll never be what you think.

500
00:27:33,820 --> 00:27:35,655
[writing on chalkboard]

501
00:27:41,285 --> 00:27:43,162
All meaning is ascribed to the state.

502
00:27:43,705 --> 00:27:44,831
There is no meaning.

503
00:27:49,377 --> 00:27:53,339
The idea that we exist
in a purposeless universe

504
00:27:53,423 --> 00:27:55,425
came about after two World Wars,

505
00:27:55,508 --> 00:27:57,969
85 million dead including the camps.

506
00:27:58,052 --> 00:28:01,139
-What do Camus and Beckett have in common?
-[phone chimes]

507
00:28:01,222 --> 00:28:02,932
[student] They both fought
in the resistance.

508
00:28:03,015 --> 00:28:04,016
Yes.

509
00:28:05,143 --> 00:28:06,811
For two people who were convinced

510
00:28:06,894 --> 00:28:10,356
that there's no cure
for being on this Earth,

511
00:28:11,023 --> 00:28:12,650
that there's nothing to be done…

512
00:28:15,820 --> 00:28:16,904
they still tried.

513
00:28:19,323 --> 00:28:23,035
Cesare Pavese wrote
that the only way to escape from the abyss

514
00:28:23,828 --> 00:28:26,372
is to look at it, measure it,

515
00:28:27,665 --> 00:28:29,834
sound its depths, and go down into it…

516
00:28:29,917 --> 00:28:34,505
♪ He thought he was the King of America ♪

517
00:28:34,589 --> 00:28:39,594
♪ Where they pour Coca Cola
Just like vintage wine ♪

518
00:28:39,677 --> 00:28:44,265
♪ Now I try hard
Not to become hysterical ♪

519
00:28:44,348 --> 00:28:49,437
♪ But I'm not sure
If I am laughing or crying ♪

520
00:28:49,979 --> 00:28:52,398
♪ I wish that I could push a button ♪

521
00:28:52,482 --> 00:28:58,696
♪ And talk in the past
And not the present tense ♪

522
00:29:00,323 --> 00:29:04,160
♪ And watch
This hurtin' feeling disappear ♪

523
00:29:04,243 --> 00:29:08,664
♪ Like it was common sense ♪

524
00:29:10,374 --> 00:29:15,338
♪ It was a fine idea at the time ♪

525
00:29:15,421 --> 00:29:22,345
♪ Now it's a brilliant mistake ♪

526
00:29:34,941 --> 00:29:39,695
♪ She said that she was working
For the ABC News ♪

527
00:29:39,779 --> 00:29:45,159
♪ It was as much of the alphabet
As she knew how to use ♪

528
00:29:45,243 --> 00:29:49,497
♪ Her perfume was unspeakable
It lingered in the air ♪

529
00:29:49,580 --> 00:29:55,503
♪ Like her artificial laughter
Her mementos of affairs ♪

530
00:29:55,586 --> 00:29:58,464
♪ "Oh," I said, "I see you know him" ♪

531
00:29:58,548 --> 00:30:03,761
♪ "Isn't that very fortunate for you" ♪

532
00:30:05,513 --> 00:30:08,224
♪ And she showed me his calling card ♪

533
00:30:08,307 --> 00:30:10,309
♪ He came third or fourth… ♪