Harvard students are known for their habitual lateness, inspired by the “seven-minute rule” for classes, but attendees of the College’s first free movie night last Thursday weren’t following Harvard-time. Nearly 495 students filled the Brattle Theatre long before 7:45 p.m., the recommended arrival time for “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.”, leaving only the front row empty.
The thunderous applause came even before the movie began as Ben Schwartz ’10, vice chair of the College Events Board, introduced the film, which tells the story of two high school seniors looking for love amidst the jaded chaos of the city, finally finding it through shared music tastes.
The boisterous audience was incredibly involved throughout the course of the film, screaming in disgust when a drunk Caroline, Norah’s best friend, reached into a defecated toilet—a maneuver she learned at the Delphic’s second punch event.
At another point, the audience let out a communal “Awww” after a character declared that the Beatles had solved it all when they said: “people don’t want a 24 hour humpfest, they don’t want to be married to you for 100 years, they just want to hold your hand.” Look no further for an explanation of Harvard’s reputation for sexual inexperience.
Mary K.B. Cox ’10 and William V. Leiter ’10 said they were drawn to the event by the movie’s buzz and CEB’s rising reputation. “I’m a big fan of CEB events. I hear the movie’s supposed to be really good,” Cox says. Leiter adds that the screening introduces a much-needed new element to Harvard’s social scene: “I think the College has a difficult time finding ways to entertain Harvard students; this is a good way to do that.”
After the event, Schwartz echoed the satisfaction of the huge crowd: “We created something to do on a Thursday night where people can get together. All 500 tickets were picked up—it was a great success.”
