#ivorytower—The CNN Films broadcast of “Ivory Tower” on Nov. 20 started a social media frenzy, inspiring more than 12,000 tweets as of mid-December.
When the piece first aired publicly, many viewers live-tweeted—for a total of nearly 9,400 tweets on Nov. 20, according to Topsy, a social web search engine. The film’s central question asks, “Is college worth the cost?”
In a critique, Cathy Davidson, a Duke University Humanities Institute professor, stated what many in higher ed may have thought as they watched the documentary and the negative tweets from Joe Public and others about the costs of college.
“The movie is strong and powerful on the problem, weaker on how and why this problem has arisen, and weaker still on solutions or on models of universities that are doing it right. Many are,” she wrote.
