... Contempt

In the interest of avoiding the sin of over-weening pride, which has been known to afflict the more evangelical of the Dartmouth brethen, it seems prudent on occasion to remind the faithful that the College's position as the epitome of excellence on all realms of human endeavor does not go universally unchallenged.

Where a British writer, a breed well-conversant with hubris carried to a high art, recently characterized Dartmouth as a "smug" institution known chiefly for "maths, medicine, business, and athletics, ..." Hollywood producer Joseph E. Levine had this to say in an interview in New York magazine about a film he regretted making, Contempt:

"Jean-Luc Godard is supposed to be a great director. I don't think he is. He wasn't honest with me. He didn't shoot the script but shot what he wanted to shoot and ended up with a hodgepodge. For some strange reason Contempt was very popular up at Dartmouth. They have only one theater there, the Nugget, and they play Contempt all the time. I went up to make a speech and I said to the Dartmouth boys, 'I feel sorry for you and for your parents if that's all you learned at Dartmouth, to like Contempt.'"