This is my second column for The Torch. I admit: I am nervous. The sophomore slump is an all-too-real phenomenon in which one fails to live up to the standards of their first success (for an accurate citation, please feel free to watch Grease 2, The Ring Two, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde, or any of Bring It On’s five sequels). I tremble to think that my column and I shall keel over because of this plot-less, script-less fact of life.
When I think about the horrific possibilities, though, I comfort myself; sometimes sequels are just as good, if not better, than their originals. To name a few instances of success: The Harry Potter Series, The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, Toy Story 2 & 3, and, my personal favorite, The Godfather Part II. When I Googled “good movie sequels” someone even mentioned Babe: Pig In The City. I’ve never seen it, but I must say that it too sounds promising.
I think that we can all find a way to overcome the formidable sophomore slump, which is not specific to works of literature or cinematography. The sophomore slump can also refer to a sophomore in college (watch out s.13s), a second-year athlete, a singer or band’s second album, or a student’s second semester of the school year.
To get over the sophomore slump, I give you this advice: forget about what is expected. It is hard, I know. It may do you well to realize that sometimes, if you let go of expectations, you find that you’ve succeeded further than expected. J.R.R. Tolkien and I talk about this fact over our bi-weekly chai latte date.
I’m not saying that this would have necessarily worked for Bring It On (some things simply cannot be mended), but that doesn’t mean that it won’t work for you.
And if all else fails, do not fret. Those of us who do end up falling at the hand of an unamused audience must suppress the urge to kick our belittlers in the shins and run away laughing. Instead, we must keep our heads up. We can find comfort in the words of Winston Churchill: “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
So there you have it; that is all that I’ve got. Good luck, and let me know how it goes for you— Let me know how it goes for me.
(Megan Conkle / s14.mconkle@wittenberg.edu)
For the record, Babe: Pig in the City was a terrible sequel. Also, my father really wanted to see it, so he got it for my sister for Christmas. (He loved the original Babe; he grew up a farmer.) Also, I still have very strange and unsettling dreams revolving around Babe: Pig in the City. They leave me very exhausted. That was all true, seriously.
Jurassic Park: The Lost World. People may arguer that this sequel is horrendously unfaithful to the book, but they have probably not read it, and they would be correct. They may argue that it lacks in the wonder and charm that the first Jurassic Park movie portrayed to an amazed audience at the threshold of a new technology: digitally created characters. They may argue that the plot is convoluted and wholly unbelievable. But I offer a counterpoint… actually, I’m not sure why I love this movie so much, other than the thrill I get when I see dinosaurs wreak havoc and throw trailers off cliffs. That is all.
Good article Megan, I was particularly amused that you admitted to having bi-weekly chai latte dates with Tolkien, whom I thought asked you to keep your rendezvous a secret.
Let me correct my grammar in the final sentence. “Whom” should be “who,” sorry.