Starving the Beast opens with James Carville, a well-known Democratic strategist, standing behind a microphone at Louisiana State University.
"They say," he tells the crowd, "education is a commodity."
By "they," Carville means the reformers -- an assortment of politicians, think-tank leaders and university administrators -- who believe that colleges should operate like businesses. That like any other good or service, a college education has a price. "It's a barrel of oil, it's an ounce of gold, it's a stock," he says. "It's anything."
The documentary, directed by Steve Mims, premiered this weekend at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Tex. Clocking in at 95 minutes, it explores the decline of state funding and the philosophical divide that’s caused it: What kind of a good is higher education? What should taxpayers be expected to support?
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/03/22/starving-beast-examines-ideological-shifts-funding-higher-education