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Dark academia is the unofficial term for a genre of fiction with stories that revolve around an academic campus. In literature, it’s recognized with the title campus or academic novel. Film has no term for it yet. Dark academia works contain elements of satire, tragedy, and philosophy. They tend to promote humanities and liberal arts as passions for their protagonists to pursue. Since dark academia centers around an academic environment with young adults, most of the stories are coming-of-age. Dark academia criticizes static social attitudes by encouraging new and unique social perspectives represented with its protagonists. Simultaneously, the genre emphasizes how students never truly get prepared for the turbulent reality they face outside their campus, despite a school’s claims to do so.
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