Educational Media Reviews Online

This documentary provides a provocative look at the hook up culture on college campuses. The Spitting Game relies on the personal narratives of college-age persons as they relate their experience with and knowledge of the hook up culture on their college campus. “Hooking up” is defined by the college students as including everything from casual dating to sexual intercourse. Various issues such as binge drinking: “3.8 million college-age students are involved in binge drinking,” drunken sex, sexually transmitted diseases, role of fraternities in the “hook up” culture (and to some degree, sexual assault), consent, and sexual assault are addressed by the directors of the film. Comments by those interviewed are either refuted or supported by statistical information regarding the various issues. Further, the film explores the issue of sex role and gender through the college hook up culture by asking the following question: “Does the “hook up” culture provide a new and liberating set of sexual rules, or does it reinforce traditional sex roles?” While there does not appear to be a clear consensus either way by those who were interviewed, one of the national speakers addressed that the “hook up” culture from a different perspective—self-esteem or self-image—by indicating that “people with a high, or strong self-image or self-esteem” do not act out sexually.” This idea was seemingly supported by one of the college students who stated that, “There’s a lot more to do on college campuses than to get messed up.”

Others, however, indicated that today’s college students are part of a greater sexualized society, so the college “hook up” culture is reflective more or less on the norm of sexual behavior of the greater society. Another college student stated that, “Sex is like a drug in college.” The documentary concludes with the following statistic: “159,000 of today’s first-year college students will drop out of school next year for alcohol or other drug-related reasons.”

The film’s directors place a major emphasis on the role alcohol plays in both the “hook up” culture and sexual assault on college campuses, but do not address, as much, the effects (or role) of other factors that may attribute to the culture. Some issues such as self-esteem, other recreational drugs, and rape are only touched on as passing comments without much further discussion.

The experts interviewed include two national speakers, a psychology professor, and a lawyer. However, the credentials of the national speakers are not provided other than one who speaks on issues related to college students and alcohol use and the other who speaks on the role that sex plays in relationships. The last slide of the film provides the toll free number for the National Rape Hotline. This film includes both censored and uncensored version. There is also a full-length (65 minutes) and abridged (35 minutes) version of the film. This film would be most beneficial for courses in gender studies and in public health.