House of Cards
This one—from the U.S. version of the show about the seamy side of politics—pretty much speaks for itself.
Thanks to Brett Wean '95 for the catch.
HairBrained
An oddball comedy in the Napoleon Dynamite vein of a teenage genius at college. He ends up joining the collegiate "Mastermind" team—intercollegiate competitive trivia, essentially—and is pursued by a girl who wants his "genius babies." Nice establishing shot of Vassar, at least.
Reaching for the Moon
A biopic of poet and author Elizabeth Bishop '34, who traveled widely, but extended a two-week stay in Brazil to fifteen years, beginning in 1951, in part to her relationship with Maria Carlota Costallat de Macedo Soares.
The Newsroom
This is a confluence of Vassar tropes, in Aaron Sorkin's pre-Trump, rather preachy show about a cable news network. The character played by actual Vassar graduate Grace Gummer '08 (who is also the daughter of Meryl Streep '71) went to Vassar and is a bit insufferable about it as you'll see in these three scenes. Where we begin, she's been kicked off the 2012 Romney campaign's media bus for demanding answers; later she's writing the story based on her interview with Romney; and then she's making up (and out) with the male lead.
The Happy Sad
Indie melodrama with a hacky Vassar-is-full-of-lesbians joke.
Suburgatory
Here's a fairly standard sitcom reference, just putting forward Vassar as a metonym for a good college. Which I suppose it is since I know what a metonym is.
Silicon Valley (2 episodes)
Mike Judge's satire of the tech development/venture-capital world offers a wide taxonomy of geeks; this scene nails the interaction of two particular phyla. Many years later in the series finale, Jared reveals his college minor.
Thanks to the Mads Vassar blog for noting this.
There's also this fabulousbio of the character on the (fictional) website of the site they're launching on the show. Whoever came up with the name of the Vassar a cappella group...genius.
The Blacklist (2 episodes)
Another "Vassar cracks the case," here our heroes get the tip that leads them to realize the person they're chasing, known as the Judge, who runs an underground operation dispensing "eye for an eye" justice on officials who have wrongly convicted people, is a Vassar grad. The reference in the later episode finds the antihero needling his antagonist with the story of his first STD.
Thanks to Sara Falkove '96 and Brian Farkas '10 for the tips.
Unforgettable
Twice-canceled police procedural about a woman with a perfect memory who helps the cops. I'm not even bothering watching—episode description reads that her "high school reunion is suddenly cut short when an alum shows up dead. Carrie has to remember back 22 years to understand the events that led to this crime" and the clip is a standard police procedural character point for cops reviewing suspects.
Rogue
A Canadian detective drama where, if I'm following correctly, the object of the search—a former undercover operative—has stolen a bunch of money and has fled to Vancouver. As one does.
John Leguizamo—who in real life is a Vassar parent—co-wrote and starred in this film about an unattractive man rejected by women who finds his way, in an early scene, to love at Vassar.
Set Fire to the Stars
This British movie, about Dylan Thomas, centers on John Brinnin (who,if this is to be believed, bears some complicity in Thomas's early death). This opening scene over the credits has Brinnin discussing his plans to bring Thomas for an American tour, and one of the panelists notes where he met John. For the first time in more than 200 clips, one of Vassar's publications is mentioned.
Jersey Boys
The story of the Four Seasons, this scene has a rather odd Vassar joke, clearly meant as a gay slur but I have to confess I don't get it.
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