There has always been a Santa Clause. (Class of 2016, #53)

Pulp Fiction’s meal of a “Royale with Cheese” and an “Amos and Andy milkshake” has little or no resonance with them. (Class of 2016, #69)

The Santa Clause is a children’s movie in which Santa Clause dies(!) and is replaced by Tim Allen. It was released in 1994, around the time the Class of 2016 was born.

Pulp Fiction is an influential crime movie directed by Quentin Tarantino. It won the Palme d’Or at the Canne Film Festival and was nominated for seven Oscars. It also was released in 1994.

Given the proclivities of the Beloit Mindlist you might expect that “Tim Allen has always been Santa Claus” and “John Travolta has always been Vincent Vega and never been Tony Manero.” Instead, the Mindlist List suggests that the Class of 2016 has never heard of Pulp Fiction (since it came out when they were babies) but that The Santa Clause is part of their “mindset” (because it came out after they were born).

In fact, most of our college students have watched Pulp Fiction and many say it’s their favorite movie. The ability to watch movies that aren’t currently being shown in a theater is part of the mindset of college students but not the Mindset List staff. Not much thought is needed to reach the conclusion that Pulp Fiction may be more appealing to college students than a children’s film starring Tim Allen.