Rushmore: If I was Set Designer

I read the screenplay for Wes Anderson’s film Rushmore and imagined what I’d do if I was the set designer. There are several locations in the story, and a few caught my interest. In Max Fisher’s prestigious prep school Rushmore, there is his classroom, Miss Cross’s classroom, and the auditorium with the stage. There is also Max’s father’s salon and the public school’s classroom where Max ends up after getting expelled.

Rushmore is a very high-status school, and the students who attend it must have quite a bit of money. It is also like a dream for Max to be there. I see the walls being pale yellow and the wood is a golden brown. The lighting is warm, and the overall feel of the area is that it is golden. For Max’s class, the curriculum is structured, so although there are a lot of posters and papers pinned on the wall, the colors are all uniform, perhaps red or navy blue – it sort of mirrors his stiff personality. Miss Cross’s room is more colorful because she teaches younger children and has a brighter personality that does Max: more posters, more colors, colorful mats, and bean bag chairs. She is a little strange in that she reads rather advanced books to her second-grade students, so there are posters of world leaders and quotes from authors like Charles Dickens and philosophers like Thoreou. The auditorium is very big and the ceiling is very high. The curtains and chairs are red.


Mr. Fisher’s salon is small, cramped, and messy. There are three chairs but the atmosphere is comfortable. It’s very different from the clean magnificence of Rushmore, so it can be apparent why Max’s dad’s profession may embarrass him. As for the public school, it doesn’t have the golden glow that Rushmore does since it’s not so prestigious. The walls are gray, the chalkboard is dirty, the desks are old, and the posters and papers on the walls are askew and not cohesive in color.

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