A nurse during World War II, Jenny Fields (Glenn Close) conceives with a dying pilot and bears a boy named T.S. Garp (Robin Williams) whom she raises alone. When Garp grows up, he has some success writing fiction, but not nearly so much as his mother has with feminist-themed nonfiction. Rich and famous, she starts a center for troubled women, and while Garp marries and has children, he remains a constant, if somewhat critical, observer of the strange community that forms around Jenny. Based on the best-selling book by John Irving, The World According to Garp is a terrific adaptation that received two Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Glenn Close) and Best Supporting Actor (John Lithgow).

After the film, there will be a discussion led by George McGowan, a 2012 graduate of Rollins College Master of Liberal Studies program, who just happened to write his master’s program entrance essay on The World According to Garp. He also writes a monthly pop culture column for The Park Press. All of that is in his “spare” time since he is the Director of Audit at the City of Orlando and a husband to Janna and father to three kids in college. At this event, George hopes to initiate a conversation about how a movie can deliver upon the promise of a very good novel and even enhance one’s understanding of the novel’s themes.