This study sought a better understanding of faculty culture and was designed to allow faculty to describe their own cultural experience through a series of structured interviews. Fifty faculty members at three universities were asked to voice their beliefs about faculty culture, particularly in regard to faculty stratification (perception of power). Data from the faculty interviews, which were conducted in the summer of 1996, were then compared with perceptions of faculty as expressed in popular media (films, novels, and news media). The media messages of exaggeration and embellishment were found to be combined with elements of truth. The popular media messages showed faculty as aloof, lacking common sense, unproductive, and often abusive of their positions. Faculty generally described themselves as underappreciated by administrators and students; isolated from the public; "keepers" of knowledge in a vaporous society; and the primary reason students attend college. The general findings of the study validate previous work and suggest that power is related to tenure status and rank. Two tables list films and novels reviewed for the research. (JLS)