Dazed and Confused

Film related to class:  This movie is what every person who did not experience the 70’s, thinks the 70’s was like.  It painted the quintessential picture of teenage life during that time period.  There were geeks and jocks, bitches, kids in between, and those about to make the transition to high school.  It covered kids worried about the government, school, their future, and most importantly, partying.  When you think of the 70’s, Vietnam may come to mind.  Instead of making a War hero movie, this is a movie of the complete opposite nature.  There are fights and conflict of teenagers but they are comedic and light hearted.  Thinking about this movie the song “Glory Days” has come to my mind, as apposed to “Fortunate Son” by Creedance.  It put a more positive look on the 70’s that every teenage can either relate to, or wish they could.

Article Summary:  This article discusses many of Richard Linklater’s evolution in the films he makes, and his motivations.  He got more into film after a heart problem forced him to stop playing baseball in college.  He began watching more and more movies until he watched an average of almost 2 a day.  He eventually stopped going to school and set goals for what he wanted to do in film.  He made a film called “Slacker” and considered entering it into some film festivals.  After things were all said and done, it was distributed internationally and made 52 times the amount of money it cost to make the film.  It also spoke of “Dazed and Confused,” and his process of making it.  He tried not to use aspiring actors and tried to get people who enjoyed acting and did not necessarily want acting to be their future.  This helped create the characters more genuinely, such as Mathew Mcconaughey and his famous catch phrase “Alright, alright, alright.”  The article also spoke of his lack of plot but how he makes it work.  That is evident in in “Dazed and Confused,” as there is a beginning and end, but not exactly a cookie cutter plot, but it works.  Many of his films involve a coming of age, “Dazed and Confused” does, it’s just that it doesn’t focus on one age group or generation; it focuses on all of them.

Article Related to film:  The article definitely gave me a deeper understanding of the director, and his motivation behind making this film.  Reading the article basically explained his style.  I still like the film as much as I did before, but now I have a deeper and fuller understanding of the film.  It made me notice the fact there wasn’t really a plot with a climax and a hero and antagonist.  I think that Linklater would be pleased with that.  I understand now that many of his films are about transitions in someone’s life.  I like how he gave a snippet of multiple generations or transitions, and what they were going through.  There are probably multiple age groups looking back and thinking, “that was me when I was in high school.”   

Critical Analysis:  I liked the film, and I loved that it covered every different social status in high school.  There were freshman, seniors, dropouts, super-seniors, anti social people, jocks, and even sibling attending school at the same time.  The movie focused on every person or group, even if just for a little bit.  I feel that this gave the most true and complete representation of what high school is like...or at least was like in 1976.  Everyone has a different image of what high school was like to him or her, and this movie covered just about every one of those.  There were main characters, but some viewers may have different opinions on who the main character was.