This weeks screening Dazed and Confused written and directed by Richard Linklater, was a classic hit! The first time I wached this film about three years ago, I don’t think I appreciated it for all of its worth. I watched it twice this week (trying to get the most out of my rental lol) and realized it was an extremely relatable, quotable, and iconic. This movie didn’t romanticize adolescent years nor did it fall under being a cliche of the 1970s. Dazed and Confused relies on dozens of main characters that progress with dialogue and character engagement. It sums up high school well, the seniors bullying underclassmen but also encouraging them drunk and have a good time together, floating through different types of groups, smoking pot for the first time, relationships, and the wonderful power of music. Dazed and Confused was easily the breakout role for multiple actors in the film.

The initial box office value was poor, they had a budget of almost 7 million and only reigned in 8 million. Thank god for blockbuster and DVDs though, this is where the movie exploded and instantly became a cult classic. Viewers were definalty disappointed in their initial viewing, they expected a movie that was reminicint of the “good ol’ days” in their youth in the seventies. This movie focused on nostalgia from all perspectives of youth. Our reading states how “these films (Detroit Rock City and Dazed and Confused) not only do not use disco as a source of nostalgia, they actively reject it. In so doing, these two films are further set apart from the pack by being nostalgic from the outsider’s perspective” and “that males are apt to be more nostalgic than women, and that adolescence is the predominant focus of their nostalgic fantasies.”