— Posted late with permission from Schlegel —
Boy has this been a week mates. I don’t know if anyone else feels this way but its getting worse and worse being in lockdown, I miss school and my pals. On the other hand this week class was great, duh. We had lovely presentations that were enthusiastic and reading discussions by volunteers, so thanks guys. Tallula presented on a film I’ve never seen but one hundred precent will soon, she made a compelling argument about it being a cult film. I enjoyed the homage to taxi driver in the mirror she showed us. Also Patrick spoke about Fight Club which is a fantastic film, and he reminded me I most defiantly need to watch it again and remember all its worth.
I would just like to make the point that film would be nowhere without the exploitation of drug culture. From day one films were being made about drugs, the consequences of, and the culture that came with participating in illicit activity. Like Sid and Nancy, drug culture was raunchy and enticing, the people wanted it, especially relatable audiences. As said at the start of our reading “Bruce Kawin has written of the cult film “as a deviant or radically different picture, embraced by a deviant audience.” Thought film history the perception of drugs and drug culture has drastically changed. It varied from explicit exploitation of the “consequences” of drug use like in Reefer Madness, to heady representations of the pot head midnight movie realm, factual documentaries on drug culture and production, and films that were made to be watched while high on acid like The Trip. There are an uncountable amount of movie that reference, use, and thrive off of drugs as part of the plot.
“The late 1960s and early 1970s was a period when youth countercultures with strong drug predilections were particularly marked, and which saw the emergence and/or extension of cult viewing spaces (drive-ins, grind houses, art cinemas and midnight-movie screenings), it is therefore no surprise that this was the strongest period of the cult head film. Some head films explicitly featured drugs and would use the drugged experience of characters – particularly LSD – to create an audio visual representation of the head state: films falling into this category include Easy Rider and Performance.”
Sid and Nancy was a great movie, it was saddening watch, but a great way together a glimpse of the Sex Pistols story. Now being one of the last weeks of class, readings are actually fun and much easier to grasp. Last weeks reading about music and cinema also paired well with this weeks screening (and probably every other reading too). Music is also used in many similar ways that I described above, a lot of the time they are combined. The Grateful Deads’ many series, films and documentaries speak about drugs and music and the culture that rides with it.
Just some extra goodies down here .. 🙂
4 year old me dressed as a punk rock groupie 
what was my mom thinking? lol 
me and my dogs had a goth party 
we listened to much of the music spoke about
Cult Movies 
Hey great blog this week! Fight club is a movie that I have only recently stumbled across, but is one that I cannot wait to show my kids!
Your point about film not being where it is today without drug exploitation is spot on, and we’ve seen prime examples of it now for 2 weeks straight!
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Hi Mia, good post! I like that you listed the different ways drugs can be discussed in film. I think these films are so popular because they please everyone; if you’re on drugs you’ll get another experience out of it, and if drugs aren’t your speed you can still enjoy it as a viewer. I feel like good movies to watch while high are passed around like trading cards. Nice pictures too lol
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That video of the scene comparisons is crazy! It looks so different to me. And those pictures are hilarious! Nick makes for a great goth.
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Love the pictures of you as a little girl! So funny and I think your costume was great for a little groupie lol! I also have to agree with you that the films drug culture was raunchy and enticing. So many people could relate to it that loved the band before the film or loved films that were like this. Before the readings this week I didn’t realize that there was so many films that included drugs like LSD and were even made while on the drug. I of course knew that there were these films but I did not know any of the ones mentioned which I want to watch now.
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