Posted late with permission from the professor

The screening this week is known for its nostalgia, made in the 90s it yearns and reflects on the Stoney daze of the 70s … This film makes me personally nostalgic because when I first watched it I was a stoney high schooler who absolutely loved it. I believe I was in 10th grade so, like 15, it was one of my favorite films for the longest time, so revisiting it made me long for those days, especially in the midst of today’s doom and gloom.   The story is a classic high school story, last day of classes, everyone’s freaking out, rebelling, smoking pot and getting drunk. We’ve seen a lot of high school films, for example, The Breakfast Club, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, yet Dazed And Confused stands out amongst these, it takes us back to the past and the characters carry the film. The film takes course over a day which not much happens besides the usual boring teen banter, but the characters come to life so well, you can’t help but want to join in on the antics with them. In the reading Outsider Nostalgia In Dazed and Confused, the author goes in-depth about these types of films and the culture around them. In the 90s a wave of 70s nostalgia came crashing in film, the author mentions films like Boogie Nights and A Night At The Roxbury. But unlike many of these films Dazed and Confused and Detroit Rock city didn’t follow the disco groovin theme of many of these films, instead, it trailed into its own, a moving rock and roll themed film, both finding their titles named after rock songs, this is what makes them outsider films of their era. Side note one of my favorite movies of this “rock” genre so to say is This Is Spinal Tap (1984) which follows a rock band in a mockumentary style film. It is certainly a cult film which I recommend to people who enjoyed our screening this week, a super funny take on the hairbands of the 80s.

But anyway, back to the reading, I found it extremely interesting the way the author analyzes these films. They truly are outsider films and before I had read this I hadn’t thought about it that way. They have pieces of exploitation films through implied sex and violence but never commit to really delving into that or a coming of age film but it doesn’t have necessarily look at the teens NOW at the moment rather it looks back which many coming of age films didn’t at the time. Dazed And Confused truly is different than many of the films that came before it and I think that is why it is such a loved film, not to mention the amazing character performances by Matthew McConaughey and one of my personal favs Milla Jovovich, 

      like come on, what a queen.

The screening this week was great, and to add to all of the praise the director Richard Linklater has directed some of my favorite films such as The Before Trilogy and Boyhood. They differ very much from the film we watched this week but 100% is worth the watch, especially the Before trilogy which is one of my favorite trilogies that I’ve seen. Such quiet and tender films. (images from below are from these)

 

 

The Misfits of Nostalgia

"A sociology of nostalgia…is concerned with tracking down the sources of nostalgic experience in group life [...] commodified nostalgia involves the revival by the culture industry of certain fashions and styles of a particular
past era"

This week’s nostalgic screening, Dazed and Confused, was by far my favorite of the films we’ve watched in class and is probably now one of my favorite movies of all time. Everything about this movie is iconic – the clothing, the hairstyles, the language, the whole youthful and carefree atmosphere that surrounds these teenagers as they navigate life in the late 1970s. Davis defines nostalgia as an experience of group life which involves a revival of culture, and I think that Dazed and Confused is the embodiment of this concept. For me, the beauty of this film lies in its ability to somehow make me nostalgic for a time that I’ve never even know, by recreating this not-so-distant culture and presenting it in a way that allows me to fully engage with its ideas and values – by presenting it as a shared experience.

"… a new kind of engagement with the past, a relationship based fundamentally on its cultural mediation and textual reconfiguration in the present."

The funniest thing about the nostalgic feelings you get from this film is the fact that they’re evoked by watching a group of teenagers do a whole lot of nothing. Most of the film shows these different groups driving around, talking, getting into trouble in a way that is almost mundane and expected from the time period. It reminds you of what it’s like to be a highschooler, with no cares and nothing better to do than wasting your time goofing off with your friends. It feels like almost every scene in the film evokes some sort of connection, from driving around aimlessly with friends to the hell you have to go through in order to find your place in the social hierarchy. No one likes hazing, but we like the idea of it – we all feel that universal need to fit in, and I think that this movie really plays on that desire as we watch Mitch navigating the transition between junior high and high school. We’re presented with characters that are easy to connect with because of the fact that we can see ourselves reflected in them, and its through these connections we make that we’re able to get a sense of this time and its culture, and to really feel those feelings of nostalgia that these films are designed to create.

One final thing that I feel I have to address: the soundtrack. Holy shit. It’s the first thing to draw you in and it honestly never disappoints, continually driving the plot forward and supporting it in ways you didn’t even know it needed. In some ways, the music is one of the strongest aspects of this film – it’s sort of the background music that sets the tone for the whole film, and is really vital in conveying those nostalgic undertones that are meant to evoke a positive response from viewers.

Overall, I’d say that this film is alright alright alright. 😏

ps, one of the most relatable moments in all of cinematic history:

So this week’s screening was of Dazed and Confused, which I ended up liking because of how funny and interesting the film was. When I read the plot of the film on IMDB, it reminded me of another film that came out a few years ago and was also set on the last day of school and the beginning of summer. I will speak of that movie later on, but I want to mention how much I loved the soundtrack of this film. It was great, I don’t think it was the best soundtrack, but it is in my top ten list for favorite film soundtracks. 

So I want to first talk about the reading that stuck out to me the most and that was “Cultivating the Cult Experience at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema” and that is because it is a movie theater that I have always wanted to go to. I have heard so many things about the Drafthouse and how it is different from cinemas. When I was traveling out west last summer, I drove past a few Drafthouses and wanted to stop and just watch a movie and say that I have been to a Alamo Drafthouse. But sadly I couldn’t because I had to make it to my destination by a certain date. I have looked for an Alamo Drafthouse near me, but the nearest one is 5 hours and 34 minutes away from me. I would love to even go to one of their events that they put on. 

Now let me talk about the film that Dazed and Confused reminds me of. The film that I am talking about is the 2013 film Grown Ups 2. The major way that I see that the two films are similar is that both films take place on the last day of school and at the beginning of summer vacation. Both films take place within one day, while Grown Ups 2 doesn’t go into the next day. Both films feature party at the end of the film and also characters doing stupid stuff during the course of the film. Also both films have high schoolers becoming seniors and also features middle schoolers entering high school. I kind of knew how Dazed and Confused was going to end because of the way Grown Ups 2 ended, even though the endings aren’t similar, they both feature the characters ending up happy by the end of a crazy day. I also knew that Mike was going to get beaten up by the one guy because Grown Ups 2 features a fight and an almost fight as well. There are a few more similarities that I cannot think of at the top of my head right now between these two films, and that is because I haven’t watched Grown Ups 2 in a few years.

So to end this, I want to mention a few things that wouldn’t have made sense anywhere else. The actor that played Mike, Adam Goldberg, was in a few episodes of Friends where he was Chandler’s crazy roommate, Eddie, who moved in after Joey moved out. Next I want to mention how many great memes emerged out of this film just from Matthew McConaughey alone. Now finally, I was curious as to if Matthew McConaughey says “alright” in every one of his films and I found a great video that tallies it all up and I was surprised by the final total. I now think that it is in his contract that he has to say “alright” in every film that he is in.

In 1993, Dazed and Confused was released. It grossed just over $918 000 its opening weekend. Within a month of being released, Dazed and Confused was stripped from theaters, and had grossed less than half of its budget. Yet, somehow, Dazed and Confused became an inconic, nostalgic teenage cult classic.

Although Dazed and Confused saw the breakthrough performance of Matthew McConaughey, the real star of the movie was the soundtrack. 1976 was an important year for music and, to have a film set in that same year, it was crucial for the soundtrack to be bitchin’. The film starts off on a strong note, with Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” and ends off with Foghat’s “Slow Ride”. Apparently, one-sixth of the $6.8 million budget was spent on licensing the songs on the soundtrack, “Sweet Emotion” costing them $23 000. Rumor has it that director Richard Linklater made mixtapes for each cast member composed of songs that he felt their character would like.

In its slow and easy plot, Dazed and Confused focuses more on the feeling and nostalgia of its setting, than anything else. It exploits what everyone misses from their time in high-school, the ability to be completely aimless at no consequence. In fact, the most iconic lines of the film are delivered when the characters aren’t doing much, driving around and smoking joints. Everyone longs to be at the stage in high-school again where you can do literally nothing. Dazed and Confused gives everyone two hours to relive that feeling, and throws in David Wooderson as a reminder that no, you don’t want to be there forever.

For me, the best way to understand what this film meant to the generation that was in high-school in the ’70s, was to find an actual review of an audience member who had lived it all in real time, and then watched this film years later. I did just that, and found a quote from a random audience member:

The summer of 1976 I was going to be a junior in high school, I drove a 1967 Mustang, And worked at the local burger joint hangout. I experienced a summer of cruising the “Gut”, meeting new friends, Partying, and we had the best era of rock n roll ever! This movie is like reliving that time in my life, it’s as if watching a home video recorded in 1976. This is the best movie to watch if you want to know what life was like for high school teenagers going  into that first day of summer! Plus, an all star cast before they were stars! Can’t beat it! 

Michael Guinn

The thing that struck my interest the most this week, was reading about the nostalgia that dominated certain generations. For me, it was especially interesting to learn that the ‘70s and ‘80s (mostly ‘70s) had been plagued with a nostalgia of the ’50s. I had always wondered why some films and television shows, especially Twin Peaks (1990) had characters that looked like they had been plucked out of different eras. It now totally makes sense to me that the elements from the different eras that I was picking up in those films and television shows were because of the nostalgia of that generation.

One of our readings this week, “Outsider Nostalgia in Dazed and Confused and Detroit Rock City” describes this same phenomenon in the ’90s. “During the 1990s, American popular media evidenced a wave of nostalgia for the decade of the 1970s.” It’s interesting that this film was born from the nostalgia of a generation.

Lastly, shoutout to the homies Mary and Mia for some kick-ass presentations! Megan Fox hot!

Not gonna lie I’ve been pretty dazed and confused this week as Dazed and Confused (1993) was this weeks cult classic. This movie follows multiple groups of high schoolers going through their last day of school. This movie covers just about every American high school stereotype from the mean jocks and stupid stoners to cool cars and party’s. This may have been the peak of the 70’s nostalgia wave of the 90’s. And now being in a time to look back on that era the film feels like a longer episode of that 70’s show. Not to say that’s a bad thing as both capture an era by its favorite memories but that they have a similar call back to school in the 70’s.

This was my first viewing of Dazed and Confused (1993). I’ve always been aware of it as I’ve seen a lot of comedies and stoner comedies like this one. Stoner comedies are not your average movie or even average comedy. Their all different and extremely weird usually trying to make the dumbest bit possible. Though this was full of little weed jokes I wouldn’t be able to call this one of the better of its genre as going into this I was expecting a lot more or maybe less. The film is incredibly smart with how it’s characters, music and cinematography to make the movie more enjoyable and relatable but lacks in comedic bravery. Yeah the stoners where dumb and they smoked a lot but I feel that other films pushed the comedic nature of the genre more.

Don’t discredit this movie as it, may not be the funniest, it’s cultural significance and cult fan base is something that shouldn’t be forgotten. After flopping in the box office this movie became a huge hit on vhs as it was favorite for teens and 70’s kids reliving the glory days. As it is filled with everyone’s favorite rock bands like Aerosmith, ZZ Top and the Steve Miller band. With the soundtrack costing nearly 1/6th of the budget it would be the star of the film. And not to mention the endless amount of films best quotable one liners featuring…

“Alright, alright, alright!” — Wooderson

“It’d be a lot cooler if you did.” — Wooderson

“You cool, man?” — Slater

“Wipe that face off your head, b*tch!” — Darla

“George Washington was in a cult, and that cult was into aliens, man.” — Slater

“I only came here to do two things, kick some ass, and drink some beer. Looks like we’re almost outta beer.” — Clint

“You gotta keep on livin’… L-I-V-I-N.” — Wooderson

This week was also closed out by two ballin presentations from Mary and Mia about their favorite cult films Jennifer’s Body (2009) and The Shining (1980). Both featured some really cool and interesting videos about the films. I really like The Shining as I think it’s one of the best movies ever made and was happy to see Mia present on it who I could tell was a big fan. I haven’t seen Jennifer’s Body but hearing about its true story significance is love to watch and revisit my elementary school crush Megan Fox.

This week we started off with the screening Dazed and Confused, which I am sure why everyone in the class can see it is a cult classic. I hadn’t seen Dazed and Confused since high school so I was very excited to watch it this week. From the great acting, to the amazing soundtrack there is no way nobody could not love this film and not relate back to it in some way shape or form if you are comparing back to high school. There is no way you can’t watch without laughing or having a smile on your face. Going along with why I think everyone can relate, it seems like a film that can just bring nostalgia to anyone. I remember being stupid in high school, may be not as stupid as the actors in the film but I just remember having good fun with friends like everyone can relate too. I personally thought the acting was amazing in this film. This was one of Matthew McConaughey’s first breakout roles, and let me tell you did he really help himself out by putting his name out there for taking this role. Also, does he not age like fine wine, but that’s just my opinion of course. Overall all the acting and great soundtrack really helped me love this film.

I next want to talk about my favorite reading this week which was on the Alamo Drafthouse. I had no idea what this was until this week. I never knew that a place like this existed and now I really want to go to one of them. One person said in the reading that they liked the Drafthouse so much because of how different it was compared to other theaters where you could view films. You don’t find movie theaters doing dinner and drinks while showing a movie. While reading this I almost related it to a drive-in theater but classier in a sense. I see why so many people chose to go here instead of your typical theater, and because they were different shows. I also liked how it talked about the Roadshows which I would have loved to attend. They talked about the first one ever which was Jaws and people were swimming under the water grabbing people’s legs. You would never find a place doing something like that now and I think that is why the Drafthouse got such a cult following and stood out from competition. Finally I want to conclude with the video of the review of the Drafthouse Professor Schlegel showed us. I found it to be very funny and if the woman would’ve done her research before going she would have realized it wasn’t her place to be.

We ended the week with two fabulous presentations again. I think everyone has presented great films. This week we had The Shining presented first, which was very odd to me because I had just watched the film days before this. I can’t seem to help myself but watch it when I see it on TV. Even if you don’t like scary movies, it is almost more creepy and disturbing in my opinion than scary. It is definitely a cult classic and should be watched by everyone. The second film that was presented was Jennifers Body which I had never seen before but now I want to watch very badly. I have definitely seen people talk about this movie after looking at clips from the film, and I could see why people love it so much.

This weeks screening was “Dazed and Confused.” I was absolutely head-over heals for this movie. The hardest thing I must grapple with on this movie, is the fact that this was only my first time seeing it. I am so disappointed in myself for never seeing this auspicious piece of media.

Every movie I watch, I always gravitate to the cars being used in it. most films that we’ve seen this semester, the cars were basically a necessity of transportation, and were not highlighted much.

For this film however, the cars were always front and center, and we even catch glimpses of Mathew McConaughey’s character describing his cars engine and being really excited about its capabilities.

In order to avoid just rambling on about the “Judge” or the only Chevrolet truck I’ve ever wanted to own, I will just say that I was in love with all of them, and how they were juxtaposed beautifully in this film; (yes I know its an art word, and feel free to correct me if it’s the wrong usage, but it felt right.)

As for the movie itself, and the workings of the scenes, I loved every frame. All I could do was dream that I was in high school during this period. I would give anything to ride around in these cars, go to parties like these in the woods, and listen to the glorious music that accompanied such scenes. The soundtrack was amazing, and magnificently elevated each scene with familiar songs that anyone can sing along to.

The presentations this week were nothing short of awesome once again. I have seen glimpses of the shinning only by accident, but I had never heard of “Jennifer’s Body.” Images of both films, as the presenters talked about; are very famous, and worth noting. The first image that I wish to talk about, is from “The Shinning.” Mountain Dew partnered with Brain Cranston to create an add creepy enough to smolder into my brain whenever I see mountain dew. I am sure all of you have seen it, and I am pretty positive that it was talked about this week during the presentation. Nevertheless, IT IS CREPPY and I cannot bring myself to drink mountain dew because of it. I just hope that for their marketing team’s sake, more people found it humorously creepy instead of deter-inly creepy.

The “Jennifer’s Body” meme of a doll re-creating a scene in the movie where Meghan Fox is burning her tongue with a lighter while talking on the phone. My one question for that scene was “who the heck was she talking to?” That scene is captured with just a single picture; provides endless possibilities for memes both comedic and cringy. This aspect really makes me happy, because people can engage with a film, yet they have not seen it. Eventually they might come to the conclusion that they want to know more about the girl who burns her tongue while talking on the phone. But even if they don’t, they will still be affected by this work of Cult cinema, whether they like it or not! (They should like it though, just saying)

Shout out- Big thanks to Mary who talked about Jenifers Body, which was extremely compelling to hear about. Also thanks everyone for tuning in for my presentation, I am obviously obsessed with the film, even if I came off nervous and jittery.

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The movie passes with such ease; the plot is simple, obviously relatable, and the score and diaolauge are engaging. Featuring slang we all for a fact still use, songs we could sing in our sleep, and outfits all us youth are repeating in style today. Their outfits are to die for the entire time, especially Dons overalls, Jodis jumpsuit, and Pinks big ass white flares. They chose a pretty hot cast as well, exploding Ben Afflak and Matthew McConaugheys career. In my opinion the cinematography was average, that wasn’t what mad the movie special, it was the viscerally embedded nostalgia. We could all point out at least one scene in the film and say “been their done that.”

This article rates the charters on their coolness, it gave me a chuckle, y’all shouldgive it a scan! https://www.wired.com/2016/04/every-dazed-confused-character-ranked-coolness/

BY SARAH BATY

I have seen Dazed and Confused more times than I can count, it just a classic, I love it it is so so so damn good. I am quarantined with friends so I have been making them watch the films with me and when we watched this they were like “wow that was actually a normal movie it was really good.” The term “normal” I found to be really funny as if Suspiria and Valerie were some kind of movies made by aliens and not humans but I understood what they meant. These movies aren’t for everyone and that’s okay! Maybe I should show them Pink Flamingos tho…. I am just scared they’ll never let me pick a movie ever again if i show them that honestly!

Something that wasn’t super discussed was Matthew McConaughey’s role that became iconic with witty one-liners like the epic “alright alright alright” and the well known statement of how he gets older but high school girls stay the same age. The role for McConaughey happened by chance as he met the casting director for the show at a bar. I love McConaughey and if y’all are interested here is an article on him and this role!

https://www.biography.com/news/matthew-mcconaughey-dazed-and-confused

Moving onto the readings for this week I found my reading to be really interesting. The Pleasures and Perils of Exploitation Films by Pam Cook she discusses women in low-budget exploitation films and tries to solve the question of why it is so hard for women to bust out from exploitation films and into mainstream. Another question posed is if exploitation film-making “does in fact operate as a successful ‘training ground’ for women, as it does for male directors.” Some were afraid that they were going to be categorized as exploitation film directors; therefore, never being able to bust out into mainstream. Trying to dive into mainstream doesn’t work in any genre because the problem is visibility. Women work all across the board in a variety of genres and still don’t get the same visibility as their male counterparts. Those women are “singled out for the status of auteur are generally those who are perceived to take risks with form and subject matter, and who are therefore regarded as swashbuckling adventurers in the mould of male auteurs.” She refers to the auteur, whether male or female, is a maverick figure, a hero battling to overcome the monsters of the system. It is asked why many women chose to work outside of the mainstream and it’s because they obtain more control over the film-making process and are “in a better position to forge new images that would depict women as active participants in history and society without using them for erotic display.” By being outside the mainstream women directors are able to rewrite common stereotypes and portray women in more powerful assertive roles. This is what Stephanie Rothman’s work was known for this. Her films could be seen as a prime example of “feminist subversion from within, using the generic formulate of exploitation cinema in the interest of her own agenda as a woman director.” She rewrote women in cinema as powerful and assertive who took charge of their own sexuality. For example in one of her movies there was a graphic abortion sequence, drug induced fantasy sequence, and women having casual sex. Rothman never made it into mainstream production and that’s what circles back to Cook’s question of whether exploitation films are just a training ground for both men and women.

Every week feels different, the walls are closing in. I have become someone else; I no longer recognize the face that stares back at me in the mirror. On another note, Dazed and Confused! Man, what a feel-good movie! It really lets you sit back, forget about the worsening state of this pandemic, and enjoy the ride. This movie is a must-see for everyone, even if you didn’t actually live through the 70’s you can still relate to that last-day of the school year thrill. It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like Dazed and Confused, it has an uncomplicated plot, a soundtrack that begs to be sung along to, and it shows how far teens will go to have a good time. The movie takes place over the course of the last day of the school year as rising seniors await their reign as the oldest kids in school and incoming freshmen prepare for the perils of high school. As the seniors haze the freshmen, word spreads about a party later at Pickford’s and word spreads again when said party is cancelled by his ‘rents. The rest of the night is divided between the movements of classic high school cliques, until they all meet up at the relocated party spot, the moon tower, for a field party. But the film isn’t as black-and-white as a search for the next party, the characters are faced with troubles related to their own individual identities and understanding their place in the world. Chances are, you can match someone you know to every character in the movie.

At the beginning of the course, looking through the syllabus, this movie in particular made me think, “really? This is a cult film?”. At the time the only element of cult films I knew was transgression. So, now, nearing the end of the course, it so clear to me why this is a cult film. To start, this is a film that needs to be watched with other people; my first time watching it was during a movie night with my pals. Now I understand that might not be possible during our current situation, but if you do watch it alone you will always find company in nostalgia.  Nostalgia, music to my ears, who doesn’t love it? That sometimes-warm-sometimes-cringe-inducing feeling you get from an object, place, or, in this case, time period. The reading “Outsider Nostalgia in Dazed and Confused and Detroit Rock City” gave an in-depth analysis of how both films utilized nostalgia to recreate the cultural atmosphere of the 70’s. One point it makes is that although both films do rely heavily on nostalgia, they don’t exactly focus on the popular culture of the 70’s. Instead of focusing on what can be assumed as the holy grail of 70’s nostalgia that is disco, these films focus on the heavy metal sub-culture. While it would seem that this would end in a failure to bank in on the fond memories of the past, the creation of the film paid attention to the smallest of details to ensure that it truly was a blast from the past. This love is quite apparent in the success of Dazed and Confused. One point that I found interesting in the reading was the idea of collective nostalgia. Instead of telling the story from the view of one single character, the film features a multitude of sub-stories within the overall plot, “The cinematography, with the exception of one shot, is solidly in third-person observer mode.” By telling the story of a group, viewers are able to relate to many people at once, rather than being limited to the views of one character (creating an opportunity to reach a wider range of audiences).