Dazed and Confused
Dazed and ConfusedDazed and Confused. To anyone who grew up in the Seventies- myself not included- the words are guaranteed to strike a chord, not only of heavy metal guitar feedback, but of sweet nostalgia for those carefree days of innocence, exuberance, and wonder. Well, not really.
What that old Led Zeppelin number brings to mind, with its slow, grinding rhythm punctuated by head-banging howls of rage, is the darker side of adolescence; the boredom, the frustration, the zonked-out quest for meaning that marks our transformation into mature and responsible members of society. Time dulls the pain, or at least puts it into perspective, and it is only when you hear the right record, bump into the right schoolmate, or see the right movie, that it all comes flashing back. Dazed and Confused is the right movie.
As for atmosphere, it is dead on. Dazed and Confused captures 1976 brilliantly, from the bell bottoms and feathered hair to the soundtrack of early hard rock classics to a pair of statues painted to look like members of KISS. The drug and alcohol use is matter-of-fact. The production design had to be perfect, and it is. Anyone who can't quite recall a time when sex was safe and far fewer kids "just said no" should take a look just for the sake of historical accuracy.
It is directed by Richard Linklater and stars a cast of complete unknowns. This 1993 sleeper leads us through a day in the life of a loosely-aligned group of seniors and freshmen at a high school in suburban Texas. What happens?
It's 1976, school's out for the summer, and kids in pickup trucks and convertibles are cruising the neon-lit streets, swigging beer, philosophizing, looking for a place to party. They pull up at a roadhouse, pig out on shakes and fries, flirt, fight, smash up a few random objects, and mull over the meaninglessness of their existence: "If I ever say these were the best years of my life," sighs the long-haired sloucher in the back-seat, "remind me to kill myself". To which Dawson replied �Well, all I'm saying is that I want to look back and say that I did it the best I could while I was stuck in this place. Had as much fun as I could while I was stuck in this place. Played as hard as I could while I was stuck in this place.
That cliche �These are the best years of your life�, where exactly does that come from? We�ve all heard it. Our parents were forever telling us that when we were in high school. �Make the best of high school years, they are the...
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