The perfect movie to end the school year, start the summer, or celebrate Memorial Day. Even the romanticized version of 1970s school life has a lot to say about America today.
A lot of good insight here. I was there in 1976 in a high school not that far from Austin. It wasn't Georgetown, but it was very similar. An aspect of that movie which may not resonate unless you were there is it is a beautiful love letter to the Austin that was. It preserves both the geography and the point of view of that time and place.
The aimless driving around in Austin and drinking in bars at the age of 16-17 was absolutely happening. I was there. Cops in Austin, if they pulled you over, would ignore the beer cans and other signs of underage drinking. They might pour out your baggie and let you go. The whole cast was excellent, but Parker Posey and Ben Affleck really nailed the kids I went to high school with.
In 1993, when Dazed and Confused came out, Austin was well on its way to changing into its current iteration of a Disneyfied caricature of Austin 'weirdness'. Native Austinites have been fleeing it in droves because of that sprawl, traffic, taxes, and general bad vibes. The hippies are gone. However, we still have this movie to preserve on film the Austin that was. The shot of the Austin skyline from Mt. Bonnell is a wonderful preservation of the old downtown skyline before the Capital was obliterated by mirrored towers. It never fails to bring tears to my eyes.
1970's Austin now lives in the hearts of those of us who still drive around Austin occasionally and bore our passengers with the details of what used to be where some bland, cookie cutter commercial structure or subdivision now stands. We also berate newcomers about how to mispronounce Burnet Rd properly.
“In what is probably the biggest departure from modern sensibilities, hazing is not depicted as cruel or unusual. Rather, the acts are supposed to be social bonding experiences, a kind of rite of passage. Even the teachers laugh and accept this culture.”
Way off. The bullying is like the short story The Lottery. A terrible thing that everyone accepts.
They are being chased through the neighborhood, pretty difficult from the school. One teacher just laughs as they older boys sit out front on loudspeaker. Then the girls in parking lot, everyone watches laughing and having a good time. Presented very different than bullying in 2000s and definitely today.
I sort of love the idea of re-watching the movie as a kind of Twilight Zone/ The Purge where everyone in town is an evil psychopath. Maybe just a remixed trailer.
A lot of good insight here. I was there in 1976 in a high school not that far from Austin. It wasn't Georgetown, but it was very similar. An aspect of that movie which may not resonate unless you were there is it is a beautiful love letter to the Austin that was. It preserves both the geography and the point of view of that time and place.
The aimless driving around in Austin and drinking in bars at the age of 16-17 was absolutely happening. I was there. Cops in Austin, if they pulled you over, would ignore the beer cans and other signs of underage drinking. They might pour out your baggie and let you go. The whole cast was excellent, but Parker Posey and Ben Affleck really nailed the kids I went to high school with.
In 1993, when Dazed and Confused came out, Austin was well on its way to changing into its current iteration of a Disneyfied caricature of Austin 'weirdness'. Native Austinites have been fleeing it in droves because of that sprawl, traffic, taxes, and general bad vibes. The hippies are gone. However, we still have this movie to preserve on film the Austin that was. The shot of the Austin skyline from Mt. Bonnell is a wonderful preservation of the old downtown skyline before the Capital was obliterated by mirrored towers. It never fails to bring tears to my eyes.
1970's Austin now lives in the hearts of those of us who still drive around Austin occasionally and bore our passengers with the details of what used to be where some bland, cookie cutter commercial structure or subdivision now stands. We also berate newcomers about how to mispronounce Burnet Rd properly.
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing
“In what is probably the biggest departure from modern sensibilities, hazing is not depicted as cruel or unusual. Rather, the acts are supposed to be social bonding experiences, a kind of rite of passage. Even the teachers laugh and accept this culture.”
Way off. The bullying is like the short story The Lottery. A terrible thing that everyone accepts.
When’s the last time you watched it?
I think the “shotgun mom” shows that it is terrible and most people are lemmings that won’t upset the boat.
They are being chased through the neighborhood, pretty difficult from the school. One teacher just laughs as they older boys sit out front on loudspeaker. Then the girls in parking lot, everyone watches laughing and having a good time. Presented very different than bullying in 2000s and definitely today.
The laughing shows how evil people are.
I sort of love the idea of re-watching the movie as a kind of Twilight Zone/ The Purge where everyone in town is an evil psychopath. Maybe just a remixed trailer.
Last week