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Dazed and Confused For a myriad of reasons. Linklater was my gateway director into ~film. I saw Waking Life as a teen and it blew my fundamentalist mind. I distinctly remember realizing that there are actually other people in the world who think about life with wonder and awe but who aren't christian?! Like, they investigate questions of philosophy and... there is this thing called sociology!? And sometimes the answer can be i don't know. Wow. I think Linklater resonated with me because his films are seeped in sentiment and introspection. I was a pretty introspective kid who had many thoughts on it all but was locked into a very conservative christian culty situation so kept even very 101 questions like 'what is the point of art' and 'can what is right be subjective' very deep inside. Linklater was a profound influence on me having the courage to step away from my upbringing and go to university and not feel guilty for having an inquiring mind set. But Dazed and Confused drat. This movie broke me open. It had kids smoking weed but they weren't jumping out of windows. It had teen drinking but it wasn't demonized. It had different types of friendships that weren't Orwellian. It had people having autonomy to pursue their goals and kicks. You were allowed to go to the moon tower party. Hell, you better have been at the moon tower party. You were allowed to have crushes and talk to girls. You could drive around town talking neurotically with your friends and it was ok. And you were definitely going to get aerosmith tickets. I don't know. And it was a good time and you were allowed to have a good time and that was the point. I think Dazed and Confused was so diametrically opposite to my growing up experience that it blew a hole in me. Especially since I wasn't really allowed to consume any non christian media. Very few mainstream movies, harry potter and pokemon were literal demons etc. When I was 20 and finally went flatting and to uni, I made sure to actually go to parties and drink and have a good time. It was really important to me to delineate. Linklater will always hold a special place for me. He taught me the world isn't a sanatic sinscape where nobody is compassionate or actually happy. He taught me you can be a compassionate chill dude without believing most people will burn forever. He taught me its OK to question things, that asking questions of love, the universe and all that isn't evil or malicious. It was ok to want to dance. Dazed and Confused, to me, will always be a celebration. They were celebrating the tail end of high school in America in the 1970s. To me, its a celebration of my shifting my outer world to match my inner world.
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Jul 16, 2018 03:18
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 05:49 |
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