4.23 - DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993) & Coming of Age

The next film in our ‘high school’ season is Richard Linklater’s DAZED AND CONFUSED, from 1993. After perhaps contrasting reviews, we go on to talk about fragmented teenaged memories, gender, and why rites of passage are important on screen.

Next Time
Our next ‘high school’ film is the 1996 film THE CRAFT.

Recent Media
THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO (2019): Joe Talbot, Jimmy Fails, Jonathan Majors
HANNIBAL (2013–15): Bryan Fuller, Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen

Recommendations
ARGO (2012): Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin
A BEAUTIFUL MIND (2001): Ron Howard, Russell Crowe, Ed Harris
EMPIRE RECORDS (1995): Allan Moyle, Anthony LaPaglia, Maxwell Caulfield
THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER (2010): David Robert Mitchell, Claire Sloma, Marlon Morton
A SCANNER DARKLY (2006): Richard Linklater, Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr.
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY (): Bryan Fuller, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones

Footnotes
Firstly, here’s a reminder of a genre Rob talks about at the opening of the episode: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_cinema. This is quite a serious explanation of ‘hazing’ (though, as we discussed, it’s something that the film in fact does take seriously, and does look negatively on): www.deanofstudents.umich.edu/article/what-hazing. When talking about gender stereotypes on film, this list is a nice antidote: www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/movies-that-defy-gender-stereotypes. For more reading matter on ritual, see www.books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=nUxRDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=ritual&ots=kZvQU0ZuZI&sig=6VLoDnNQDqm25cg6cBwYEhO2hjM&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=ritual&f=false, www.books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Y0h0OEe19pcC&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=rites+of+passage&ots=FpiGMVU_Ad&sig=8shoPc1HprTBABOtJuTFdOBGm88&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=rites%20of%20passage&f=false, www.books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=EMkx0wbyTecC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=rites+of+passage&ots=qjrTkmWTb7&sig=OYWtIIj52pjIPlgFgsv941m9wms&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=rites%20of%20passage&f=false]. Finally, here’s our episode on MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER, one of Rob’s recommendations this week: www.kaiju.fm/prestige/the-myth-of-the-american-sleepover-and-adolescence.