Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Dazed and Confused!

Alright, alright, alright…

This awesome “coming-of-age” film had its theatrical release on September 24, 1993.

This is an image of a poster for the 1993 film *Dazed and Confused*. Gramercy Pictures/Universal Pictures.

Dazed and Confused is a 1993 American coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by Richard Linklater. The film follows a variety of teenagers on the last day of school in 1976. Although the film was shot in Austin, it was inspired by Linklater's time growing up in East Texas and no town name is ever given. The film has no single protagonist or central conflict; rather, it follows interconnected plot threads among different social groups and characters, such as rising ninth graders undergoing hazing rituals, a football star's refusal to sign a clean-living pledge for his coach, and various characters hanging out at a pool hall. The film features a large ensemble cast of actors who would later become stars, including Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Milla Jovovich, Cole Hauser, Parker Posey, Adam Goldberg, Nicky Katt, Joey Lauren Adams, Rory Cochrane, and Anthony Rapp.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Candidly, the grunge and alternative music scene of the early-to-mid ‘90s had a nostalgic, yet introspective feel that was often infused with a garage-band vibe, which all together, harkened back to the record store shelves of my first decade; shelves that often held an awesome, yet eclectic mix of Singer-songwriters, guitar-driven, hard-charging early-Metal and Rock, Funk, Disco, and eventually, Punk. There was definitely a connection…

I also can’t help but think about one of my all-time favorite movies from these two interconnected decades; 1993’s Dazed and Confused. [“Alright, alright, alright. How you doing? You heard about the party being busted right? Not to worry, there’s a new fiesta in the making as we speak. Who put the keg all the way out here in the woods? Did ya ever look at a dollar bill, man? There’s some spooky s@#% goin’ on there. And it’s green too... Hey, you guys know what that song is about? It’s about the aliens. We’re the aliens, man, we’re the savages. We’re the savages, man... I’d like to quit thinking of the present, like right now, as some minor, insignificant preamble to somethin’ else... Man, it’s the same B.S. they tried to pull in my day. If it ain’t that piece of paper, there’s some other choice they’re gonna try and make for you. Let me tell you this: The older you do get, the more rules they’re gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin’, man, L-I-V-I-N.”] The more things change, the more they stay the same…

- Woodard, Anthony. “Driving with binoculars...”. Mar. 16, 2023