iTakeOvertheWorld/ Matthew McConaughey's Only Good Movie

I enjoy a wide a variety of music; Rap, Rock, Folk, Country, I really can learn to enjoy anything. Often when listening to music, I take advantage of the "Shuffle" feature on my iPod, which can take me straight from a slow, live version of "Gravedigger" (Dave Matthews) to fast paced "A Milli" (Lil' Wayne) in a matter of seconds. A few days ago, I was sitting down to work on a paper and clicked shuffle on, needless to say, I did not get to far into the paper.

The first song that came on was "Slow Ride" from Foghat's 1975 album "Fool for the City." The song has been featured in over 14 TV shows and movies, one instance of which immediately jumped to my mind. In the final scene of "Dazed and Confused" we see one of the main characters, Mitch Kramer, walk back in his house at sunrise after a night of smoking weed, drinking, vandalism, and finally a late night "Picnic" with a sophomore girl, whom Mitch met at a pool hall earlier that evening. All of this takes place only after Mitch and his friends spend the afternoon being chased down and hazed by the seniors at their high school, based solely on the fact that they are upcoming freshmen.

As soon as Mitch enters his house, his mother instantly begins to haggle him, which he casually shrugs off (which we've all done before), walks into his room, puts on head phones, and begins to block out his mothers voice with "Slow Ride." Right as she says "Mitch, have you been drinking?"

Dazed and Confused just happens to be one of my all time favorites, but sadly I have never actually possessed the movie. After the thought of this scene ran through my mind, I suddenly had an unbeatable craving to watch the entire movie. Thus began my long and difficult my journey.

I started out just asking around in my dorm, nobody had a copy. Then I started asking other people on campus, but no dice. I would have to buy it. I spent 30 minutes looking through the movies at Target, to no avail. I had the same results at Wal-Mart, and I even tried Kroger (no one appreciates the classics). I came home defeated, for a while I considered an illegal download, but thought better of it. I resolved to just listen to the soundtrack. I opened up iTunes, and searched the movie's name. This is where technology came into play.

iTunes, along with anything else with the "i" prefix, has pretty much taken over the music business. Having not felt accomplished enough, iTunes set its aim for the "In-home movie" business. I was finally able to see "Dazed" thanks to "i." I rented it on iTunes for four dollars. This was both exciting and disappointing to me. My sister has always has been an "i" lover. Anything with 'i', she has it. I always told her how silly it was to spend the extra money just so you can make your face look weird in pictures. I have eaten my words. If it wasnt for 'i' I would still be Dazed and Confused.

As for the movie itself, I feel like it gets better every time I watch. It focuses on the marijuana/alcohol induced adventures of high school students in Austin, Texas on the last day of school/first night of summer in 1976. The movie shows us a 360 degree view of the high school experience. You've got your Nerds, Jocks (and the girls who have sex with them), the stoners, the freshmen, and even the old guy who cant let go of the glory (post on this topic coming soon). In "Dazed" there is one character who ties all these cliques together.

Randall "Pink" Floyd is the movies main character. He is a star quarterback (jock), which clearly comes with the benefits of clique #3, who also enjoys smoking weed frequently (stoners). Pink is also friends with three of the so called nerds, and often tells them of parties and other things going on, which they frequently decline. Pink is a senior, which means it is his duty to haze any upcoming freshman. Pink's friends take this a lot more seriously than he does, he is never seen actually doing any hazing.

After one freshman gets a particularly bad beating, Pink drives him home and tells him to come out with him and his friends later to have a couple beers. This freshman is the stories other main character, the aforementioned Mitch Kramer. Mitch does go out with Pink and his friends, but it is more than just "having a few beers." The events of the night go from smoking pot, to drinking, to vandalism in a matter of seconds. The night eventually leads to a party in a field near a large radio tower. All of the cliques show up, and we see Pink interact with all of them, including the girls.

Along with all the hilarity and superb acting that comes with "Dazed" I think there is an underlying theme. "Anti- judgement" seems to play a big part in the film. Mostly through Pink. He never utters a sour word about any person or group of people, though everyone around him attempts to tell him how much another group sucks.

His football coaches and teammates hate his stoner friends (Pickford, Slater, Wooderson, AKA the old guy) who are, well, too stoned to care. The seniors hate Kramer, but Pink sticks up for him. And when Kramer complains about the Seniors, he then sticks up for them. He even breaks up a fight between a thug and a nerd, something most high school kids would stand and enjoy.

Pink never falters in his commitment to equality. He treats everyone with respect, whether they spend their free time measuring chemicals or smoking them, which is a quality not seen in many people. Kudos, Richar Linklater, kudos indeed.