50 Years Ago Today, Alright Alright Alright
Posted by jgrumiaux@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 111 comments
On the eve of America's bicentenary, a documentary film crew captured a Texas high school's last day before summer vacation. The footage wouldn't be released until 17 years later, when it would have a significant impact on the next generation (GenX).
If you could be transported to any time and place from any movie, where would it be? This might be my top pick.
medisamurai@reddit
i was down there a year after they filmed it and it came out my freshman year in college. went to college in geogetown tx was some of the school scenes were filmed. lived near the burger spot and the convenience store later in my austin days.
if you were gen x and got to live in austin in the 90s, it wasnt perfect but at the same time it was some sort of paradise for young folks. the end of keeping austin weird after the internet money came around circa 2000.
jeexbit@reddit
I caught the tail-end, lived for a brief spell in Austin in 1999 - was a lot of fun, cool town.
davewashere@reddit
That Top Notch was also where Amy Smart's character works in Varsity Blues.
Flashystarfish@reddit
I like to think anyone who lived in Austin and was able to see Leslie Cochran alive and well doing his thing, had the best Austin there was.
sfdsquid@reddit
I have no idea what movie you're talking about. ๐ Should I turn in my GenX card?
jeexbit@reddit
Have you seen Slacker?
snausagemclinx@reddit
It would be a lot cooler if you did.
Electronic_Lemon7940@reddit
BlownCamaro@reddit
Never ever had the last day of school in May. It was always in June.
ZouDave@reddit
Overwhelming majority of mine were May, other than the rare years we had lots of snow days.
My daughter is now in the same school district I went through in the 80s/90s. So far 100% of her last days have been in May.
Dapper_Tap_9934@reddit
1988-last day of school always before Memorial Day with graduation always MD weekend
rmhoman@reddit
Weird (where I grew up in Illinois) our last day was either in May or June 1st or 2nd. Depending on when Memorial day fell.
BlownCamaro@reddit
We also didn't start school until September.
rmhoman@reddit
Last week in August for us. Just after our county fair. ๐
BlownCamaro@reddit
I really miss the county fair. It was fantastic! We had had HUGE bands come to play at ours.
rmhoman@reddit
It was a fun week. I showed Holsteins and slept in the show hall. As a young teen I thought it was the greatest thing ever.
Nettwerk911@reddit
You cool man?
ZouDave@reddit
Like how?
jrutz@reddit
Any time/any place?
That video game store from Cloak & Dagger, natch. That or Flynn's Arcade from Tron.
PeriodicElement-103@reddit
Party at the Moon Tower!
The_ZombyWoof@reddit
What the hell is a "moon tower" anyway?
otherwayaround1zil@reddit
Full kegs, everybodyโs gonna be there
mac_the_man@reddit
โOkay guys, one more thing, this summer when you're being inundated with all this American bicentennial Fourth Of July brouhaha, don't forget what you're celebrating, and that's the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn't want to pay their taxes.โ
BuffyTheMoronSlayer@reddit
Yeah I was thinking that over the weekend with the speech about what you are celebrating in July.
robun@reddit
If you are 18 in 1976, doesn't that make you a boomer?
Ok_Transition7785@reddit
A very late boomer
Mister_Wednesday_@reddit
Actually that would be a fairly mid Boomer. 1976 - 18 = 1958. Boomers went all the way to 1964/5.
jgrumiaux@reddit (OP)
This article makes the case that the Boomer generation is too wide; there should be a Dazed and Confused generation.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-dazed-and-confused-generation
Gen_Ecks@reddit
Yes
UnderwhelmingAF@reddit
If Dazed and Confused were made today, it would be set in 2009. 1976 was only 17 years ago when it came out.
timmy242@reddit
I hate you. ;)
thwip62@reddit
Have things changed that much from 2009 to now that a D&C style film would be worth it?
UnderwhelmingAF@reddit
Certainly not as much as from 1976 to 1993, at least not culturally.
jgrumiaux@reddit (OP)
Me and my loser friends are gonna go online to buy Lady Gaga tickets. Top priority of the summer.
merrysunshine2@reddit
Buzzkill ๐
ComesInAnOldBox@reddit
Ready to have your mind blown? Benny is played by Cole Hauser, the guy who plays Rip on "Yellowstone" and "Dutton Ranch."
davewashere@reddit
Rory Cochrane, who plays the long-haired stoner Slater, also makes an appearance in the final season of Yellowstone as the detective.
ComesInAnOldBox@reddit
No shit? I didn't know that.
minder125@reddit
It took me multiple times to realize Bannon was Ben Affleck
ComesInAnOldBox@reddit
Yeah I didn't catch that one at first, either. To me, Affleck will always be "that jerk from fashionable male," (Mallrats) because that's the first thing I remember him from. It wasn't until after Armageddon that I watched this movie again and realized that was him.
gbr1976@reddit
"To me, Affleck will always be "that jerk from fashionable male," (Mallrats)"
Shannon Hamilton...son of a bitch! "Yeah, who's your favourite New Kid? Yeah, call me Joey. Oh, come on. Don't make me get loose. Yeah, that's right. Call me Donnie. Oh, girl. Oh, please don't go girl."
๐๐๐
merrysunshine2@reddit
โBrenda?!โ
โDick!โ
gbr1976@reddit
Too funny! ๐๐๐
ComesInAnOldBox@reddit
"You don't want me to get lose now, do ya?"
"15? She told me she was 36!"
gbr1976@reddit
๐๐๐
postprandialrepose@reddit
Like the back of a Volkswagen?
SoftBoiled15@reddit
Call me Donnie
Sonoran_Dog70@reddit
Pitch Black
merrysunshine2@reddit
Hereโs a fun fact: Cole Hausers father had a bit recurring role on BH90210 (after Shannen Doherty left though )
Cole Hauser- Ben Affleck - Shannen Doherty
melty75@reddit
That's crazy, have to let my wife know about that one. She loves that show (and Rip too, I think).
ComesInAnOldBox@reddit
Yeah. When I found out I went back and watched this movie, and I just can't see it. Granted they're 30+ years apart, so of course I wouldn't see much of a resemblance, but it's him.
buffering@reddit
Nashville/Dazed and Confused is a great one-two punch for a weekend of movies. Two films about a day in 1976, made 20 years apart.
Stuartknowsbest@reddit
I look good in red.
worstpartyever@reddit
This wasnโt a movie, it was a documentary on small town Texas high schools in the 70s
Scott72901@reddit
Wooderson is now in his early 70s!
Jackstraw1@reddit
...and the high school girls stay the same age!
phun-key@reddit
Yes, they dooooโฆ..
VeryLowIQIndividual@reddit
I just watched this Saturday. I usually end up watching it once a year.
Itโs a little before my time but still captured what itโs like on a night in a small southern town as late as the early 90โs, not a lot changed. The next 20 years after that changed the whole world for the worse the last few years after that have us in the sorry state we are now.
classicsat@reddit
Calendar wise, it was 10-15 years before that point in my life. Fashion was a bit dated, but the music was pretty spot on for my circles.
One could say it is that cohort's American Graffiti, if not mine.
InevitableOk5017@reddit
Totally agree.
classicsat@reddit
The world of "200 Cigarettes."
MiltownKBs@reddit
Zuma beach from the movie Sideout.
Shit movie but I love volleyball and I love that era of volleyball.
InevitableOk5017@reddit
What are you talking about that movie was awesome dude!
MiltownKBs@reddit
It had its moments I suppose. Cool seeing the pros in that movie.
Dry_Ad687@reddit
Boomer Shit
atlguy35@reddit
Haha. Right! GenX kids were not in high school for the Bicentennial. ๐
Len_Zefflin@reddit
I was in grade 4, and school went until the end of June in Canada.
work-n-lurk@reddit
Thrashin' or Rad would be my choice.
I enjoyed Dazed and Confused but it was set before my time.
Never heard of high school hazing before either. I could relate though as older jocks and burnouts hated us for skating or whatever.
Why-did-i-reas-this@reddit
Wargames.. Seattle 1982/83 seems nice
North shore... Hawaii 1986/87 wouldn't be too bad either
daaave33@reddit
I get older, they stay the same age...
Yeezytaughtme409@reddit
Yes they do.ย
JuJu_Wirehead@reddit
alright alright alright
AZPeakBagger@reddit
I graduated in 1985 and my first two years of high school were the last of the "Dazed & Confused" era. My freshman and sophomore years we all looked like extras from the set of the movie. If you are an older GenX'r you remember these years vividly. The 1980's as most people remember them didn't start until 1983.
neanderthalman@reddit
I feel like it was like that with the 90s too. It was still rather 80s until like 92-93.
atlguy35@reddit
Absolutely accurate. It's like a switch flipped with MTv and the 80s began around 83-84. Surreal to think about because we knew something awesome was happening. ๐
ShadowCass@reddit
What is the name of the movie?!?!? I have never hear of, or seen it! (Thread tax, was apparently in elementary school when it came out)
Working-Active@reddit
Dazed and Confused (1993)
ShadowCass@reddit
Thank you, I was wondering if that was what it was when I saw it referenced somewhere else in the thread, but it was really not clear to me. I have never seen this movie. Iโm going to track it down!
I just remember what I thought of the US back in 1976 and it wouldโve broken my young heart to realize how much those feelings have evolved!
dngdzzo@reddit
I can hear Alice Cooper playing already.
texan01@reddit
This movie was set 2 weeks before I was born.
Reasonable-HB678@reddit
This movie is set approximately four months and one week after I was born.
postprandialrepose@reddit
And a couple weeks after I was born. Ooops! Just broke a hip!
Harold_Spoomanndorf@reddit
1971...San Fransisco....Dirty Harry
When I look back at that era through entertainment media (literature, music, movies, TV, etc), and through my own childhood memories, I can't help but think how cool (well- more interesting than cool, really) it would be to live back in the years between 1968 and 1976 as an adult in my early 20's to early 30's. 1966 to 1978 had a certain vibe and culturre to it that no other era can match IMHO, and the only cities to dive head-first into to experience that vibe and culture would be New York, Los Angeles Area, or San Fransisco. And after some serious consideration, I would pick Frisco (LA would be a close...close second but man, who doesn't love NY)
My choice(s) come mostly from music and film, you just can't beat that era when it comes to those media. The BEST in film and music came from that era. And most of my favorite music and movies were based in the Bay area from that time
I would go back without hesitation, and the only thing I would seriously miss from today...no bullshit, would be the internet and video games
But I think I'd be ok without them....maybe
gbr1976@reddit
Hah! I was 14 days old, man - two full weeks!
This has been a favorite since I saw it in '93 or '94. Just may have to watch it tonight!
TomatilloMaster5409@reddit
That kind of movie never really gets old, it just hits differently every time you come back to it.
merrysunshine2@reddit
Good soundtrack too
gbr1976@reddit
Oh, it's a great one! ๐
Newweedbud@reddit
I graduated in 1976 too-good times ๐
HHSquad@reddit
Yeah, I was in 9th grade this school year
HHSquad@reddit
I was in 9th grade in the '75/'76 school year .......I wasn't bullied but I must say the movie perfectly encapsulates that era. Felt like a documentary. Linklater was born in 1960 and a year ahead of me in school.
Ok-Limit-9726@reddit
GenX
That was closer to my First day in school,
You looking for boomer page?
1976-1965=11
11 is youngest GenX
-4 years old youngest GenX
NoFanksYou@reddit
Did you read the caption?
medisamurai@reddit
he left the readers in the car
merrysunshine2@reddit
At our age, there should be readers within reaching distance
medisamurai@reddit
yes, i think im up to 5-6ish.
The-Manque@reddit
NARRATOR: They did not, in fact, stay the same age.
merrysunshine2@reddit
Not as a freshman though!๐
jgrumiaux@reddit (OP)
Put some ice on it. After that, there's nothing a few beers won't take care of.
merrysunshine2@reddit
You cool man?
postprandialrepose@reddit
Like how?
merrysunshine2@reddit
dbto@reddit
โOkay guys, one more thing, this summer when you're being inundated with all this American bicentennial Fourth Of July brouhaha, don't forget what you're celebrating, and that's the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn't want to pay their taxes.โ
Flashystarfish@reddit
Alright you freshman bitCHEZ, AIR RAAAID!!!
Tommy_Vercetti-4406@reddit
Good flick. Everyone get your paddles!
merrysunshine2@reddit
No more Mr nice guy
KifTokes@reddit
Fah Q!
Autistic_License@reddit
Soul Pole
gbr1976@reddit
QB Badass
merrysunshine2@reddit
Martha Washington, she was a hip, hip, hip, lady
gbr1976@reddit
"...everyday George would come home, she would have a big fat bowl waiting for him, man, when he come in the door, man..."
Flababulous@reddit