Teenagedom Nostalgia

Watching all of these movies/T.V. shows in the same couple months turned me into a real teenager.

Dazed and Confused: Set in the seventies, different groups of teenagers get crossfaded on the first day of their junior and senior summer, as the freshmen get drunk for the first time. In the midst of all of this, everyone is trying to find some meaning in what is to become of what other call their "wasting" lives.

I love this movie a lot. It's so good for me because I can relate to the overall sense of groups of young people just not having any idea of where they are going or what they are doing in life, and coping with that big unknown. There's excitement, lust, boredom, fear. But the nice part about it is that the movie features groups of friends who go through this sense of meaninglessness together. It reminds me of the friends I have in real life, how I struggle with them to be myself and such.

My So-Called Life: Angela is a sophomore in the 90's who befriends the school BADASSES. These are the people who, as my friend would say, "don't give two shits about stupid-ass whales". She learns all sorts of teenage realities--ya know what I'm talking about. Also she she is beautiful and annoyingly pretends to be ugly and finds a dreamy man/boy.

This probably gets an 8 out of 10 on the chick-flick scale (1 being Jackass 3 and 10 being Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret), but there is still appreciation to be had for the way it accurately portrays the effect of the constant stench of suburbia that intoxicates high schoolers every day. You all have your little sheltered islands of home and school and maybe others, but what can a Junior do but to complain about their studying all the time? It's not like we can just pack up our bags and go hike the Appalachian Trail (or maybe that's a possibility, weather-permitting). But I feel like once I leave my small town and discover a BIG NEW WORLD I will look back on these years of teenage torture with loving sympathy for my foolish little 17-year old self.

Freaks and Geeks: Also from the 90's, a senior girl, Lindsay, tries to fit into a new stoner persona while also trying to fit in mathlete competitions while she's not getting high or going to parties with her new hip friends...yeah somehow that works. "OMG I'm so cool when I wear my dad's army jacket and James Franco is my best friend and sometimes Jason Segel is my boyfriend!!! Also when school gets out instead of going to a summit for genius kids I'm gonna rebel and go on a road trip in a hippie van with my new frendz to follow the Grateful Dead on their summer tour!" is what I think Lindsay is thinking.

My favorite moment in this short series is when Lindsay throws a party and her younger brother replaces all the kegs with non-alcoholic beer... It's so inspirational to throw my own non-beer party!! Wouldn't it be so hilarious to watch all the peeples stumble around while you have the secret satisfaction of knowing that they are all stone-cold sober? Definitely a social experiment.