Dazed and Confused -- an alternative narrative.

Tasks for Dazed and Confused

After watching the film for the first time-

·       Make a list of what you think are the five or six most memorable moments from the film- (not just lines of dialogue but actual events)

·       Put them in the order that they happen in the film- you have here the bare bones of the structure of the film.

·       Are there any events which seem to you to be two main plot points- remember according to Syd Field, these should be moments which change the mood of the film and move the action on to a new stage.

·       If you have got a three act structure for the film, how many of your leading events are in each of the different acts.

·       You may find that your two plot points revolve around one character but clearly the film has a number of leading people- do any of the other characters have obvious problematics which are followed throughout the film?

·       Are there any characters who seem to go through the same kinds of events as each other.

·       If you have found examples of these and of similar problematics, can you make a try at suggesting what the themes of the film are?

·       Are there any “bad characters”- what makes them bad and what happens to them.

·       Try to apply the theory of actions and events to some of the leading characters- how many of the characters move from things happening to them (events) to fighting back and taking action. Are there any characters who make the opposite journey?

·       Are there any characters who have nothing to do with the plot of the film, but a major influence on its mood and feel.

·       Do you think that this film is more based around plot or around the emotional story of the characters?

You should by now have a good set of notes on the film’s general narrative structure. You now need to make more detailed notes about some of these sections of the film:

·       The opening- play the first minute and a half- the credit sequence- note which characters are shown to us and what other features of the film and its “feel” are introduced to us.

·       Syd Field says that the opening ten minutes of the film should give us a sense of what kind of film it is going to be and what its major narrative features are going to be. Bearing this in mind, make notes from the first ten minutes on how the various problematics are introduced.

·       Look carefully at how the character O’Bannion is introduced- you may need to watch this a couple of times in order not to miss what people say about him.

·       At the end of this ten minutes you see the first attack on the freshmen- make notes on how this is presented at this point as a bit of harmless fun.

·       Move on to the baseball game and Mitch being beaten up- how is this filmed in order to make us sympathise with Mitch. How is Pink shown in a better light to the other seniors throughout this section.

·       Move on to the scene in the bar when Mitch is sent out to but some beer- how is he presented compared with his friends who he meets outside the shop.

·       Continue watching to see O’Bannion being covered in paint- how does Richard Linklater, the director, again use dialogue and body language to show his character?

·       Watch the  last ten minutes of the film- from the football field to the end- what resolution is shown for the different characters?

Essay title- Dazed and Confused has a narrative that follows none of the rules that we have covered on the course- discuss.

At first sight, Dazed and Confused doesn't seem to fit many of the rules of narrative that we have studied on the course.  Rather than just one main character there are a large number who appear and disappear throughout the film each with their own problematics.

However, if we look more closely, there are some familiar features of narrative present.  Perhaps the best way to start is by looking for plot points.  With no main central story or character the obvious way to do this is simply to try to find the most memorable bits of the film -- the bits where the mood of the film changes.  If we do this, there are in fact two main plot points which appear around the right time to fit in with Syd Field's theory.  The first is when the character Mitch is finally caught by the seniors.  The way that he is beaten, and the way that that the scene is filmed in slow motion and with close ups of his agonised face, makes it clearly very different from the "fun" bullying of before.  It is also a turning point for the film because it moves us on from the first act which has been all about the freshmen being chased to the middle act which will involve Mitch and his equivalent learning to fit in with the seniors.  The second plot point would seem to be the moment when the freshmen get their revenge on O'Bannion.  This also is a turning point because it marks the change from events to actions in the freshmen's lives -- they are no longer allowing things to happen to them, they are fighting back.

When looked at from this point of view, the film seems to be primarily about Mitch, but obviously this is not the case.  Equally important to the film's narrative is the character of Pink and his crisis over whether to sign the pledge for his football same.  This story, with its very clear problematic is like a hidden narrative that runs through the whole of the film.  It is only really clear at the end of the film how important this has been as it is the only problematic in the film to be properly and neatly resolved in the final frames.  However the ending of the film does provide some kind of resolution for some of the other characters -- we see Mitch very neatly arriving back at home and also have seen changes in the lives of some of the other characters.

One interesting theoretical approach to the film which certainly does work is to think of it in terms of plot and story.  While it is clear that the plot is very fragmented, many of the characters seem to be going through matching emotional stories.  Time and time again the same themes crop up -- the question of how to fit in with the crowd while still remaining independent could be applied to almost any of the main characters and a number of them seem to be matched in their behaviour and outlook about the world.  For example, Pink is presented as an older version of Mitch even having gone through very much the same kind of initiation rites a few years before.  There is also the female version of Mitch who goes through the same kinds of things as he does so the film is full of repetition along with the novelty.

Finally, another type of analysis which is interesting is to look as Syd Field does, at the opening ten minutes of the film.  If you remember, Field says that these minutes should set up the whole feel of the film and establish its problematic. As I have mentioned earlier, this film has multiple problematics, but one of them, the bullying of the younger boys is set up exactly ten minutes into the film.  As far as the feel of the film is concerned, Field is definitely right.  Within the first minute -- the credit sequence, we have already seen most of the major characters along with drugs, cards, ridiculous '70s costumes and some of the music that will be so important.  What is more, the very first of the main characters that we see is Slater who will have no importance to the plot of the film but is vital for its feel -- he is the character you are most likely to remember and like.