To some folks April 20th is a holiday for stoners; to others it’s a chance to point out that it was Adolf Hitler’s birthday. It’s also the 18th anniversary of the Columbine Massacre, which looking back on, I wasn’t fully aware of how severe that day was. I was thirteen years old, my mom was freshly bald from starting chemotherapy (18 years cancer free now!), was a stressed kid who saw the news, but didn’t care. Gus Van Sant’s 2003 film Elephant hit me like a sack of bricks, I felt the emotions I probably should’ve felt then, and feel now every time there is a school shooting. It’s tragic that tragedies continue to happen, isn’t it? Yes, it is, however, I’m not here to preach my thoughts on solutions.
If you’ve never seen Elephant, I highly recommend it. The brilliance of this film was its attempt to capture as much realism as possible. Gus Van Sant, did not cast known actors, rather these individuals are considered “non-actors” (a different way of saying new, or, non-professional), and used their actual first names. The majority of the dialogue in the film is improvised and Van Sant allowed the cast to collaborate in the direction of scenes, and that gives an authentic feel to the in school scenes. This movie is going to leave you sad, frustrated, and questioning. Give it a go
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If you simply want to get high, eat junk food, and watch movies, go ahead. I thought of making a list of stoner movies, but guess what buttercup? THERE IS A TON! Besides, you know the good ones, you people of the internet don’t need me to tell you to watch Half Baked, Friday, or Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke. You’ve got it covered.
–Z
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