So many movies begin with the word “American,” from American Beauty to American Psycho to American Gun to American Hustle. While many of these capture the American spirit in a sometimes sincere and sometimes ironic way, there is something to be said in a piece of art that can find what it loves about the country while also being objective and critical.
The time period this movie is set in is usually considered to be the most idealistic, with milkshakes, nuclear families, and Elvis on the jukeboxes, but this sweet time period is on the precipice of all hell breaking loose, with wars, nuclear skills, and the country coming to terms with its own injustices, but still, there’s a certain safety, especially for kids in a small town, that the American can be sweet, safe and nostalgic.
Many other movies since this movie have wanted to be this movie, as this film really captures what it’s like to be an American teenager at the start of the 60’s (well, at least a white middle-class American teenager).
Of course, I speak of 1972’s American Graffiti, written and directed by George Lucas.
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All films have a major idea running through its veins, and, in this case, we can say cruising through its veins.
And although themes like teenage culture and relationships, and facing challenges that seem to identify American Graffiti, there is a major message that this seems to hold up, and one of the reasons I think it has become so popular popular to generations who never set foot in this time period: we’re on a mission to become our authentic selves.
This is especially true of teenagers becoming adults, going from a world of conformity in high school to a world of being who we really are. And American Graffiti is a coming of age story, all taking place on the night many teenagers do so: the last day of summer vacation after senior year, aka the last day of being a kid.
The leads all face this in their own ways. Curt has to deal with the decision to be a responsible adult instead of living in childhood. Steve must face his relationship becoming an adult sort of relationship instead of a teenage romance. John faces his true self that he’s hiding behind his cool facade. Terry, given Steve’s car, has to be himself instead of living in the shadows of others.
This theme plays out in many other ways. The man who voices Wolfman Jack says that he’s not Wolfman Jack, a bold statement since it is later revealed that he is him (or voices him). But, of course, he’s not Wolfman. Wolfman is a character he created.
Carol is defined by being only 12-years-old, but she’s able to transcend that by being an equal partner to John. John might not be Harrison Ford, but he still has a woman on his side, whether or not that woman is actually a little girl.
In Cars
So much of this movie takes place in cars. And as someone who has spent some time in Modesto, I can confirm it’s still pretty accurate.
Not only is this a cool way to make a movie with an ensemble cast, bouncing around to see what each car is up to, but cruising is a great way at hitting at the idea of something being both timeless/directionless and going towards a destination at the same time.
There’s always road ahead of the car and always road behind it, but the characters remain right there inside the cars. And on this crucial turning point of their lives, they’re there in the now, with their entire pasts behind them and their entire futures ahead of them.
Curt’s story embodies this idea very well.
Throughout most of the story, he’s resisting the idea of going to college, stuck in Modesto and his past behind him. He even joins up with a mischievous gang to keep this idea of the past going.
Also after seeing his dream woman, he becomes fixated with this imaginary future ahead of him. As we often do when we make the idea of a person complete us, and we let our imagination write our future for us, ignoring reality.
But after encountering Wolfman Jack as a real, yet different than the version he imagined, he becomes used to this concept. Then, at the end, when he discovers this dream woman was real, but maybe not quite everything he imagined her to be, he is grateful for the experience.
It’s a fitting end then that he graduates to a plane at the end instead of a car. He’s in a tangible vehicle, leaving the road completely out of the town he grew up in.
One can’t really talk about the movie and ignore the ultimate setting: the time period. With a wall to wall soundtrack, placing us exactly in this moment, as rock was fully coming alive, but right before the Beatles changed it forever.
And also right before the Cuban Missile Crisis. And the Kennedy Assasination. And Vietnam.
Much like this was the last night of teenager’s innocence, this was the last night of a certain innocence for America.
We were about to lose one identity but have it strengthened by other identities along with the Civil Rights movement.
It powerfully represents the themes of this film, the ideas of authenticity and living in the moment, two spiritual quests that, at best, we are always slowly cruising towards.
Many will call that epilogue at the end of the movie depressing. In such a lighthearted movie, we receive so many tragic endings for many of the characters. But one could also look at it as, no matter what, we all have the ultimate tragic ending. We all die eventually, and no matter where we drive, we’re heading towards that destination.
But if we can live in the present moment and be as authentic as possible, then it doesn’t matter as much because then we can all be in store for the best ride possible until we get there.
Just don’t back up into anyone.
Thanks for reading!
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