'Dazed and Confused' Director: 'Any Person with a Brain Should Hate High School'

Director Richard Linklater is looking back with (mostly) fondness on making the classic stoner film Dazed and Confused in a new interview with CultureMap Houston.

The film showcases a gaggle of teens getting high between classes as well as one overgrown teen (then-unknown Matthew McConaughey) who preys on younger women.It’s hardly an educational showcase, nor is it meant to be, but the director still packs plenty of anger against the educational institution all the same. 

In the world according to Dazed andConfused, high school isn’t quite hell, exactly, but it’s definitely a place you look forward to seeing in your rear-view mirror.

“Really, any person with a brain should hate high school,” Linklater said. “It’s that simple. I mean, doesn’t that make sense? How can you like being completely oppressed by an atmosphere of authority and submission, with mind-indoctrination abounding? There’s nothing good about high school.

“If you have a brain, you’re hoping just to survive and get out — and then you can, like, quest for real freedom.