MovieChat Forums > Dazed and Confused (1993) Discussion > Pink, and the social dynamics of this mo...

Pink, and the social dynamics of this movie


Does anyone find it weird that Pink, who is the star quarterback of the school, most popular guy, ect. gets along with pretty much everyone in every clique?

Is this a '70s thing, or a small town thing? Because when I was in high school, the star athletes wouldn't be caught dead hanging out with people like Mike, Tony, and Cynthia. If they talked to them at all, it would be to make fun of them or give them a hard time.

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I'm a 91 graduate. I was a punk and a skateboarder in a school that was a lot more about hair bands and football. Even so, I mostly got along with most of the athletes. There were a few jerks but it wasn't too bad.

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Reminds me of this classic scene from The Simpsons - Homer Goes to College:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfkJ-4iU25A

It's funny because Homer is a balding, middle-aged, fatso. Yet he still thinks of himself as a "jock" for some reason. The genuine jock seems confused by Homer's mean-spirited ways. High status people don't have carte blanche to act obnoxious. They could still do so, like O'Banion. But there's a good chance it would eventually isolate them.

The honest portrayal of this dynamic was one of the movie's biggest strengths. Cliques are a real thing & sometimes ruthlessly enforced. Linklater didn't shy away from that ugly underside of life. But I thought he realistically portrayed the overlap in the jock/nerd venn diagram.

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Pink was a different kind of dude. When I was in school, I had my friends that I hung out with, and we were just normal dudes who were kinda cool/popular and kinda dorky. At the same time, we talked to people we got along with, whether they were jocks or total nerds.

Maybe Pink had taken some honor classes, or knew Mike and them from grade school. You never know. But he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d bail on friends just because he was a jock. That’s what seperates him from Bennie.

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Nope. The most popular people in my highschool, in my rural hometown, were genuinely nice. That was in the 90's. Sorry you didn't have the same experience.

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I knew some of the popular athletes who were nice to everyone back when I was in high school (I graduated in 1999), they were very down to friend and friendly towards all types of people and it made me glad I was in the same class as those guys, I was a lot different than they were but they were nice to me, they were really happy to see me at the 20 year reunion last summer.

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Throughout the movie, Pink actually hangs out with 3 distinct groups.

The football players: Donnie, Benny, Mel, O'Bannon

The Outsiders: Mike, Tony and the Red Head (sorry, forgot her name).

The Rebels (stoners): Slater, Pickford, Pickford's girlfriend,

Mitch and Wooderson are outliners in this. Mitch kind of tags along with him as he navigates these groups, and Wooderson is almost like mentor for him in some ways.

And while there is some crossover, i.e. Donnie riding and smoking with Slater and Pickford. This is mostly used as a blessing and curse for Pink. He's a good guy who's easy to get along with, and respectful to everyone, but isolated because he feels like he doesn't belong to any group.

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[deleted]

Thanks for all the replies, guys.

Pink's navigation of all the social groups is honestly my favorite part of this movie. When I was in high school the star athletes were the worst. They would go out of their way to be jerks to anyone that wasn't apart of their clique. It was as if they actually bonded through the act of giving other people a hard time. So, when I saw this movie, I was stunned by how his character acted. He just transitions effortlessly between cliques like each of them are his best friends in the world, and I have always found that fascinating.

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I also liked the fact that some of the jocks (Pink, Dawson and Melvin) were also cool towards Mitch.

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For sure.

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I was in high school in the 90s and there were cliques, but people had friends from different groups too. I was kind of nerdy but I hung out with some jocks and stoners too.

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I totally agree with you about Pink’s navigation of all the social groups. But even beyond that, look at how cool he was with the older couple at the baseball game and even his brief interaction with Pickford’s parents. He was just a genuine, great guy and I loved his character.

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I still agree with everything I said. Lol!! (can you tell I’m watching the movie…again?).

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