American Graffiti Movie Essay

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Recommended: Culture in the 1960's

American Graffiti (1973) produced by Frances Ford Coppola, written and directed by George Lucas, is a nostalgic period piece movie about a small California town in the 1962. Lucas credits his childhood memories for being the catalyst for this film, and his experience mirrored a generation’s nostalgic remembrance of growing up in what was perceived as an easier time. The simplicity is in the reminiscing, but the reality of the lives of these teenagers in not all that simple or innocent, a concept that shines through the nostalgic gauze of the “boss” cars and “bitchin’” tunes packed into this film To summarize, the four main characters, Steve Bolander, John Milner, Terry “the toad” Fields and Curt Henderson are presented to us on the eve of great …show more content…

The new graduates speak to the rising cultural norm of high school graduates attending college, with Curt even landing a scholarship through the local moose lodge. College was a big deal in 1962, and today we are used to the power push for a degree, and it helps to remember how not common it was then and how it frames this story. Watching the film with both my college age daughters was enlightening, as they were appalled that Steve would deny himself the opportunity to attend college back east. They were not impressed with the music, the cars or the dilemmas. “Grow up” was their response to the clingy girlfriend, and comments about carbon emissions and gas guzzling greeted the pivotal foundation of this story: cruising the strip to see and be seen in cars. Curt, a sensitive intellectual, is looking for the meaning of life on this night in his small town. He stumbles through the night searching for answers, gets mixed up with a group of gang members while chasing a mystery women in a white Thunderbird. He is compelled to find this woman who he is sure whispered “I love you” (did she really say it?). What he realizes in the wee hours of the morning is a confirmation that you cannot stay a child forever, while Steve, voted the most likely to succeed, settles for community college, until Laurie

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