Deep....Quotes

Years after the success of Dazed and Confused, writer/director Richard Linklater released a much different kind of movie called Waking Life in 2001. A movie so deep and bizarre that it begs to be watched more than once. It is essentially one existential or philosophical conversation (mostly monologue) after another, but the rotoscope animation adds to the dream sequence effect that the movie is trying to convey throughout. Rotoscoping is the tedious process of tracing and shading over the actual film itself. Linklater and his production team were the one of the first to take on such a monumental task, but they did it again five years later in the adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novel, A Scanner Darkly.

Waking Life may seem somewhat plotless at first, but you realize how cohesive it really is by the end. It takes awhile for the main character, who is never named, to become lucid. He comes to realization that he is dreaming, but this isn't just any dream. Other characters share their vast knowledge of the universe with him, but he has no idea who they are or why they are talking to him. He patiently listens to what they are saying because it's so damn fascinating. False awakenings concern him as he gradually becomes more aware of what is going on.

These are a couple of my favorite scenes/quotes.....

"Dreams for Free"

I had friend once, who told me that the worst mistake you can make is to think that you are... alive. When you're really just asleep in life's waiting room. The trick is to combine your waking rational abilities with the infinite possibilities of your dream, cause if you can do that then you can do anything. Did you ever have a job that you hated but worked really hard at? A long, hard day at work...finally you get to go home and go to sleep. Suddenly, you wake up and realize the entire day at work had been a dream. It's bad enough that you sell your waking life for minimum wage...but now they get your dreams for free.

"Angry Rant"

The 21st Century is gonna be a new century! Not a century of slavery, lies or issues of no significance! Not a century of classism, statism, and all other modes of control! It will be an age of humankind...standing up for what's right! What a bunch of garbage- liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans. It's all there to control you...two sides of the same coin! Two management teams are bidding for complete control to be the CEO of Slavery Incorporated! The truth is right there in front of you, but they lay out this buffet of lies! Well I'm sick of it, and I'm not going to take a bite out of it! Resistance is not futile, we're gonna win this thing! Humankind is too good...we're not a bunch of underachievers! We need to stand up and be human beings! We need to get fired up about the real things...the things that matter! Like creativity and the dynamic human spirit that refuses to submit!