Stoner Movies

Part of Stoner Movies
3hrs

Showtimes

Available for online purchase
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Also available as part of a package
Body

Five Tuesdays, March 18-April 15, 6:30-9:30PM

Did successive decades of stoner movies prime America for widespread cannabis reform? This Coolidge Education Class endeavors to find out—with copious digressions along the way. 

The stoner comedy may be America’s most disreputable film subgenre...which makes it all the funnier that it’s had such outsized societal effects, too. This Coolidge Education Class will present five of the funniest “stoner movies” ever made, each paired with a lecture detailing the status and politics of cannabis use at that point in time—inviting participants to consider how marijuana and the movies have directly impacted one another, from Reefer Madness to recreational dispensaries. 

Participants in the “Stoner Movies” class will meet weekly for screenings and guided discussions that work to answer pressing questions about this understudied strand of American filmmaking. Like for example...What motivated commercial movie studios to make lighthearted comedies about illegal drugs? How did the depiction of cannabis in American media at different points in time correlate to changes in policing and politics regarding private use? And what exactly is the definition of a “stoner movie”? 

By considering whether films like Dazed and Confused actually set the stage for the ongoing era of cannabis decriminalization, decarceration, and cultural acceptance, this Coolidge Education Class will suggest new ways to consider the relationship between cinema and other forces in American life.

About Jake Mulligan: 

Jake Mulligan is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and has taught classes and seminars at the Coolidge before, including “Defining Screwball Comedy” in 2019 and “Roger Corman, Producer” in 2020. His film criticism has been published in The Boston Globe, The Boston Phoenix, and DigBoston.