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Slacker
Richard Linklater (Foreword by Douglas Coupland)
$14.95 from St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010 Reviewed
by Jon Lebkowsky
(c) 1993 Jon Lebkowsky
jonl\@io.com
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Ed. Note:  More writings by Jon Lebkowsky, including his review of
_Generation X_ by Doug Coupland, are available at:
gopher gopher.well.sf.ca.us  /6. Authors, Books.../3. Authors/ Jon is also
publisher, with Paco Xander Nathan, of FringeWare Review.
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The film _Slacker_ was made on the fly in Austin, Texas, specifically in an
extropic pocket near the University of Texas, where a thriving, slightly
whacky counterculture has existed practically forever in the shadow of Texas
Tower, the landmark best known as sniper Charles Whitman's deer blind. Had
you asked me if anyone could have captured, on film or otherwise, the
strangeness of this scene, I would have shaken my head and heaved a sigh. But
Rick Linklater has done it, he's made a film every bit as surreal as its
subject, and he's given these post-hippie post-punkoids a label, slacker, and
an identity to go with it. And it turns out that a new "lost" generation,
also called "Generation X" after Doug Coupland's book, found resonance in the
slacker meme, the concept and the film's reknown have spread beyond
Linklater's or anybody's wildest expectations.

The _Slacker_ filmbook includes background info on Austin's alternative
cultures, an outline and transcript of the film, a compilation of Linklater's
interviews, and profiles of the cast members.  The book's worth buying for
the profiles alone, a kind of collective biography of a postmodern
counterculture which is incredibly diverse.  Though I appreciate Linklater's
experimental verve and his wit, it is these characters that keep bringing me
back to the film for repeated viewings.

>From another perspective, the book provides valuable documentation for the
aspiring underground filmmaker. Linklater assembled his film against all
odds, only the strength of his vision and commitment, along with the
oversight of various angels who provided psychoeconomic support, saw hi
through. One can imagine armies of shoestring cinematic artists completing
their first projects only because they read this book's chronicle of what
can be done with a little ingenuity and a lot of chutzpah.

EXCERPTS:

In a very short time, I went from thinking (as I had been told over and over
again) that my generation had nothing to say to thinking that it not only had
everything to say but was saying it in a completely new way. It was a
multitiude of voices coexisting and combining and all adding up to something
that certainly "meant" something but couldn't easily be classified. Each
individual had to find it in their onw way and in the only place society had
left for this discovery -- the margins. I think that's where _Slacker_ takes
place --the accredited sources of information or the image we officially have
of ourselves as a society. This seems the place where the actual buzz of life
goes on, where the conspiracies, schizophrenia, melancholy, and exuberance
all battle it out, daily.

Once I fully submerged myself in the casting search and interviews, there was
little or no escape. Some days I really thought I would go out of my mind. In
every interaction and in every conversation, someone was violently hammering
their thoughts at me. Innocent discussion became impossible, and I began to
wonder if I would ever be able to casually relate to the world again. It is
one thing to watch the film for two hours, but imagine yourself trapped
within it. Suddenly I was one of the crackpots passionately trying to impose
my vision on the unsuspecting. [Anne Walker-McBay]

Strangely enough, Steve and I really got into our characters that night, even
when we weren't being filmed, as evidenced by our sniping at one another. In
the middle of the night while still waiting to film, Annick, Steve, and I
went on a caffeine run that was frighteningly similar to the van scene,
during which Steve delivered an absurd monologue while I rolled my eyes until
I finally snapped and voiced my disdain. I heard that crew members couldn't
tell whether we were kidding or not, and I certainly didn't know. [Kim
Krizan]