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Sometimes,
propaganda is so blatant,
and so obvious, that it is
impossible to take
serious. Take the 1938
movie "Reefer
Madness", for
example.
A
title that perfectly suits
the movie, but not in the
way it was perceived when
this piece of propaganda
was released.
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A
"reefer" is a spliff, or a joint.
A "marihuana cigarette". And this
movie is all about the dread marihuana,
as they call it in the movie. And there's
just too much madness in the movie.
Smoking
weed is presented as the reason for a 16
year old boy to kill his entire family, for
example. During the entire movie you're
being presented to an extreme version of all
the prejudice there is against marihuana.
Reefer
Madness is a movie with players and a
script. It's not a documentary. And that
makes it an invaluable piece of comedy, even
though it is never intended as such. But
aren't these things the most funny, in some
way?
The
story is located in a little town. You're
being introduced to a group of friends.
They're being tempted into marijuana
use.
As
soon as they smoke a little bit, they
completely change. One -ofcourse under
the influence of marijuana- causes a car
accident. You'll even witness a sexual
assault caused by a few draws from the reefer.
And murder.
A
young man smokes a joint, and then loses all
self-control which makes him rape the girl.
the girl resists and the boy shoots her
dead. Or didn't he? In court, he's found
guilty and death sentence is put on him.
In
another scene, the police enters the house
of someone who is under the influence of
marijuana and as a result kills the
policeman. All the while, his girlfriend
laughs her brains out...
This
unintentional comedy shows the reefer
madness. The people who believe that
this great comedy really isn't a comedy at
all. They would perfectly agree with this
scene, where a judge sentences someone to a
"house of the criminally insane"
for the rest of his life on the basis of marijuana
use.
And
that's the true reefer madness.
However,
there are some really great scenes, some
great acting, and the story-line has some
nice angles.
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