One reason that I love the old school grindhouse and exploitation films is because they’re often a far more honest reflection of their times than more mainstream films. If you want to learn about history through film, don’t waste your time watching whatever film won best picture in 1936. Instead, watch the movies that were specifically designed to exploit the times by presenting a somewhat more honest portrait of them.
So, what can we learn about 1936 from watching a classic exploitation film like Reefer Madness? Reefer Madness, of course, tells the story of what happens after a group of clean-cut high school students are introduced to marijuana, the weed with roots in Hell.
Well, from the clip below, we can guess that, in 1936, high school was full of people in their 40s. That and the marijuana of the 1930s was apparently laced with speed.
For giving the audience this unexpected insight into the past, this is truly a scene that I love.
Through the Shattered Lens 