This document provides background information on the films American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused. It discusses the filmmakers George Lucas and Richard Linklater, the time periods and cultures that influenced the films, and key themes around adolescence, rites of passage, and nostalgia. Specifically, it examines how Lucas wanted to capture a "lost innocence" of 1950s cruising culture before impacts of the Vietnam War, while Linklater sought to portray the energetic subcultures of the 1970s in a new light. Both films focus on teenagers at the dawn of adulthood facing decisions that will shape their futures.