YTV

That 70's Show

"Reefer Madness"

(Season 3; Airdate: October 3, 2000)

Synopsis

     Hyde was recently busted for possession and put on parole. Mr. and Mrs. Foreman are planning on kicking Hyde out of the basement (his temporary residence), but Eric tries to be the hero. In an attempt to save his buddy, Eric wants to admit to his parents that he "does it too," hoping to make them look like hypocrites.

     Meanwhile, Donna learns that Hyde was actually taking the blame for someone else. She explains to Eric's parents the situation and they agree to let Hyde stay. Suddenly, Eric bursts in and confesses when he didn't need to, setting in the heaviest sense of situational irony. During two episodes that follow, Mr. Foreman cracks down hard on monitoring the kids' activities as a result of Eric's slip-up.

Analysis

     In this episode (and many, many others) the characters reference marijuana use. Its popularity really boomed around the 70's, nicely indicated by the guys behind That 70's Show. However, what I find very interesting is the fact that they ALL do it at one point or another. In today's society (I am surprised to say) people seem to display a little more self control over situations such as this. Perhaps, because of the different social movements going on during that time period (aka. hippies' "Make Love, Not War") the use of the substance became increasingly common. This idea is exaggerated in the world of the program. Confused Eric, snobby Jackie, and even innocent Fez are all sucked into the happenings of "the times." Interesting little fact: "Reefer Madness" is the only episode in which the characters openly call the substance marijuana.