The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

The Decline of Western Civilization: Directed by Penelope Spheeris. With Eugene Tatu, Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline. A look into the Los Angeles punk rock scene, that was largely ignored by the rock music press of the time.

“Here is a great movie. Now, first of all, I would like to say that I was born in the early 1980s. I really never knew, up-close and personal, what true punk rock was. Watching this film was like a history lesson of sorts. The music was great, good vintage rock nu0026#39; roll from bands like Black Flag, Circle Jerks, X, etc. It seemed to me that with this film, Penelope Spheeris was trying to show people that these werenu0026#39;t all just stupid kids who were out to do drugs and kill people. Some of these punks really had some philosophies that they were working at behind their music. This seems most evident in the interview with Black Flag. I understand myself how a lot of people might view these bandsu0026#39; philosophies as under-developed and simple, but one must take into account that these were some pretty young people. Nowadays, as young as I still am, I find it refreshing to run into someone my age who understands in any way philosophical thinking. In this movie, the young people may seem a little half-baked in their philosophies, but you might keep in mind that most kids donu0026#39;t even get that far. Iu0026#39;ve met many full-grown adults who have not progressed as far with deep thought contexts as some of the punk musicians in u0026quot;Declineu0026quot;. Another thing I loved about this movie was how funny it got at times. Some of these kids were total idiots, while the story about the dead painter was devilishly humorous. Fearu0026#39;s performance at the end topped it all. Even if punk is dead, it was once very alive. All flaws aside, u0026quot;The Decline of Western Civilizationu0026quot; was made for people who can tell the difference between some suburban wimp with a mohawk and the truly intelligent individuals who were genuinely upset and picked up music instruments as weapons against the forces of the corporate.”