The Decline of Western Civilization
Composite Score: 86.3
Featuring: Eugene Tatu, Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, The Germs, X, Wayne Mayotte, and Brendan Mullen
Director: Penelope Spheeris
Genres: Documentary, History, Music
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Box Office: N/A
My take on Watching This Film:
The Decline of Western Civilization is Penelope Spheeris’s documentary about the Los Angeles punk scene of 1979 and 1980, focusing on seven bands, featuring their performances and interviews with band members, fans, and venue/gig coordinators. The film is considered one of the best music documentaries of all time, and its soundtrack’s success launched two follow-up films – the first about the metal scene of L.A. in the mid-to-late 80s and the second about the gutter punk movement of the mid-90s in L.A. This film’s hybrid curiosity, celebration, and warning about punk music and punk culture remains one of the most interesting takes on the genre.
Spheeris approaches punk through three distinct lenses – that of the bands, that of the fans, and that of the promoters – and the result is something between a celebration and an exposé that allows and encourages the audience to draw their own conclusions. While each band has its own unique style, as showcased in the variety of venues, songs, and fans featured in the documentary, they also do have some shared characteristics. All of the musicians have some sort of deep-seated hurt that originates in some societal ill, which has led them to make the music that they do. All of the fans perceive punk as an anti-establishment genre, but some take that to be in a more anarcho-leftist bent, while others take it to the other end of the spectrum with skinheads and proto-inceldom. Meanwhile, the promoters have the most generic view of their acts, seeing them all as moneymakers, who don’t fully make sense to them and who might just turn violent and require constant surveillance. The homogenization of these three perspectives into a single film leaves the audience with a compelling (though a bit more for actual fans of the genre and/or music history) question about the nature of punk specifically and counter-cultural movements more broadly. Does a movement need a clear message to be a movement, or does the existence of a movement in the eyes of the wider world make it one, even if the individual actors within the movement disagree entirely about what they’re trying to do?
The way that Penelope Spheeris presents the world of Los Angeles punk in The Decline of Western Civilization leaves plenty of open-endedness for the audience to explore it further, piquing the interest without trying to take a preachy stance about the music, earning it a spot in music and cinematic history worthy of reverence. Not everyone is going to find themselves fully invested in the film, just as not everyone finds themselves invested in any singular genre of music, but those who want to dive into this era and this style will find a well of cool ideas and memorable concert recordings. You can currently stream this film for free with ads on most services that offer that option if you’d like to check it out any time soon.
