Classic Movie Review: The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) 

Directed by: Penelope Spheeris   

Featuring: Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, The Germs, X.

 

The Decline of Western Civilization films have been long being talked about, but not readily available for anyone to actually see – despite the fact that the first film in the series has long been seen as the definitive documentary about punk rock at the end of the 1970s. The film has become legendary in many ways – in part, because it has never really been available on VHS or DVD. The film, which is about the punk scene in L.A. in 1979 and 1980, screened twice in that city – before it was effectively banned by the Police Chief. I remember being a Nirvana fan in the 1990s – and hearing about this film. Bands that influenced bands like Nirvana and others – like Black Flag, Circle Jerks and The Germs – are shown here, alongside bands I haven’t really heard of like Alice Bag Band, Catholic Discipline, Fear and X. It’s a fascinating documentary.

 

It’s always odd to look back at previous generations and their music – and the furor that surrounded them. The film is entitled The Decline of Western Civilization after all, and was perhaps named after what Lester Bangs said about The Stooges. It’s hard to say that the film seems tame by today’s standards – this is a gritty, grimy film, full of violence, etc. – but it’s also hard to see why people thought these guys would destroy the world.

 

Directed by Penelope Spheeris, the film kind of takes a ground level view of these bands. Each of the bands in the lineup get to play a set – some of them extended sets, with a few songs, and some only get a couple. You get to hear the anger, rage and violence of their songs – their uncompromising vision of music, which made no concessions for commercial concerns. They have a purity of vision in their music – and lash out violently. The film depicts what it’s like at those concerts – the mosh pits, the violence, etc. there as well.

 

Interspersed throughout the film though is Spheeris talking to various people – sometimes, it’s members of the bands, many of whom have high turnover ratios – one of those interviewed would quit the band between when the film finished shooting, and when it came out. And this is a Black Flag before Henry Rollins even joined them. And then there is an interview with Darby Crash of The Germs – in his apartment, with his girlfriend – who would be dead by suicide before the film debuted. Some of the most fascinating interviews are right near the end – when Spheeris talks to the fans of the bands. There are some who love the violence – for whom the violence seems like a large part of the point of these bands. And there are those who are uncomfortable with the violence. The film doesn’t shy away from the racism – a white kid with a shaved head uses the word nigger with no hesitation, but doesn’t examine it – you have to do that.

 

It is the music though that is really legendary here – a chance to see these bands, that were huge in L.A., and have cult followings, but never really became the biggest bands in the world. They were too violent, too self-destructive for that. But it’s a great look at a subculture of L.A. – the opposite of the glitz and glamor normally associated with that city. Spheeris, who would go on to have a big hit with Wayne’s World, and then direct comedies, has her real legacy here – giving us a portrait of something that no one else has ever quite captured the same way.