Monday 2014-11-24

Punk's Not Dead -- 2007 documentary by Susan Dynner

This history of punk suffers from survivor bias and omissions.

Punk was known for its ideology, which the film does a reasonable job in covering. However, it was also known for its energy, and this does not come across at all.

Epitaph and Dischord are well-represented in the film, and everyone has Hollywood love-fest memories of Punk's Past, e.g. Billie Joe Armstrong speaking positively of Operation Ivy.

It would have been cool to get at least one venue's perspective on the history -- e.g. Hilly Kristal. That probably would have detracted from the "punks are hippies with teeth" message of the film.

We're left wondering why they couldn't get interviews with Johnny Rotten or Ben Weasel, and the most available reason is that this film is just one more person cashing in on Punk.