Tuesday, March 6, 2018

The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998)


Genre: Documentary
Directed by: Penelope Spheeris
Cast: Final Conflict, Litmus Green, Naked Aggression, The Resistance
Time: 86 minutes



The third and last installment in the Decline of Western Civilization trilogy deals with the teenagers and young adults living the punk lifestyle in the streets of LA, squatting and sleeping where they may, drinking and taking drugs and listening to music. We hear from many of these people usually referred to as gutter punks and we also from some of the bands they listen to. A police officer and a club owner also give their perspective.

This documentary is the saddest and more serious one of the three. At first, the director came off a little voyeuristic with her questions to these kids. But, then I got it: She wanted to hear their stories in the most honest, clear and precise way possible. I do not have kids, but I have young ones close to me: This movie made me think of them.

This film might be 20 years old, but the message remains the same: We have to take better care of our kids. A lot of these gutter punks had suffered through abuse and they had rebelled to the point of being completely out of society. The alcoholism, the despair and the total carelessness towards their own lives: It was very sad to see.

Rating: ««««

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