Since I learned about the existence of punk music around middle school, I have assumed it is purely a shallow, loud, angry, and dark form of music. After experiencing this documentary, "The Punks Are Alright," I realized that my assumption was far from the truth.
Spanning from Canada to Brazil to Indonesia, the documentary presents and explains a tightly-knit and far-reaching network of ideals that are expressed through punk music. The main theme in punk music is that of rebellion, more specifically rebelling against the "system." I believe that everyone harbors a need for defiance (some more than others), and punk not only operates as a musical outlet that people can identify with, but also (by behaviors described as 'punk,' for instance moshing) provides a relatively safe and accepting environment to relieve those built-up frustrations. The economic marginalization of "third world" countries by capitalist "first world" countries such as the U.S. gives the punk musicians and fans great fuel to burn their rebellious flame. It is difficult for people living in America to wrap their heads around the oppressive lifestyle in which Brazilian drug dealers and Indonesian factory workers live day-in and day-out, but it is also difficult not to sense the unity punk gives these people. By outright expressing an oppressive situation in the lyrics and, again, simply giving the essence of rebellion through its style, punk makes it so that people all over the world will be able to relate, especially if literal rebellion is out of question for their situation. To quote an Indonesian worker named Dolly in the documentary, "punk is a remedy for my sickness." The "system" comes out to be mainly capitalism, and the societies that perpetuate capitalism in turn economically marginalizing "third world" countries like Brazil and Indonesia; hence the popularity of this music in those countries.
Americans are lucky to be living in a nation that enforces religious freedom, and while certain religious groups feel strongly opposed to others, America does not live in a state of potential war between these different groups. In Brazil, however, "there are two things you don't talk about: soccer and religion." The people of Brazil don't want any more conflict than there already is. Kids and teenagers are getting murdered on the streets daily because of gang or drug wars, a statistic was shown that stated the Brazilian police killed 610 people that year, and Henrike of The Blind Pigs said that when he was an English teacher, many of his female students were raped and abused by their fathers. In an environment like this, who wouldn't turn to something higher to be a source of comfort? "Religion is all these people have, man." Being a part-time cynic, I can't help but think of Marx's quote, "religion is the opium of the people," but applying it to this society, "opium" suggests toxicity which could be attached to the hypocrisy brought about by the dominant religion. Stemming from this notion of hypocrisy, there was a t-shirt that Henrike really identified with that read "God, save me from your followers." It is interesting to hear his opinion on religion, because he recognizes the prevalence and foundational aspect of Catholicism in Brazil (particularly in the face of hardship), yet verbally and through his music calls out those who use their religion as a shallow facade and an excuse for discrimination (for example, the old ladies who made the sign of the cross upon seeing him). In the case of Indonesia, Jerinx of Superman Is Dead recognizes the prevalence and foundational aspect of Islam. He says that from the time you are a child, you are taught that everyone else's religion is wrong, and while this creates unity and comfort amongst Muslims, the confrontational teachings prove to alienate other modes of thought and belief.
By listening to the people in this documentary, I realized that punk is not a choice of preferred music style; it is a lifestyle people adhere to according to their situation. Punk has at its foundation a basic ideology of defiance that makes it so popular among people experiencing economic and political oppression/repression, and provides a safe and productive outlet for the stress and frustration brought about by these circumstances.
No comments:
Post a Comment