The Decline of Western Civilization

Penelope Spheeris filmed the Los Angeles punk scene between 1979 and 1980. X, the Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, the Germs and the Alice Bag Band perform, with conversations between the sets involving bands, club owners and the audience. The documentary's strength is that it neither elevates nor sneers at the scene. The camera keeps the same distance in the kitchen of Darby Crash of the Germs as it does in a crowd throwing punches. Spheeris is not trying to save anyone; she is recording, and that record is now a primary source for the history of American punk. One incident is enough to show how it was received: in 1981 the Los Angeles chief of police, Daryl Gates, wrote a letter demanding it never be shown in the city again. Spheeris continued the series with the metal scene in 1988 and with homeless punk kids in 1998. Who it is for: viewers interested in punk history, subculture documentary and Los Angeles of that period. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a clean concert film, since the sound is raw, the images are rough, and the film has no interest in fixing either.