Event
THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION I and III - Followed by Q&A with visting fimmaker Penelope Spheeris
6:00pm
THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION / Dir. Penelope Spheeris / 1981 / USA / 100 min. /
35mm
For lovers of everything great about rock'n'roll - the energy, the attitude, the hedonism, and extreme
latitude of personal expression - L.A. in the late '70s was one of the best places you could find
yourself. Lucky for us, Penelope Sheeris was there and she had the foresight to bring a film crew.
Decline of Western Civilization shows a wildly diverse punk scene at a time when diversity was still
encouraged, yet beginning to be threatened by a more violent, straight-jacketed brand of punk being
ushered in by the '80s. Through interviews with a motley assortment of urban and suburban misfits and
of course fantastic raw live footage of bands like X, The Germs, Fear, Black Flag, The Bags, and more,
Spheeris injects her own fresh perspective while letting the punk scene speak for itself. Full of
engrossing characters bristling with unlikely contradictions, The Decline of Western Civilization is one
of the best documents we have of an under-heralded piece of modern cultural history.
Director Penelope Spheeris will be in attendance for Q&A via Skype due to unforeseen circumstances!
8:00pm
THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, PART III / Dir. Penelope Spheeris / 1998 /
USA / 86 min. / Digital Video
Eighteen years after Decline of Western Civilization made the exploding Los Angeles punk and
hardcore scene the stuff of legend, Penelope Spheeris returned to document the next generation of L.A.
punks. This time, rather than focusing on the bands, labels, and zines, she looked at a new subset of
fans for whom punk isn't simply a genre of music but a way of life, inheriting classic punk's
appearance if not its DIY attitude. In the grand tradition of punk attracting society's outcasts, these selfdescribed "gutterpunks" squat, panhandle for beer money, and seemingly live for the next show or their
next drunk. Spheeris endeavors to capture their lives and the punks as fully as possible, eliciting stories
of past and current trauma, and learning the rules of their rigid adherence to a codified ritual definition
of what punk is. "No future" indeed -- in place of furious anger and demands for other options for those
out of step with the world, there's a fatalistic, resigned acceptance.
Director Penelope Spheeris will be in attendance for Q&A!
Print Source: Spheeris Films
Fringe
Darby's
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LocationCapitol Theater
206 5th Avenue SE
Olympia, WA 98501
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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