From aliens to alienation : cinematic interpretations of the punk culture.

This thesis asks the question of whether a documentary and a dramatic film defines the punk culture the same to the audience. The documentary film, The Decline of Western Civilization and the dramatic film, Repo Man, are the films analyzed to see if the audience's interpretation of the message is the same. In the first chapter I will examine the history of the punk culture. This shows the orgins and gives some explanations on what the punk movement believes. To analyze the documentary, I will use Bruce Gronbeck's "Celluloid Rhetoric: On Genres of Documentary" to see how the film supplies the punk's message. For the dramatic film Repo Man, Erich Fromm's concept of alienation, from his book The Sane Society, provides the main source for understanding how the punks exsist in the mainstream culture. The second chapter examines The Decline of Western Civilization. This film employs Gronbecks notion of the Report Style to interpret the punk culture to the audience. By using this style, director Penelope Spheeris shows the punks as aliens to the audience. The image portrayed is negative and the audience is never allowed to empathize with those individuals involved in the punk culture. The third chapter analzes Repo Man. Here, director Alex Cox, show the punks as alienated individuals in society. In contrast to the documentary, this film allows the audience to empathize with the punk characters due to characterization and plot. The audience sees the main character grow and thus can relate to the alienated feeling that all individuals feel in society. The final chapter summarizes the previous chapters. Both films see that the punks are alienated in society, but the different filmic techniques change the interpretation for the audience. The documenatry shows one-dimesional characters and thus the audience recieves a violent and thus negative view of the punk culture. However, the dramatic film shows the audience a positive view of the punks and thus allows them to relate to the punks through the feeling that everyone in society is alienated.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

1992

Author dc:creator

• Flanders, Douglas Lowell.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bass, Jeff Davis, 1951-

• Punk culture.
• Motion pictures.
• Documentary films.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14336

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/14336