the culture portrayed in this film actually exists, and i love it. unfortunately, i think in some ways they are misrepresented here. for example, the scene where the girls clothes are torn off at the concert...i've never known any punkers who would do that... if you've had experience with the squat/punk society, please add yer thoughts.
shareI actually just watched it again on DVD, I had the EXACT same thought you did when they ripped
off that girl's clothes. I hung out in that scene in the early 80's and if anyone ever pulled that in
a club, the punks would've wasted them!!! They were all really cool people, just united as outcasts. I mean, god forbid you're original!! I'm 35 now, and still listen to all the old punk music.
Another fun movie is "SLC Punks", great soundtrack as well.
That's SLC PUNK and it was a good movie. Trully one of my fav. films of all time.
shareSLC punk is a good film but it does a horrible job of portraying the punk scene. i think suburbia gives a pretty good insight into the punk scene, except like stated earlier, the ripping off of the clothes probably wouldnt happen at a show.
shareJust letting you know.... being 17 in 1985 I was majorly into the scene going to shows all over NYS So Cal Chicago and throughout the midwest and west coast...it did happen quite abit...most not as harsh as that and some worse... girls were raped at shows clothes ripped off ( usually just shirts) girls groped and stomped on....Pick a club that was around back then and more than likely I've gone to it one or more times
shareActuraly if you watch the Dvd with the directors cmments on, she says that most of the things in suburbia is based on facts, and the scene with the girl was one of the things she tells, is based on a true story. However, Stop focus so much about what is punk or not, I have been into the punk scene for soon 10 years, and one of the only thing you can say most punks have in common, are the music, and afcouse punks also have diffrent musictaste. The movie tells a story, and dosen't tell about punk, well if you think it does, well then you got somthing out of it that I don't.
I hate slc punk and thoose mainstream "punk" movies, cause it focus so much about telling about punk, instead of telling a story..punk is music for god sake!
Anyway, it is the Skinhead that starts to rip the girls clothes off.
Good movies I like is:
Romper stomper (remmebr that most skinheads acturaly aren't nazis)
Class of 1984
Rock n roll high school
If you are insterested in more punk related movies, check this link:
http://www.worldwidepunk.com/movies/
Oi!
hi all. borgpunk is right, worldwidepunk is a great site, but i digress.
i'm 39--- tells you when i was active in the scene-now, as to skinner grabbing the disco girl, even though, in Philly, there was alot of @ss and crotch grabbing from behind to us mini skirt wearers-i remember thinking that the dress ripping scene looked like a bunch of baloney, even though here on the east coast we werent above relieving some unworthy girl of her boots, or whatever-- "sidle sidle....hey, what size shoes are you??? compare compare....lets take a walk....." well, maybe a girl like that would be out of her element--- she sure wouldn't have any of her football buddies to help her out-- i always wondered why she was there--maybe the movie needed boobs. of course, in the 70's /early 80's punk didn't have a "uniform " yet, but by 83/84- the cliques were set!!and by heck, you knew everyone by their hair or clothes.... but when it came to squatting, at least in NYC, it seemed like the kids really tried to take care of each other within their own squats. as Agnostic Front said " punks and skins, united and strong" and as sham 69 said " if the kids are united we can never be divided" and as milo said..."i don't wanna grow up" wait, that doesn't fit!!!!!!!
anyhow, i should pull out suburbia and watch it again. i've been wanting to watch it with my 17 year old- she's got punk rock sensibility- nurture, or nature?? hmmmm.......lym
The ripping of the OC Girl was really common and accurate. Nobody liked OC Girls and did anything to get them out. I'm diggin' the Descendents quote, so I'll counter with one of my own:
"Twolargecokes
twolargefries
largedr.pepper
chilicheesedogsuperdeluxewithcheeseandtomato!"
The ripping of the OC Girl was really common and accurate. Nobody liked OC Girls and did anything to get them out.
Having been a punk homeless kid in the eightees in the bay area, I can identify with this movie. It is amazing to me just how many subcultures existed within the "scene". Trad punks, post card punks, gutter punks, bald punks, SHARPS, nazis, independants, rude boys, prides, powers, two tones, skate punks, regular skaters, mods, scooter boys, rock-a-billies, death rockers(now called goth......oh wow.), etc There are more if you can believe it. Anyway, while there was always a sense of rivalry among these groups and an occasional fight, we all pretty much took care of eachother when it was necessary. It could be quite dramatic at times. I remember some people would move through these subcultures periodically; changing their look and, therefore, their specific musical attatchment. It's funny, I remember watching many punks become "fresh cut" skins in order to kick some sort of narcotics habit, only to be indoctrinated into the way of alcoholic, ultra idealistic violence. good times, eh? Anyway, it never stops to amaze me the lengths people will travel in order to have a family. Mine was about 100 people strong. I would submit, then, that punk is more than merely music. I thought this movie did a pretty good job.
shareWell said, cartattack!!! So true, it's ridiculous!!!!! A great documentary is Punk:Attitude,
really explains what the scene meant. I was LA area, so funny how SF had all the same
subcultures of punk!! We used to call the colored hair/mowhawk variety Postcard Punks
too! NEVER "dressed" like a punk, just was one!!
"You're such a pillow case!"
'well, maybe a girl like that would be out of her element--- she sure wouldn't have any of her football buddies to help her out-- i always wondered why she was there--maybe the movie needed boobs.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yeah a little T & A never hurt sales. I think they were also trying to illustrate the fact that things weren't always rosy and how people felt about imposters slumming at shows.Probably not the best way to do it. It was a bit over the top.And why did she just stand there screaming like a trapped weasel? I saw some violent, stupid things but I never saw that happen at a show.
another x philly punk nice
i think the ripping of her dress was more of a symbol then anything ealse
there is still a punk scene in philly
check out a place called the halfway house (nothing to do with drugs its the name of the venue)
[deleted]
Then only thing punks have in common is their endless arguing over "what's punk". Face it- unless you're in your mid-40's "the scene" was over, and became nothing but a fashion show before you were in middle school.
share
SLC Punk is based in 85' thats when like good hardcore died...
remmber blakc flag
*beep* homo metal
[deleted]
I believe the point being made in the sceen your talking about is the fact
that it's a savage world, and no matter how accepted you are or any enviroment
your not safe from the harsh realities of the world. Or maybe i'm just over thinking this and maybe it was used for shock value.
Saw this movie when I was about 17, just saw it on DvD two years ago, loved the garage raid sceeens. still a great film.
RIPPING OFF CLOTHES?
I've been a Huntington Beach/Long Beach punk since 1978 and I've never seen a girl get her top (or anything else) ripped off intentionally at a punk gig and I've been to some of the best/worst. The energy wasn't like that. At a punk gig you wanted to get drunk and pogo/slam/worm/skank. Even if you didn't "belong" there (I remember the term "OC Chick" used to refer to said victim) nobody really cared. Punk wasn't about exclusion. We were all first-timers once.
Hitting on chicks or copping a feel was for the dorks who just lurked around the bar with their rum & cokes and were afraid to get their creepers scuffed in the pit.
I agree. I am from Orange county and from 1980 to 1985 I went to gigs in dives like the Cuckoo's nest or the Dungeon/broadway in santa ana or the Cathay du grande to large aditoriums like the Olympic or perkin's palace. Hundreds of gigs and never saw anthing close to that lame scene.
shareI'm with these guys. I'm an old time punk from the early mid '80s in the LA/OC scene, and this wouldn't have happened in my time. But I'm aware that shortly before my time, there was were a lot of meathead jocks hanging around the scene because it was thought to be a place where you could kick a little ass. By the time I was going to shows around 83 or so, that wasn't so much the case.
At the same time, remember that it was the Reagan years in the US of A. I just watched the film, and was struck by the homophobia (Joe's dad) and racism (Jack's stepdad) that you probably wouldn't see in the scene today.
Well, punk isnt the same worldwide, it sounds like you have ben going to some good gigs and stuff, but you really cant say "punk is about htis" and "punk isnt about that" really, all punk si about is the music to me...
I see the look (uniform) as nothing, maybe it matters a lot for skinheads, but to me i mostly care if people are nice..
ANYWAY
Actually the guy who ripped the girls clothes off where a skinhead and not a punk. I belive I recall the director on the commentairy on the dvd saying that most incidence, including this one was based on an actual "event"
Anyway, punks, skinheads, mods e.t.c are all humans...of course there are bastards as well, but it is true i belive a incident liek this would be more rare at a punk gig than in other gigs.
borg punk you shouldnt realy be telling oldschhool scenesters from the 80's what they can and cannot "say".
In the 80's it was more then music it was a subculture, a social club. It was underground, anti business and very unknown and unaccepted by the mainstream. The music the fashions the dances were all original.
Now punk is just music, just another style you find in the mall and on MTV. Its been accepted.
"sounds like you have been going to some good gigs and stuff"?
you have no idea. 80's hardcore punk was the best days.
sorry im so nostalgic but after experiencing that era all music today is just plain boring including todays punk
I agree and I feel your pain. ;)
It was absolutely the best time. It is dead now because the environment it thrived in simply doesn't exist anymore. That is something that "punks" now never seem to get. They missed it. Unless you were THERE you will never really know what it was like. (Although now everyone over 30 insists they were there but that's a whole other thread.)
It cracks me up to see lil punks running around now dressed exactly the same was I was over twenty years ago..It's even cuter when they buy into that postcard punk look.
Newsflash: Real punks didn't wear Doc Martens and they didn't use the term "punker" when referring to themselves.
I think it is cool that kids can still appreciate the music.Those old albums really held up over time. But like I said, if you weren't there, you are never gonna understand. It's not an insult kids, just a harsh reality.
Go create your own scene and stop picking off the bones of ours.
Nice to have finally read a post about this movie that didn't make me want to vomit into my own hands and fling it at people. Thanks, Mobje.
shoutykitten,
As you are obviously unaware, the current-day street punk scene (at least Philly/NY), is very much alive and kicking. And to say that we are just "picking off the bones" of your early 80's scene is a completely baseless thing to say.
Just because pop-punk has been introduced to the MTV mainstream, doesn't mean that the actual bands and scene has anything at all to do with it. You're probably basing all this off seing a bunch of upper middle class high school kids in their hot topic bondage pants at the mall....
You had your 80's scene, we have ours.. If you actually knew anything at all about today's scene, you'd have different things to say... Maybe try actually checking out some of today's good bands and catch a show?
(blanks 77, the casualties, the unseen, a global threat, the virus, just to name a few?)
Those bands are all thrash! Sorry!
shareshoutykitten,
I would have to strongly disagree with you.
I don't believe punk is dead. If anything, it's just changed. There are still some good hardcore punk bands out there, sadly, you spend too much time Looking for it on MTV. Which is the last place this stuff will end up.
I think you see this "dead punk" at places where it isn't. For example, you probably go to the mall and see some punk rocker looking kids. But I am into the punk scene and never go to the mall on account I think it's extreamly overrated. And overpriced none-the-less. See, I shop at Goodwill becuase it's what I can afford. I can't afford a destroyed pair of jeans for $80-$100.00. And I don't want them. I can pay $4.00, however, for a perfectly good pair of jeans. Or even less for a good band t-shirt or two. Where, I've seen at Hot-Topic they can be anywhere from $18-$25.00. Which is very stupid. For lack of a better word.
You can't just say punk is dead. Because you're most likely looking for it in all the wrong places. There are still alot of secret underground shows that most just don't know about. And there are also alot of good hardcore CD's that just aren't sold at department stores. Trust me, I have never seen any good CD's at any store. Only at a used CD shop.
You are very "punk" because the one thing all self-proclaimed punks have in common is the endless capacity to argue about what's "punk", their clothes, their music, blah blah blah.
shareThe punk scene that I knew starting in 1981 is most certainly dead. It was about more than "some good hardcore bands" and where you got your clothes.
Back then, a major aspect was that if you left your house looking punk, you were almost certainly going to get fncked with in one way or another. Anything from insults or objects hurled from passing cars, to guys confronting you and wanting to kick your ass simply for being a "punker *beep* to cops coming down on you. That kind of thing was over long before the 80s ended. People got used to it, it stopped being shocking and threatening. Anyone who came into after that has no idea.
It's not your fault for being born too late. But when I was in high school I remember kids trying to dress like hippies and trying bring that vibe back. They seemed really silly to me, and I don't think kids who are trying to be punk today are much different. Scenes are the products of their time and place.
The stripping scene was pretty nasty and intense but I think most people have seen worse in clubs, as least as far as violence, fights, and the like so in that sense it's realistic Never saw a girl stripped but did see a dud lose most of his clothes in a brawl.
Funny thing about the actress who was stripped; it can't have been too traumatic for her. She went on to become a porn star but instead of using her name in this Julie Winchester (maybe its her real name), she acted under the name Gina Carrera.
I was a Denver punk (which was a little better than being an SLC punk) so the only violence I remember was a lot of fighting between Nazi Skinheads, SHARPS, and long-hairs. Girls were a welcome minority and most of them that would go to shows at all were pretty cool. I never saw anyone assault any of them. I did go to some shows out in SoCal a few times and I was little familiar with all the tribalism there and heard the term "OC chick", but I thought it was bunch of crap because there were A LOT of punks from Orange County and other rich neighborhoods. The idea that the subculture was mostly runaways and squatters wasn't really true (in Britain punk was a working-class movement, but in America it was as middle-class as anything else). As a teen moviegoer I probably enjoyed seeing that girl stripped naked (although the fact that she later became porn star DOES NOT suggest it was a positive step in her acting career), but I think it's kind of an unfortunate scene now because it leaves you with a lot less empathy for some of the characters. But I suppose things like that certainly could have happened somewhere. One things for sure Penelope Spheeris should be stripped of her FLESH by rabid piranhas for the crap movies she was making 10 years later.
share"In my day...."
Most of the punks were from the OC. After the Hollywood punk scene petered out in the early '80s, most of your best bands came from OC or near to. DI, Adolescents, Doggy Style, HVY DRT, TSOL, Agent Orange, Channel 3... the list goes on.
hahah are you kidding me? There were a handful of good O.C. bands. LA still owns the O.C. though! Don't forget the bay area!
sharethey rip off her clothes because she's a "poseur" dude.
shareBen a while since i last read this board, however, I wanna comment the thing about the 80's. No I cannot say how punk was in a specific area in the 80's. Cause I wasn't there (well, my mom listened to punk and brought me places, however I can't remember much of that) and that is also in a weird way my point a well, a guy who lived in one part of England in 1982, would never know how the punk rock scene was in the same period in 1982 in for instance Tokyo, or New york. Not even if he was there a few times. The movie tells a story, and I don't mean it was meant to tell what punk is. Everything in the movie Could have happened the way it happened, and I don't see the point of claiming that some things would never happen in a punk scene. It is a bit like when black people complains about that some criminal guy in a movie, is played by a black actor "well, what if that character was BASED on a black guy?"
share
on Fri Jan 6 2006 myxlastxsong opined-
"they rip off her clothes because she's a "poseur" dude."
-----she's not a poseur, dude, she's slumming. love, lym
[deleted]
class of 1984 is defintley what punk rock is about, no more squatting and uniting.
shareTo reply to the original poster: I was also a punk rock squater, train hopping, etc..., and suburbia is done nearly like a documentary, thats really how punk rockers, but times have changed and itw as easier in the 80s, but its similiar these days, and yeah, that scene with that girl getting her dress torn off would NEVER happen at any show or by any punk rocker, in fact, if that ever happened around any punk, those punk would be the crap out of the person who did that. punk rockers are moral people.
Used to be trukissfan247.
Yeah, right. Since you weren't even born yet when this movie came out, I doubt seriously you have any genuine idea what punks were like back then.
sharethe movie's allright, i hadn't watched it in about 10 years, until right now... (thus the reason why i am reading this board). it strikes me differently now than it did back then.
i don't think the punk scene has changed too much, not essentialy anyway, because people still get into it the same way they did before, but as someone already mentioned, there were so many "varieties" that it's hard to have a set definition of what's what.
and that's because word of mouth distorted things. now a days we have the internet, so it's easier to get a set "rule" of what's what. and that's why whenever you meet subculture kids now a days you will find at lot of similarities that you didn't see in that movie. and another reason is because there's just more access to music now...
i was never a squatter and neither were none of my friends, i honestly consider that scene something different altogether. most of my friends worked, and we kind of looked down upon the kids who chose to take the easy way out. that sentiment is felt in lots of places, it seems, since i didn't just live in america my whole life.
i agree with certain parts of the movie, but in general so much of it seems made for shock value (opening scene for instance) that many of the characters just come off as caricatures, and the more serious parts are overlooked. the older you get, the more you start to think critically about these things, so your opinion changes. well, at least mine has... it's just interesting to see how things happened in different parts of the country.
and some of the actors are still around, none of them take the movie too seriously, it's definetely not a true story, for those of you who are wondering.
good to see a few of the california bands before it all went bad though...
would've been cool if they had gotten some hardcore bands on there, i mean, it was 1983-84, the first wave of california punk was almost gone...
Punk has died a thousand deaths.
I saw "Punk is dead" spraypainted on a fence when I was in 6th or 7th grade- the seed was thus planted.
The irony of the term "poseur" is that punk has always been a silly pose.
Watching "Suburbia" on the East Coast in my formative years, the club scene with the girl always confirmed the utter insanity that was "obviously" taking place out west.
Seriously, though, y'all at least fought more, right?
first, *beep* you mate. you don't know *beep* about what punk is or was. second, that did happen, and it does happen. true, its the skinhead that rips the girls clothes off, and they still do that kinda thing. you gotta understand that back then, skins used to hunt punks, especially in britian. punk has always been warped and missenterpreted by America, from day *beep* one. it started as a BRITISH subculture, all the first bands were british. and the americans tried to have their own version of it, but because of the culture of america it turned into a fasion and 'just about the music'. *beep* come squat at a punk house in england. then you find what punk's all about; mainly eating outta skips, getting chased by coppers and stealing things to survive. also drinking, putting on/going to/playing shows and more stealing.
shareYeah- like the British Iggy Pop and the British Ramones and the British New York Dolls that the Bromley Contingent were mimicking? Yep- completely made in Britain. The British invented the internet too! It's kind of a shared history, mate. It came from New york but you guys made it what it became. K? Fair is fair- nobody in the mainstream had a *beep* clue what was going on until Malcom Maclaren got the Sex Pistols going and then all of the sudden people were snickering about the "punk rock phenomenon®". Shoot- the U.S. never did put out an album like the Clash's London Calling, IMHO. There was a slew of unreal brit punk before it ever got huge- the damned, 999, the Nips, Terry and the Idiots, the clash and the pistols, Xray Spex, the Buzzcocks- not to mention groundbreaking sh!t like the Specials, Madness, Bad Manners, etc... stuff that would effect music from that time forward. Then there was DOA from Canada- those guys were absolutely epic live. The Subhumans too. It fricken spread like the plague, and pretty soon there was Jerry's kids and gang green in Boston and the Misfits- another epic live band- and DC had SOA and Govt issue and Teen Idles and Bad Brains- again- fricken killer live band, Bad brains- HR would come on wound so tight and just demolish the stage. In SF there was Bad Posture and Naked Lady Wrestlers and Fang and the F@ck ups. But man- Black Flag- I saw them and I was just reeling. Like what the *beep* in 81 and 82 LA and OC had the best fricken bands- TSOL and Adolescents and the early social D and early Bad religion and Shattered Faith and Alice Bag and the jerks and black flag. San Diego had Battallion of Saints and the Injections and A sh!tload of other bands like 5051 and Social Spit and the Skull Busters and Personal Conflict. When the Decline came out- and ROTR- I was just reeling, just like "holy sh!t this is the best- punks everywhere". and by the time Hell comes to your house came out I couldn't even believe how huge it had gotten. And now look- it's a punk planet.
Anyhow- that bunch of bullsh!t aside- I was a punk in San Diego from 80-85ish and we had a pretty radical scene there, but while a guy and a girl that were close and were a known part of the scene could get into it pretty hardcore, not too many people would let anyone be a lowlife scumbag towards some young girl like that went down in the movie. I heard about sh!t like that occassionally- mostly in LA and OC- I never witnessed it and I went to a LOT of shows both in San Diego and LA. But that doesn't mean it didn't happen- on the directors cut she plainly states that it did happen, so that's pretty much that.
There were a lot of fights though- geez- tons. From like 80-late 82 or maybe early 83 we couldn't help but get into fights- the public was just fully offended by who we were and how we chose to look. Walking to the store was a big adventure- I kinda miss it but kinda dont. It's kinda nice to not have to fight your way to the store and back.
Nowadays it's duck soup- there's punks everywhere and punk is everywhere, insidiously permeating our society. Back then it was a different deal- if I were to wager a guess I'd say there were like maybe 500 punks in San diego in 83.
That's one thing I think is hilarious is how the old punks say punk is dead and the new punks try to tell us how it's not and no matter how hard they explain they just cant get through to us. Here's the deal: our little flicker in time is gone. It was really a very neat time what with it all being pretty new (and I figure the kids my age were like 5th or 10th generation leftovers- after say the New York Dolls or the Pistols- pick one) and when the scene got bigger and the jocks and cowboys quit trying to jump us (and when the jocks decided to shave their heads and come join us) it just changed, and the artistic people drifted one direction and the fringe element all started dieing and going to prison- and so ends a tiny little blip in the timeline of man. But shoot- if you have a punk scene that y7ou think is cool- more power to you. Dont get too down on the old guys for telling you punk is dead. Someday you'll be an old guy (hopefully) telling some young kid how he shoulda been there way back when it was real.
Only the dead stay seventeen forever.
Just to clear it up about the girl getting stripped.. it DEFINITELY happened at least twice at punk rock gigs in L.A. in or around 1980. I personally witnessed the exact same thing at at least two different gigs (both Black Flag shows, IIRC). There's even a photo in a 1980 edition of FLIPSIDE magazine of a stripped down girl at a gig (no idea what issue... sorry). As for anyone thinking they were gonna be the hero and save the damsel in distress.. I remember 4 or 5 HUGE bouncers trying to stop it and they were having an extremely tough time getting past the crowd of rabid punks all trying to cop a feel. Not a pretty scene.
http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?cat=1&sub=All&id=squid_vicious