The Punks Are Alright!

After watching The Punk are Alright!, I have a better understanding of the punk scene in Brazil and Indonesia, and how it effects the world around us.  The film follows two bands from each country, respectively.  The first, The Blind Pigs, which is headed by Henrike, is located in Barueri, Brazil.  The second, Superman is Dead, is introduced by the drummer, Jerinx.  Superman is Dead is one of the most popular acts in Bali, Indonesia.  Each band member speaks about experiences involving life as a punk.  These include, but are not limited to: religion, society and DIY culture.  The experiences that both encounter are strangely similar, even though they are members of different religions and are across the world.  

Before watching The Punks are Alright!, I generally regarded Punk music as a strictly western genre.  I did not realize that other cultures had formed their own types of Punk.  Unlike Moroccan Rap, which uses native instruments in samples and beats, all Punk music sounds the same.  All that is needed for Punk is a guitarist that knows three chords, a bassist that likes to “slappa da bass,” a drummer that likes to hit things and a lot of teen angst, sung terribly.  But that’s not what Punk is really about.  Punk is doing things because you want to, because you can and telling “the man” how you really feel.  This movie changed my perceptions of youth culture in these two communities in a number of ways.  First, I am impressed with the DIY or “do it yourself” culture of Punk.  DIY means that you did not hire anyone professional to do the job and thus, were anti-establishment.  A DIY attitude is all about getting your hands dirty and experiencing new things that people go through everyday.   Anything can be punk, a school, a park, an album, as long as it was a DIY project.  Second, I am glad that the youth in these countries stand up for what they believe in through Punk music.  I remember when I bought the Green Day American Idiot album from Sam Goody in my hometown and thought I was so “Punk-rock.”  I had my Vans sneakers, black t-shirt and longer hair.  From my suburban neighborhood I was an anti-establishment machine with my private school education and various Backstreet Boy albums tucked away in the back of my dresser.  Looking back now, I was the biggest poser in the entire world.  I had nothing to fight for because in reality, nothing was wrong in my life.  These kids in Brazil and Bali actually have something worth fighting for.  Conditions are extremely rough and it is hard for people to find work.  Dolly, a fan of both bands, works in a Nike factory for two dollars a day.  He is part of a society were he is meant to stay poor as to not find better work.  It is strange how without the establishment, Nike, Dolly would not have a job.  However, I believe that the problem is that the workers are treated unjustly and more like animals than people.  If enough people were anti-establishment, and did not purchase Nike’s sneakers, Dolly would be out of a job.  This would put him in a worse situation, which is hard to believe.  Third, I now realize how society views these Punks because of the way they dress and the music they listen to.  The t-shirt Henrike is talking about, “God Save Me From Your Followers” is perfect.  After Henrike goes to mass and is about to baptize his child, the older women make the sign of the cross in his direction.  Did Henrike not just sit through, sing the same songs and eat the same bread as these ladies?  How can you judge someone as being in need of saving when they just attended mass?  Henrike should be praying for these women, not vice-versa. 

As a past pseudo-punk, I can relate in many ways to the lifestyles of the artists chronicled in this movie.  First, I understand the need to express oneself.  When I was an angst filled teenager, I felt really misunderstood by the world around me and that no one truly knew how I felt.  When I would go to concerts like Warped Tour I would feel as though the people there understood me.  This sense of connection must be the same one that the actual punks feel.  Feeling as though you are in complete understanding with the people in your vicinity is ecstasy.  Second, the Do It Yourself culture is something that our society seems to have forgotten about.  Here in America, we ship jobs to places like Indonesia or hire immigrants to do the work we do not want to do.  Then we complain about how the unemployment rate is so high.  This is because we, as Americans, have deemed some jobs to lowly for ourselves.  It appears as though the more physical and labor demanding a job is, the less American it is.  Therefore we mock and demean the workers.  As a society we have forgotten the feeling of fixing your pipes by yourself or mowing your own lawn.   These values are what used to make America great.  Now we are just a shell of the American dream with no contents on the inside. 

In the current world, all people are connected in some way.  With inventions such as the Internet and faster means of travel through air and sea, products, people and ideas can be transported quicker.  Therefore, new cultural, political and economic influences can be brought to countries that want reform.  As I discussed earlier with Dolly, he works in a Nike shoe factory where he is paid way below American minimum wage.  Also, he works longer and in worse conditions than any American.  However, I love Nike shoes and I love being able to buy new sneakers when I need them.  If Nike were to raise Dolly’s salary, I would have to pay more.  This Catch 22 really makes me think about what is important in my life.  Is being able to buy new sneakers every six months really worth the price of someone else not being able to break socio-economic barriers? 

Ultimately, The Punks are Alright! introduced me to a type of music that is very dear to my heart in other cultures.  It was interesting to see the difficulty that they have in their daily lives by being in a frowned upon subculture.  It does however make me recognize how dumb I must have looked in my early teens pretending to be something I obviously was not.  Henricke, Dolly, Jerinx are the real Punks that actually stand for something.