{"id":640,"date":"2015-06-30T10:39:52","date_gmt":"2015-06-30T17:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/?p=7069"},"modified":"2015-11-05T18:33:23","modified_gmt":"2015-11-05T18:33:23","slug":"decline-of-western-civilization-other-favorite-rock-docs","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/decline-of-western-civilization-other-favorite-rock-docs\/","title":{"rendered":"Penelope Spheeris’ Decline of Western Civilization Rises Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: While these aren’t <\/em>Independent Lens films of course, the <\/em>Decline films\u00a0are\u00a0some of our very favorite music docs, make for perfect summertime viewing, and are finally all out together on DVD. Read on\u00a0for critic Noel Murray’s exclusive take on them, and a few more of his own favorites.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Filmmaker<\/a>

Filmmaker Penelope Spheeris surrounded by Poison (the band)<\/p><\/div>\n

By Noel Murray<\/b><\/p>\n

Each of director Penelope Spheeris\u2019 three Decline of Western Civilization<\/a><\/i> documentaries contains a moment where the various punk and metal bands featured in the films stand on the stage and read a disclaimer to the audience, warning them that by attending the show, they’re consenting to being photographed. Spheeris and her editors cut all the announcements together, being sure to keep in any moment where the men and women at the microphone insult their fans or mock the entire Decline <\/i>project. These scenes are important, because they cut to the heart of what Spheeris\u2019 films are all about: the flippant anti-authoritarianism of youth culture, the illusion that rockers and their fans are on the same level, and the disturbing awareness that being an anarchic rebel can only carry a person so far.<\/p>\n

This week, Shout! Factory<\/a> is releasing the three Decline<\/i>s in DVD and Blu-ray box sets, answering the demand from documentary devotees and music buffs who\u2019ve been waiting for Spheeris to clear up any lingering rights issues and get her best work back out on home video. Watched in succession, 1981\u2019s The Decline of Western Civilization<\/i>, 1988\u2019s The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years<\/i>, and 1998\u2019s The Decline of Western Civilization III<\/i> tell a story about 20 years of life in the Los Angeles music scene \u2014 functioning almost like a rock musical version of Michael Apted\u2019s Up<\/i> series. It\u2019s not just the announcement montage that these three have in common. They share a point of view, and a generosity of spirit that gives their subjects the benefit of the doubt whether they’re begging in the streets or living in a mansion.<\/p>\n

Below are key moments from each of the Decline<\/i> films, which help define both what they\u2019re about individually, and how they all fit together.<\/p>\n

The Decline of Western Civilization I<\/i><\/b>\u2026 Darby cooks (and bleeds)<\/b><\/p>\n

The first Decline<\/i> film is the favorite of discerning rockophiles, since Spheeris was around to capture some of the most vital bands in the early L.A. punk scene: Black Flag, X, Circle Jerks, and Fear (and, uh\u2026 Catholic Discipline). Some of the most important footage here, though, is of the late Darby Crash<\/a>, the troubled genius who led Germs before dying of a drug overdose December of 1980, a few months before The Decline of Western Civilization<\/i> <\/a>was released. In between the performances by and interviews with future punk legends, Spheeris has conversations with fans, who talk about what the music and the scene means to them.<\/p>\n

But when Spheeris talks to Darby (while he\u2019s in his kitchen preparing a meal, similar to Ozzy Osbourne in a famous moment from Decline II<\/i>), the Germs singer really doesn’t seem that far removed from the people who came to see him play. They all come across as equally damaged \u2014 especially when Darby talks about how many times he\u2019s harmed himself or let the audience harm him during a show. Spheeris contrasts the low-key offstage Darby with the intoxicated, barely coherent animal he became while performing, and thus exposes some of the limits of adopting a nihilistic persona.<\/p>\n