The Punks Are Alright

"The Punks Are Alright" describes why punk music is so important to people who listen to it, especially fans of the genre who live in third world countries and use it as a means of expressing discontent.  In such countries, political and social repression is very prevalent and the victims of this oppression often communicate their frustration through punk music.  Punk music is characterized by its chaotic and rebellious nature, as well as its angry and loud sound. 

The movie also shows how punk can connect people all over the world, as the movie first showed the Forgotten Rebels in Canada, then the Blind Pigs in Brazil, and finally Superman is Dead in Indonesia.  Though these bands were based in countries all over the world, they all shared similar punk values.  Especially in Brazil and Indonesia, children and teens often become victims of drug violence and are rarely able to escape the horrible circumstances they are born into.  Before seeing this movie, I really didn't have a clear understanding of what punk music was.  I knew it was loud and angry but didn't understand the message that it aims to send or the reasons for why it sounds so angry.  It is clear to me now that punk serves as an outlet for youths in such areas to express their anger at the government, the failure of capitalism, or at social repressors. 

I was also surprised to learn in class that people who attended these punk concerts and participated in mosh pits are actually less violent than others who do not.  When I first saw the movie, I was confused as to how a band could send a message like "Fuck the System," and then turn around and tell interviewers that if everyone were punk, there would be no war.  I didn't understand how this could be possible considering how confrontational their music was, but I now see how punk music actually is an outlet for their anger and frustration.  Once they have expressed it in the form of music, they are less likely to express it through acts of violence against others.

One of the more interesting parts of the movie, in my opinion, was when one of the singers interviewed a girl in Brazil and she shared her opinions on punk music and on the situation she lived in.  She suggested that people living in the first world start paying more attention to how their actions affect other people and not be so worried about themselves.  It is so easy to forget that many of the items we buy and use every day are produced in countries like those shown in the movie.  Because we demand quality goods at low prices, and because there are no laws protecting laborers in these countries, many jobs are outsourced and given to workers like Dolly in Indonesia, who is paid the equivalent of $2.66 a day.  However, while some may argue that we must move away from outsourcing such jobs in order to stop the spread of unfair labor, the removal of companies (Nike, for example) from such countries would be devastating.  While workers may not work in the best conditions and are not paid nearly enough, the alternative is that they would have no source of income at all, or that they would turn toward drug trafficking as a way of making a living.  This is why the situation in such countries is very delicate and cannot easily be fixed just by removing capitalist influences.