lazerskull
Well-known member
I just saw what I believe to be one of the most important films created in my lifetime.
Here is my review:
This film, by Stuart Swezey, documents an important time in American history. And as with any time in human history, where there is political change, there is artistic change. Whatever you "do" in life, this movie will affect you. If you are an artist, you will see people seeking out their craft despite impossible odds. If you are a parent. You will see rambunctious 20 somethings who though outcast and stigmatized, champion the cause of our most primal human needs for acceptance, expression, actualization and community... If you are into sociology, and wondering what on Earth is happening to our world. You will see how every human experience is now commodified, through thoughtful storytelling that documents a true tale. This commodification appears not as a symptom of an overnight flu or cold, but epidemic of a larger paradigm, and you will gain a sense of that paradigm, if you choose to see. In this film the past comes to meet the present; like rays of light from a distant supernova, recorded in faint traces as specs of pixelated dirt by our space telescopes. And by connecting the two in this way, without agenda, this film, it could be said, ensures and reminds us all of a future that remains undetermined: this alone is the film's greatest contribution. By the film's end, I felt like I had read "Siddartha" or George Wein's, "Myself Among Others: My Life in Music." [An autobiography that documents the birth of Jazz].
https://www.desolationcenter.com/
[Here's the part where I confess my bias.] Personally, this movie reminds me of how lucky and grateful I am to have witnessed but a glimpse of the punk rock movement first hand, during the mid 90's. Already then, the punk scene was in its twilight hour. Had I been born a few years later, more than likely, my only idea of punk would be "The Warped Tour" variety of punk that is common now. I was barely a teenager then, yet I was able to participate in a thriving punk scene in Sacramento and Roseville (often to my parent's chagrin) largely thanks to folks I shall not name but who know who they are. I saw bands like "Old Man Homo" "Lil Bunnies" "My Brother Hans" "The Buckys" "Los Huevos" to name a few that I can recall off the top of my head... I even formed a little "punk" band of my own... though we were more "new wave surf metal" than punk, really. And it was because of the punk scene, that I even chose music initially, as a means of expressing myself. I still remember the first time I performed publicly, it was in a friend's garage at a summer party... it only took one show really and my life would never be the same. The punk scene afforded me with a comfortable, supportive culture: people knew each other, saw each other's bands, and watched each other's shows. It was the "folk music" of my time and of so many others. Without those shows and experiences and people, I would not be the person I am today. I would not see the world the same, and I would not be a musician. This film reminds me of the goodness that came from the punk tradition and how its legacy continues to effect our current culture.
Music is language by which a people get along. You can get an idea of a people by their music. And there is no good or bad music. There are only good and bad people, and those good and bad people make good and bad choices and therefore, good and bad music. The people shown in Desolation Center were good (even the guy who almost kills them all when one of his pyrotechnics events goes a little not as planned). Finally, I've always liked the band Sonic Youth as one of my top five all time favorite bands. And I never knew why exactly. Until I saw this. Now I do.
Here is my review:
This film, by Stuart Swezey, documents an important time in American history. And as with any time in human history, where there is political change, there is artistic change. Whatever you "do" in life, this movie will affect you. If you are an artist, you will see people seeking out their craft despite impossible odds. If you are a parent. You will see rambunctious 20 somethings who though outcast and stigmatized, champion the cause of our most primal human needs for acceptance, expression, actualization and community... If you are into sociology, and wondering what on Earth is happening to our world. You will see how every human experience is now commodified, through thoughtful storytelling that documents a true tale. This commodification appears not as a symptom of an overnight flu or cold, but epidemic of a larger paradigm, and you will gain a sense of that paradigm, if you choose to see. In this film the past comes to meet the present; like rays of light from a distant supernova, recorded in faint traces as specs of pixelated dirt by our space telescopes. And by connecting the two in this way, without agenda, this film, it could be said, ensures and reminds us all of a future that remains undetermined: this alone is the film's greatest contribution. By the film's end, I felt like I had read "Siddartha" or George Wein's, "Myself Among Others: My Life in Music." [An autobiography that documents the birth of Jazz].
https://www.desolationcenter.com/
[Here's the part where I confess my bias.] Personally, this movie reminds me of how lucky and grateful I am to have witnessed but a glimpse of the punk rock movement first hand, during the mid 90's. Already then, the punk scene was in its twilight hour. Had I been born a few years later, more than likely, my only idea of punk would be "The Warped Tour" variety of punk that is common now. I was barely a teenager then, yet I was able to participate in a thriving punk scene in Sacramento and Roseville (often to my parent's chagrin) largely thanks to folks I shall not name but who know who they are. I saw bands like "Old Man Homo" "Lil Bunnies" "My Brother Hans" "The Buckys" "Los Huevos" to name a few that I can recall off the top of my head... I even formed a little "punk" band of my own... though we were more "new wave surf metal" than punk, really. And it was because of the punk scene, that I even chose music initially, as a means of expressing myself. I still remember the first time I performed publicly, it was in a friend's garage at a summer party... it only took one show really and my life would never be the same. The punk scene afforded me with a comfortable, supportive culture: people knew each other, saw each other's bands, and watched each other's shows. It was the "folk music" of my time and of so many others. Without those shows and experiences and people, I would not be the person I am today. I would not see the world the same, and I would not be a musician. This film reminds me of the goodness that came from the punk tradition and how its legacy continues to effect our current culture.
Music is language by which a people get along. You can get an idea of a people by their music. And there is no good or bad music. There are only good and bad people, and those good and bad people make good and bad choices and therefore, good and bad music. The people shown in Desolation Center were good (even the guy who almost kills them all when one of his pyrotechnics events goes a little not as planned). Finally, I've always liked the band Sonic Youth as one of my top five all time favorite bands. And I never knew why exactly. Until I saw this. Now I do.