As far as society goes, it’s hard to say what it takes for kids these days to do what they're “supposed to do.” And by this I mean, graduate high school, get a diploma, go to college, get a degree, then after all the schooling is over with, of course the next step is to get a good job. For some, the struggle is not finding a good job, or finding the time to do well in school, or even getting into, let alone graduating from college. For some, the struggle is more-so convincing themselves that it's all worth it. Let's face it- society has its problems. We have massive amounts of corruption in government, a significant gap between our nation’s rich and poor and we're constantly involving ourselves in wars which we have no business being a part of for profit. Everyone is too busy concerned themselves with material items and their own appearance that no one really seems to care about morality, or even doing the right thing anymore. Ironically, it tends to be the most level headed people that are looked down upon to be the outcasts of the world.
The film SLC Punk, written by James Merendino, explores the mind of one Stevo, a high school and college graduate punk with surprisingly stellar grades, in my opinion, brilliantly played by Matthew Lilliard(Scream, Without A Paddle, Scooby Doo). Throughout the film he gives his inner thoughts about his take on society, as well as what he does to differentiate himself from the so-called norm. Stevo introduces himself as a die hard punk with anarchist views in which structure and control should be not-existent and in which chaos is the only true form of government. Throughout the film he bashes “posers” for being fake punks with ambitions of eventually joining society in their fight to maintain normality in the world and to join “the system.” He also goes on to make fun of skinheads, mods, new-wavers, geeks and what he considers to be the arch nemesis of the punks, red necks. He describes justifies his hate for red necks "because they represent everything (wrong) about America, embracing racism, ignorance and undying love for their country which is the absolute opposite of a punk." Punks will embrace anyone with the same morals as them, whether they dress the part or at least contribute to them in certain ways in which they will benefit. Even if that means simply being able to maintain a solid argument about why they feel their beliefs are more valid than someone else’s.
In a world where people are constantly being judged and evaluated based on what they do for a living, how much money they make, or their overall appearance, those that feel these things are unimportant to them often turn to other means of expressing them self, which often times tends to lead to a belief that the best type of government is no government at all. Anarchy is, as far as society is concerned, the very root of all evil because of the way that it sets us
up for utter chaos and ultimately leads to the end of the world. Throughout the film SLC Punk, Stevo and several other characters in the movie talk about the “the end” as if it is something to look forward to. One scene in specific takes place towards the second half of the film when Stevo and Sandy, who is his girlfriend at the time, trip acid in a park and chat about how “beautiful” the end of the world is going to be. It takes until Stevo runs into an old friend and fellow punk Sean, who very early on in the film unintentionally experiences a massive amount of acid, causing him to basically lose his mind, and is eventually sent to a mental hospital after attempting to stab his mother while tripping. Stevo sees Sean a couple years down the road on the streets begging for money and comes to the realization that what Sean was experiencing, being homeless and miserable, was ultimately true anarchy, and that it was not the “beautiful” conclusion that he and Sandy had imagined. It was actually quite sad.Another turning point for Stevo was experiencing the unexpected death of his best friend, Heroin Bob (who was given this name not because of drug use but because of his immense fear of needles), at a party in which he was drinking excessively and after complaining about having a headache, Bob was given Percodan and died in his sleep of drug overdose. The irony in Heroin Bob’s death was that he was about as straight edge as punks come, abstaining from any type of drugs besides cigarettes and alcohol, normally including any type of pill even as simple as an aspirin tablet. After Heroin Bob’s death, Stevo realizes that the same thing could happen to him if he continues the way he has been living with his punk ways and overwhelming anarchist beliefs. Near the conclusion of the film Stevo is shown at Bob’s funeral with a shaved head(contrary to his wild blue hair that he sports throughout the film leading up to this) and “normal” clothes, showing that he has made a transformation of mind and body and that his youthful punk ways are over with.
In the final soliloquy of the film Stevo goes on to describe his intentions on attending Harvard Law School, and to follow in the foot steps of his father and become a lawyer. This is an obvious, direct contradiction of everything that he had once stood for. His explanation for his vast turn around is that he understands that being a punk and practicing the ideas of anarchy really lead you nowhere. As far as society is concerned, there is no sufficient outcry capable of changing the way things are, no matter how extreme they may be. In this final scene Stevo mentions that his youthful self would probably “kick his future self’s ass,” and eventually admits that he was in fact a “trendy ass poser” all along. Between seeing anarchy at it’s lowest of lows in Sean, and mourning the death of his best friend, whom he eventually blames for directing him to become a punk in the first place. Stevo becomes a symbol of change and transformation and the perfect model for one route in which a youth in revolt “grows up” and becomes an adult. After all, “we can do a hell of a lot more damage in the system than outside of it.”
-C. Hammock
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