Punk You

I'm watching this documentary on IFC called "Punk:Attitude". It's actually kind of interesting, all about the history and evolution of punk music (a genre I've never particularly enjoyed). There are numerous interviews with various folks from the punk scene in the late 70's and early 80's. Many of the interviewees are smoking or drinking as they talk into the cameras; a number of them have been rendered nearly incoherent by years of drug abuse (Chrissy Hynde and Henry Rollins being the most well-spoken of the bunch). All of them seem to be simultaneously respectful and resentful of Nirvana and the success of the grunge movement in the early 90's.

Clearly, Punk had an important impact on the history of popular culture. But the coda of the film has nearly all of the interviewees from the film working the phrase 'fuck you' into their closing remarks. It's quite the thing. They seem to think that having that attutude is extremely important. And I can't help but think that if you go throgh your entire life defining yourself by those two words, you're missing an awful lot. These folks have a lot of power when it comes to forming opinions among the masses, especially among yong people, and the y know it. Yet they can't come up with anything deeper or more nuanced? Fuck you, indeed.