USA: PENELOPE SPHEERIS MAKES FILM OF HOMELESS ,LOS ANGELES YOUTH IN "THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION ,PART 111"

Record ID: 388081

  • Title: USA: PENELOPE SPHEERIS MAKES FILM OF HOMELESS ,LOS ANGELES YOUTH IN "THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION ,PART 111"
  • Date: 28th November 1998
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 12, 1998) (RTV -- ACCESS ALL (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) PENELOPE SPHEERIS, DIRECTOR OF DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION III SAYING "There is often times a feeling of disdain for these kids and then often times a feeling of endearment. As you may know from looking at my film I ultimately love them dearly and want to do everything
  • Embargoed: 13th December 1998 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA2JOCFWIDAW59TFAXM15BA7VF8
  • Story Text: Penelope Spheeris, finding time between her gigs as a director for hire on such pictures as "Wayne's World" and "The Little Rascals" has delivered "The Decline of Western Civilization Part III," her look at the lives of the homeless, nomadic punk kids of Los Angeles.
    Whereas the first installment of Spheeris' trilogy concerned itself with the birth of a new music genre and the second on the Los Angeles metal scene, Part III focuses on the lifestyles of present-day punk kids.Most are teenage alcoholics who panhandle and occupy abandoned buildings for shelter.They simultaneously evoke emotions of deep empathy and pathetic disdain.Spheeris brings the viewer into a subculture of a once vibrant creative force, offshoot "gutterpunks" of the politically adept Punk movement in Los Angeles.
    The film combines interviews with faithful fans of the residual Punk music scene, live performances by underground bands and accounts from those who have an intimate knowledge of the scene.
    Director Spheeris personally financed the project, with the intention that all proceeds from its distribution go to charities for homeless young people and abused children.
    Spheeris' directorial debut was her initial "The Decline of Western Civilization," a term she found ironic as a title for that 1979 film but now sees as prophetic.In 1998 "Part II: The Metal Years" was released.Part III's focus on lifestyle rather than music was a conscious decision by Spheeris as well as a realization that the most tangible legacy of the erly Punk movement were the "gutterpunks," the products of child abuse and a society truly in decline.
    "Decline III" reaches into the undrside of this subculture to indicate that twenty years later perhaps Johnny Rotten's "No Future" reference has taken on a new meaning.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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