If there's a Punk Rock Mount Rushmore, many would argue that Poly Styrene's face belongs there with the likes of Strummer and MacKaye. She wasn't just on the ground floor — she poured the concrete and laid the foundation: Poly attended an early Sex Pistols show in 1976, then immediately formed X-Ray Spex by posting an ad in Melody Maker seeking "young punks." It was that easy — but the rest of the punk icon's story is more complicated. Ironically entitled I Am a Cliché, the life of Poly Styrene (born Marianne Elliott-Said) couldn't be further from it. She's essentially the first woman of colour to front a famous hard rock band of any sort, and thankfully her daughter, Celeste Bell, teamed up with Paul Sng to co-direct this deserved documentary.
Normally it's suspect to have a friend or family member in the director's chair, but Bell doesn't flinch when she offers up the unvarnished truth. She's an authentic narrator, and when discussing her mother, Bell confesses, "Creative people don't make the best parents and she certainly neglected my needs sometimes." It's tough to hear about a punk hero in a negative light, but the truth of Poly Styrene's life is that she endured misogyny, racism and mental illness all at the same time, and all during the peak of her career.
Poly Styrene wasn't just another snotty kid who came outta the seminal punk boom of '77. Her powerhouse vocals, striking fashion stylings and subversive message set her apart and got X-Ray Spex signed to EMI in short order. They played live on BBC's Top of the Pops and got invited to play shows in America. That seems to be where things went sideways for our star, as she tells us, "I went to New York and it really turned my head." The unraveling happened fast for Poly Styrene, and at age 21 she was told she would "never work again." The film covers the downward spiral, but to this day it's still unclear whether it was a spiritual awakening or a mental breakdown.
I Am a Cliché is only 96 minutes, but there's still some fat that could be trimmed off this documentary. Then again, this could the only time her crucial story is told on film, so we're grateful it is so comprehensive. Stories like how Poly Styrene was cast out of the Hare Krishna temple because she was chasing the monks in the nude are not only comical to think about, but also illuminating when we reflect back on the zany punk maverick.
There's a lot of insightful testimony peppered into I Am a Cliché, but for some reason we have no visuals of these interviews — so notables like Vivienne Westwood, Don Letts and Kathleen Hanna are just voices off camera. For example, Thurston Moore shares a story about attending the first X-Ray Spex show in the US. The Sonic Youth legend is giddy as he describes being in the front row at CBGB's when Poly handed him the mic during "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and he crows, "It was like being knighted!" You can hear him glowing about the historic anecdote — and we want to see him tell that tale. We can only assume that it wasn't an aesthetic choice, but more likely a casualty of pandemic logistics.
The old footage from the 1970's is invaluable, and even though Celeste Bell is a reluctant curator of her mother's legacy, the film conveys the story with the right amount of truth and tenderness. Bell explains, "By the time I realized my mother was such a remarkable woman and role model … it was too late." We watch interviews of Poly as an awkward teen, braces and all. We read from her diary. Viewers will realize that Poly Styrene was a supremely talented, special individual, and the documentarians do a loving job of expressing why she belongs up on that Punk Rock Mount Rushmore.
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché is available now on VOD.
(Photon Films)Normally it's suspect to have a friend or family member in the director's chair, but Bell doesn't flinch when she offers up the unvarnished truth. She's an authentic narrator, and when discussing her mother, Bell confesses, "Creative people don't make the best parents and she certainly neglected my needs sometimes." It's tough to hear about a punk hero in a negative light, but the truth of Poly Styrene's life is that she endured misogyny, racism and mental illness all at the same time, and all during the peak of her career.
Poly Styrene wasn't just another snotty kid who came outta the seminal punk boom of '77. Her powerhouse vocals, striking fashion stylings and subversive message set her apart and got X-Ray Spex signed to EMI in short order. They played live on BBC's Top of the Pops and got invited to play shows in America. That seems to be where things went sideways for our star, as she tells us, "I went to New York and it really turned my head." The unraveling happened fast for Poly Styrene, and at age 21 she was told she would "never work again." The film covers the downward spiral, but to this day it's still unclear whether it was a spiritual awakening or a mental breakdown.
I Am a Cliché is only 96 minutes, but there's still some fat that could be trimmed off this documentary. Then again, this could the only time her crucial story is told on film, so we're grateful it is so comprehensive. Stories like how Poly Styrene was cast out of the Hare Krishna temple because she was chasing the monks in the nude are not only comical to think about, but also illuminating when we reflect back on the zany punk maverick.
There's a lot of insightful testimony peppered into I Am a Cliché, but for some reason we have no visuals of these interviews — so notables like Vivienne Westwood, Don Letts and Kathleen Hanna are just voices off camera. For example, Thurston Moore shares a story about attending the first X-Ray Spex show in the US. The Sonic Youth legend is giddy as he describes being in the front row at CBGB's when Poly handed him the mic during "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and he crows, "It was like being knighted!" You can hear him glowing about the historic anecdote — and we want to see him tell that tale. We can only assume that it wasn't an aesthetic choice, but more likely a casualty of pandemic logistics.
The old footage from the 1970's is invaluable, and even though Celeste Bell is a reluctant curator of her mother's legacy, the film conveys the story with the right amount of truth and tenderness. Bell explains, "By the time I realized my mother was such a remarkable woman and role model … it was too late." We watch interviews of Poly as an awkward teen, braces and all. We read from her diary. Viewers will realize that Poly Styrene was a supremely talented, special individual, and the documentarians do a loving job of expressing why she belongs up on that Punk Rock Mount Rushmore.
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché is available now on VOD.
