Punk's Not Dead

Punk’s Not Dead takes the foundation of movies like American Hardcore and Punk: Attitude and builds from there. Seventies punk rock staples like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols are only touched upon; the early ’80s hardcore scene carries slightly more weight, with some attention paid to Black Flag, Minor Threat and others. But where this flick sets itself apart from its predecessors is the attention it pays to bands like Operation Ivy, a group that have been conspicuously absent from many of the "history of punk rock” films. From there it delves into the rise of the genre into mainstream popularity, with bands like Green Day, the Offspring, Rancid and their kin. Really, this is less a film about the history of a musical genre and more a documentary about punk as a cultural movement. The significance of Hot Topic and Warped Tour within the confines of the culture is explored and it’s interesting to hear the opinions of some punk rock luminaries on the subject. The influx of punk rock documentaries has been rather consistent in the past few years and it was becoming doubtful whether anyone would come along to put a different spin on the subject, but Punk’s Not Dead does just that and demonstrates that, as a movement, punk may evolve and change but it’s never going away.