‘Decline of Western Civilisation’: the movie that killed rock and roll
Rock and roll as a genre has been a genre notoriously difficult to kill. As much as people try to put the final nail in the coffin, there will always be another band that puts out an album that will knock everyone on their asses and prove why the genre was so interesting to begin with. If there was any moment where rock should have been read its last rites, it was the premiere of The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2.
Then again, rock and roll has always been kind to its genre films. Bands like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin could have gotten by on just the music, but would fans really be satisfied if they didn’t have films like Let It Be and The Song Remains the Same in their lives for them to check out?
The Decline of Western Civilization didn’t even start out being that bad of a film series. Looking at the very first instalment back in the late 1970s, they documented the rise of the hardcore punk scene with ease, including iconic performances from bands like Fear. That genre was only bound to last for so long, and by the time the cameras started rolling later in the 1980s, the focus had shifted to glam rock.
No problem, right? When MTV started, the hair metal movement was made for the video camera, but once the cameras started rolling, people got a little more than they bargained for. Outside of the glam rock bands that liked to play loud rock music for all who would hear it, the debauchery in the film just made everything look too blown out of proportion.
Despite the long list of no-names that got into the film that no one remembers unless they were either in the band or one of their agents, the lion’s share of the A-list stars definitely aren’t being portrayed in the best light. It’s nice to see someone like Ozzy Osbourne documented, but did he really have to look so blitzed out of his mind that he could hardly pour orange juice when he got up for breakfast?
Even if the Osbourne scene in question was reportedly played up for the camera, it doesn’t portray the rock star lifestyle in the best light. The more egregious example is Chris Holmes from WASP, whom they keep flashing back to throughout the film as he soaks in a pool and ultimately pours what is presumably a bottle of vodka all over himself.
Then again, maybe this was sort of a wake-up call for real rock and rollers. All of a sudden, those excessive nights out on the town seemed to be incredibly sad and borderline pathetic. No matter how many times it tried to come off as cool, seeing someone like Paul Stanley of Kiss being interviewed while in bed just feels more like teenage fantasy at best and casual misogyny at worst.
Even when they’re not focusing on the biggest stars of the time, some of the casual interviews with LA locals seem all the more tragic. Considering a lot of them are talking about getting a record label despite knowing nothing about music, most would hope that the whole thing was staged for the peace of mind that some penniless wannabe musician isn’t still walking those streets today.
Since everything in the film had become overblown to the point of parody, the alternative grunge scene couldn’t have come fast enough. If anything, seeing someone as normal-looking as Kurt Cobain raise hell in a gymnasium was sorely needed after watching bands like Whitesnake riding on the streets of LA with teased hair as large as the camera would allow.
Given that most hair metal got stomped out by grunge, one would think that people like Nirvana pointed to everything going for, but there’s a better case to be made that this film ruined everything for them. Rock stars were supposed to look badass and rule the world through the power of their epic tunes, but watching this movie is a sobering watch for every rock fan who didn’t know what they getting themselves into.
