As Wake Up Punk opens, an on-screen message reads: “In the 1970s punk launched a full frontal assault on society…’you have to destroy in order to create’…but it wasn’t about the music…” The film swiftly cuts to Vivienne Westwood chatting with sons Joe Corré and Ben Westwood about punk fashion, about the early days of the movement and what Malcolm McLaren, the manager of The Sex Pistols and self-styled ‘godfather off punk,’ was really like.
Flicking through old publications and examining early fashion designs, the family threesome look at designs for punk’s representation on credit cards, debating on how punk began as an anarchist movement before its inevitable segue into a marketing opportunity.
The film at times playfully blends classic observational docmaking with a dash of magical realism (it features scenes of street urchin children working in a sweatshop – seemingly run by Vivienne Westwood – who discuss how the world is controlled by a few very wealthy people) as it charts the rise and the energy of punk, as well as its eventual capitulation in the face of commercial interests.
Joe Corré, the son of the Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and designer Vivienne Westwood, feels driven by a righteous anger about how ‘punk has become part of business as usual’, but he also hopes that the punk spirit lives on in the guise of current protest movements. He responds to an exhibition of punk at the Museum of London by announcing that he plans to burn an estimated £5m worth of punk memorabilia as a protest against the commodification of punk.
The film features illuminating contributions from various folk who were involved in the early days. We meet punk musician Eddie Tudor-Pole and artist Daniel Lismore through to performer Jordan Mooney and film critic Alan Jones who worked as a shop assistant in Westwood’s shop. The real insight, however, comes from the ever-frank and insightful Vivienne Westwood who is both bemused about how her fashion ideas have been appropriated and supportive of Corré’s fight for the legacy of punk.
In the film’s notes, Corré comments: “Wake Up Punk presents a self-reflection to the reactionary. It asks the questions about what we really value, through exposing the reality that Punk has lost its currency, if indeed it ever had any in the first place. During the process of making the film, it was obvious and necessary to provide insight and explanation into the origins of Punk. This included elements of my family’s story, background and relationships, some of which are highly personal, and I have found difficult to share.”
The powerful and artistic climax sees Corré setting fire to the numerous punk artefacts. This incendiary act of ‘cultural terrorism’ is a striking and intellectually provocative moment which raises questions as to the longevity and the true value of perhaps the 20th century’s most volatile anarchist movement.
UK, 2022, 84mins
Dir/Producer Nigel Askew
Production Know Future, Bus Stop Entertainment
Cinematography/Editor Nigel Askew
Music Adamski
With Vivienne Westwood, Malcolm McLaren, Joe Corré, Eddie Tudor-Pole, Steve Jones, Ben Westwood, Jordan Mooney, Alan Jones
