Term Papers on Poignantly Punk

Term Paper Title	Poignantly Punk
# of Words	3584
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	14.34

Poignantly Punk

Marissa McConnell
9/11/98
ENG 105

     The teen years are when you question your identity and as a reflex action you rebel against authority. You can rebel as a rapper, a heavy metal headbanger, a punk, a surfer - the usual menu of approved teen rebellions most often explored. It is within these years that the world seems turned against you and you need to find some way to react and cope with all the confusion; to try to find a way to make sense of all the craziness. I guess I identified with the punk perspective, if you could call it that, and found my own little place within the subculture, although not as extreme as others, still a place. Yet now, looking back, I remember a time when I enjoyed being angry at the world, because at least I knew I felt something; something I thought I could define. And I reacted, by doing what I wanted to do.
     You start out slow, go to a few shows, feel as though you belong to the elite little community. Eventually your hair turns blue (or at least mine did), then it gets cut to about two inch spikes, and eventually a hole gets poked through your tongue to make room for a 14 gauge barbell. Life is short, so do the things you want to do while you still can. Be irresponsible before society really makes you conform to its rules. All of these things went through my mind. Then my hair turns black (everyone has to get a job eventually), it slowly starts to grow out, but the barbell stays. When you pay good money for something, it is hard to part with. Looking back I don't regret any part of it. I had fun, and I still do. Some of the attitudes I still identify with, and the music is still my favorite, but I don't consider it as much of a lifestyle. I haven't changed much since then, and I'd love to be able to pierce whatever I want with no worries; self-expression fueled by the latest fads. Conforming to individualism....it sounds so pointless, but why is it so popular? Some say that punk is dead. Yet an impact on society has definitely been made, lives changed, ideals affected, fashion trends set, and an entire subculture formed.

     Most punks agree that Punk is an expression of rebellion, and has been around for well over 25 years now. Yet still nobody can agree on what it is. Is it a style of music? An attitude? A frame of reference, political system, or spiritual philosophy, or just a trendy way to dress and act. Punk could very well be one, some, or all of the above. That is what makes it indescribable. Punk is defined by each person as they experience it. And no one can define punk beyond their own interpretation, because punk, like art really is whatever you think it is. One question though, is what attracts people to punk?
     One person who feels he knows what that may be is Richard Mauro. Richard designs "punk furniture" using recycled materials; creating pieces he hopes people will take notice of. One of these pieces is a chaise made out of an old army blanket covered with one thousand  number three safety pins. Mr. Mauro believes that, "people are bored with themselves, with the news, and everything feels bland and redundant.  That's one reason: We need something to get us going.  And the other's that there's been this duality for so long which the kids are seeing through, because they are fed us with it.  The duality between public politeness and the kinds of rude profanities you use in private, for example. Let me bring all that violence out instead of hiding it. That's the kind of things the kids are saying to themselves, and the press is helping them to bring it out because it needs sensationalism.  So punk is a way of attacking hypocrisy, really..." (Selzer 72). From another point of view, John Rockwell of the New York Times feels that punk is, "a symbol of the restless energies of a youthful subculture that found industrialized bourgeois society hypocritical and stale" (Selzer 110). They agree, in speaking out against hypocrisy, but how innovative is that? Yet why would hypocrisy be condoned by any social group?
     There is something else about punk music t...

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