Friday at 11:30AM, the American Sci-fi Classics track met in M103-M105 (Marriott) for the panel “No Future For You: Punk Rock Sci-Fi of the 1980s.” Moderator Kevin Cafferty chatted with panelists Gary Mitchell, Joe Crow, Steve Glover, Calvin Watts, III, Andrew E.C. Gaska, and Chris Cummins shared their thoughts on a wide range of 80s movies that fit the description of “punk rock sci-fi.”
The first point of business concentrated on the definition of punk rock sci-fi. The panel agreed that punk rock sci-fi is anti-establishment, anti-authoritarian, and is typically filmed with a low budget or DIY. It also normally warns viewers about corporate greed and the capitalistic Reaganomics policies. Though it is called punk rock, it does not necessarily include punk rock music and may or may not include a character or two with a mohawk. They also agreed that punk rock sci-fi is not cyberpunk, the Misfits, or “that one episode of Quincy, ME.” In general, Kevin Cafferty summarized that it might be difficult to verbalize exactly what punk rock sci-fi is, but you will know it when you see it.
The first movie the panel talked about getting punk rock sci-fi right was Repo Man. Released in 1984 and starring Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton, this movie is considered a perfect example of the punk rock sci-fi genre. Michael Nesmith (“the most punk member of The Monkees”) acted as an executive producer for the film. As the panel talked about the themes of the movie, they noted that many punk rock sci-fi movies have themes or motifs that leave the ordinary behind and tend to border on the surreal.
The next movie the panel discussed as getting it right was The Return of the Living Dead (1985). This movie even had a mohawk! In most movies, the punk characters represent the “bad guy” that the “good guy” can beat. But in this movie, Chris Cummins posited that all the heroes were punk in their own ways. This comment prompted the panel to define punk culture. They determined that punk culture is someone who is an outsider, they display a level of anti-authority, and they tend to be offensive.
Liquid Sky (1982) was the next movie the panel introduced. This movie takes a departure from the previous two grindhouse types. It is more artsy with a techno music soundtrack. A couple of the panelists mentioned that the film was truly unsettling. While the other films are mostly a warning against corporate greed creating a dystopia, this film is more of a look at the AIDS crisis and how that health issue affected the world.
The movie RoboCop (1987) was up next and was introduced as being inadvertently punk. The panel also agreed that RoboCop was certainly ahead of its time. The movie is a cautionary tale of the corporatization of everything, beginning with the police and prison systems. The story created a world in which you must be punk just to survive. The movie shows a departure from robots being void of emotions while RoboCop tries to remember his humanity and fights the corporate system while still upholding the law.
They Live (1988) was a film by John Carpenter that fits into the punk rock sci-fi genre. Per panelist Gary Mitchell, They Live is a big “F you” to the ’80s, Reaganomics, consumerism, and the American empire. It also introduces the idea that the only thing worse than Reagan was a sellout, per Kevin Cafferty. Finally, Calvin Watts, III added his take that They Live could have come out yesterday and still be relevant.
Breaking Glass (1980) was described by Chris Cummins as a punk rock musical version of The Terminator. The protagonist was a tragic heroine who eventually had a breakdown as she realized she had become what she was fighting against all along. The message of the film was, “You can’t fight the system; it will grind you down and kill you.”
As time was running out, the panel quickly went through the following movies as more instances of punk rock sci-fi: Mad Max 2 (1981), Dead End Drive-In (1986), Night of the Comet (1984), The Terminator (1984), Videodrome (1983), Burst City (1982), Class of 1984 (1982), Night of the Demons (1988), and finally Population: 1 (1986).
If you are looking for these punk rock sci-fi movies and are hoping to hear the original punk music soundtrack, you will not be able to do so with most of the DVDs or Blu-rays as the licensing for the music was not always granted. You will need to find a VHS recording. Otherwise, you can typically find the original soundtrack separately. In addition, most of these movies are available for streaming with a few of them even available on YouTube.
