International Punk Film: "The Punks Are Alright"

After watching "The Punks Are Alright", I was exposed to a different view of music that I haven't experienced before. From an American view, third-world countries are looked down upon because of a significant lower GDP and an unstable government. I used to share this view until I went to the Ecuador for a mission trip. During this mission trip, I learned to look at youth culture in third-world countries not as worse but as different. Its a different atmosphere, in bad ways and in good ways. Sure there is a higher rate of poverty and lower standard of living but there are also good aspects such as the way the people bond with each other and the happiness people get from simply spending time with each other. This video not only reinforced my changed outlook on third-world countries but provided new insights that I wasn't exposed to in Ecuador, primarily the music aspect. I never knew that thousands of miles away from America, you'll find similar sounding music. From Canada, to Brazil, to Indonesia, punk music is the connective tissue that takes on different languages but still resembles the same meaning.

I can relate with artists in this film on the shared belief music can be used as an escape from the problems of reality. Henrike from Brazil couldn't have put it any more clearer. He said "No matter what music you listen to (rap/rock/punk/jazz), its all punk man because of the environment around you". Punk music is any music that people use to create an escape in there own lives. Dolly ads that punk music is "A remedy for my sickness". I can relate to these two because whenever I am emotional and desire to escape, I will listen to my favorite genre of music; Contemporary R&B. Furthermore, punk creates a since of flow for people in third-world countries and makes the people keep coming back for more instead of participating in illegal activities. By reflecting on this movie, I have found that I share another connection with Henrike and Dolly. Punk music to Henrike and Dolly is what snowboarding is to me. Snowboarding creates a since of flow, and whenever I'm sad or angry, instead of relieving my frustration through drugs like some of my friends do, I just go to the slopes to snowboard and feel and since of free-spiritedness. Furthermore, I also found a connection of values between Henrike and I. Henrike and I both have a shared value in spending time with our families. No matter where we will go in this world, Henrike and i believe that our families will always be there for us.

Its difficult to fathom how a suburban white college student can intersect economically, culturally, and politically with the lives of the people interviewed in this film. I think more about it, I start to realize that I do intersect with the interviewees. The teenage girl at the Brazilian skate park had beautiful advice. She stated "All you first world people, think more about the people suffering in the third world and stop just thinking of yourselves." I don't think many Americans can grasp the immense difficulty of living a life in the third world. I was fortunate enough to get a glimpse of this lifestyle in the third world country of Ecuador and plan to go back as a volunteer in the next four years. In class today we talked about outsourcing, a very controversial topic. This is a very difficult subject for me to develop an opinion on and I'm conflicted every time this subject is debated. Being a Kelley business student, I will learn that outsourcing is a very cheap way to produce a product and a very easy way to increase a businesses profit margin. Even though this might sound beneficial to the business, there is a huge moral question at stake due to the awful work conditions of foreign employees. In Indonesia, Dolly works for a wire company for under three dollars a day. Six days a week, Dolly has to take a two hour commute riding four different buses to and from the factory. Economically, Dolly and I connect. I recently just looked in my closet and found two shirts and a pair of shoes that were all made from Indonesia. Sadly, the persistence of my consumerism is what causes the continuation of the awful work conditions Dolly experiences.

Shockingly, this video has opened my eyes a little bit more to the ubiquitous problems that the world faces. As a result of watching this video, I will earnestly attempt to go on more mission trips to help people locally and globally. Nevertheless, through all the struggles that Henrike and Dolly face, they turn to punk music to give them a sense of power and freedom.