Beyond that, though, the lines get blurrier. Roughly speaking, it covers parts of the world where the dominant cultural norms originated in Western Europe, including North America, Australia and New Zealand. Western civilisation is a similarly slippery concept. So, when we talk about collapse, do we mean that people lose everything and go back to the dark ages? Or that it’s going to be socially and politically turbulent for a while? The end of Ancient Egypt was more of a change in the balance of power than a catastrophic event in which everyone died. We talk about the collapse of the Roman Empire in the middle of the first millennium, for example, but there is plenty of evidence that the empire existed in some form for centuries afterwards and that its influence lingers today. Using science to predict the future isn’t easy, not least because both “collapse” and “Western civilisation” are difficult to define. Meanwhile, over in the old world, Europe is mired in its own problems. For others, it’s a dangerous move that threatens to undermine the whole world order. For some, his turning away from international commitments is part of fulfilling his promise to “make America great again” by concentrating on its own interests. But it has gained a new urgency with recent political events, not least the election of US president Donald Trump. The idea that Western power and influence is in gradual decline, perhaps as a prelude to a precipitous fall, has been around for a while. Are Westerners doing the modern equivalent of sitting around eating grapes while the barbarians hammer on the doors? And more importantly, does science have any ideas about what is really going on, what might happen next and how people could turn things around? In fact, many people seem blissfully unaware that collapse might be imminent. Cycles of inequality and resource use are heading for a tipping point that in many past civilisations precipitated political unrest, war and finally collapse.įor the most part, though, people are carrying on as usual, shopping for their next holiday or posing on social media. Scientists, historians and politicians alike have begun to warn that Western culture is reaching a critical juncture. The sandwich boards have mostly gone and the world is still here, but the gloomy predictions keep coming, and not all of them are based on creative interpretations of religious texts. Unforgettable characters such as Why-Me?, Hamburger, Troll, Eyeball and Squid paint a seldom seen picture of life and death on the back streets of Hollywood.People who have grown up in a turbulent society tend to have children who renounce violenceĪH, the good old days, when predictions that “the end is nigh” were seen only on sandwich boards, and the doom-mongers who carried them were easy enough to ignore. Keith Morris (Circle Jerks), Rick Wilder (Mau Maus), and Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) compare the original late Seventies movement to present day punk rock. The film is a strange coupling of comedy and tragedy, combining interviews with faithful fans, thought provoking accounts from those who have an intimate knowledge of the scene and live performances by underground bands: Final Conflict, Litmus Green, Naked Aggression, and The Resistance. DECLINE III delves into the underside of this subculture to indicate that Johnny Rotten’s “No Future” reference has taken on a new meaning. They simultaneously evoke emotions of deep empathy and severe distain, as they present a subculture that is impossible to ignore. Many of them are homeless or occupy squats (abandoned buildings) as their living quarters. Whereas the first installment of the trilogy concerned itself with the birth of a new music genre, PART III focuses on the lifestyles and backgrounds of the fans. Filmed over the course of 13 months, this 90 minute piece stands as the director's strongest work to date. DECLINE III is an unflinching look into the lives of the hardcore fans of punk rock in Los Angeles, 20 years later.
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