The Era of Punk

Punk music.  It may the thing that people love and hate the most.  The whole idea of it is to rebel against everything that we were taught as kids.  Respect your parents, listen to the government, carry on life the way you are supposed to so that you can fulfill your role in society.  It was a social and political movement.  This is a genre that hasn't been around for less than half a century and it has had one of the biggest impacts on society, as far as music goes.  I'm sure that you've seen people with all kinds of different colored hair put in all crazy different styles.  None of that would have happened without the punk uprising.  All of us would be sitting at the dinner table, talking about how our day was with mom and pop.  You wouldn't be jamming in your car to Green Day, My Chemical Romance, or A Day to Remember.  You have to admit to yourself that when you do something that isn't what you're supposed to be doing, you get a rush.  It's a thrill, doing what you want when you want.  Smoking a cigarette when you're not 18, underage drinking, smoking a little dope at the park, it's all about you being who you want to be. 

So who started this movement?  This era of rebellion and individuality.  The answer is the Sex Pistols, who came out of England.  They came in during the 1970's with something that had never been heard before.  The message that they held exploited to the masses was "There's no future."  They were a band of misfits and outlaws angry at the world and made a lot of teenagers feel the same way, and they refused to ever back down.  Tricia Henry attributes the entire movement to the declining economical and financial state of London in the mid 70's.  The genre was used to give the English youth a chance to give a voice their opinions.  This is still very apparent today.  Not at all in the same degree, but teenagers today are still not afraid to voice their opinions to the masses.  All because of an era that started 40 years ago.  The movement is yet to be over and in my opinion it will continue for many years to come.