Suburbia (1983)

I was never into the punk scene. I didn’t understand it as a kid. And, I never related to it. I was more of a metalhead. Although, I grew up in a blue collar small town and not a suburb. Maybe that made a difference? I don’t know. But, after watching 1983’s Suburbia, I understand the scene a little bit more. I guess my family wasn’t messed up enough for me to be a punk.

Directed by Penelope Spheeris, who had previously covered the punk music scene in her 1981 documentary, The Decline of Western Civilization, Suburbia tells the story of a group of kids who gather together in an abandoned house outside Los Angeles. We meet them through the eyes of Evan (Bill Coyne,) a suburban teenager who runs away from home to escape his abusive, drunken mother.

Evan finds himself at a punk rock show and ends up getting drugged by Keef (Grant Miner.) When he passes out, he’s tossed outside the club by security and discovered by Jack Diddley (Chris Pedersen.) Jack takes Evan to the T.R. House, located in an abandoned tract housing district. The T.R. stands for “The Rejected” and those who live there must have the letters branded into their skin to show their loyalty to the house and each other.

Suburbia follows Jack, Evan, and the other kids living in the house as they commit crimes to survive. They also have run-ins with the cops, a pack of wild dogs, a group of laid-off auto workers calling themselves Citizens Against Crime, and business owners around the city. I’m purposely leaving out some details so as not to spoil the plot.

What I do want to acknowledge is that Spheeris, who also wrote the script, gathered much of the cast from actual street kids. So, many of the performances are unpolished, but the kids look the part and still manage to be believable in their roles. (One of the kids is future Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist, Flea, credited as Mike B. The Flea, who plays Razzle.)

Spheeris also doesn’t glamorize or idealize the punk lifestyle. She shows some of them to be homophobes, misogynists, and racists. But, overall, she highlights their issues with the hypocrisy of the “normal” world that abuses children, poisons the earth, and lives for material gain.

The movie also explores how individuals often assess others’ behavior based solely on appearance. While it’s true that the punks engage in house robberies and business vandalism, attending a friend’s funeral is unfairly deemed abhorrent simply because they lack the means to dress well for the service.

Suburbia features live performances from punk bands D.I., T.S.O.L. and The Vandals. The club in which the bands play is pivotal to the social universe of the kids and their surrounding community.

I found Suburbia more appealing for what it represents rather than what it lacks. It serves as an accurate snapshot of the early ’80s punk scene, a subject I’ve always been curious about. While it’s far from a flawless film, some viewers might be put off by its intentionally raw and amateurish style, as well as its minimalistic storytelling. I found the camaraderie of the characters and their dedication to each other to be worth watching.