Pump Up The Volume

The other day I watched "Pump Up The Volume" for the first time. I had seen parts of it here and there but never before had I watched it all the way through. Being an 80's teen classic, I assume most people have seen it by now so I won't explain the plot or characters in too much detail.

Basically it's the teenage 80's version of "Network". Christian Slater plays the Howard Beale character, tricking out a small shortwave radio, going on the air, telling everyone he's mad as hell and he's not going to take it anymore and becoming a cult phenomenon amongst the kids at his school. All the while he's subverting the system with his verbal assault, he maintains his secret identity, attending school, getting good grades and having trouble with women. He's bold, philosophical and crude with a mic in front of him talking to hundreds but in real life he can barely make eye contact with anyone.

Basically living at that time in history sucks, being a teen sucks, parents suck, school sucks, life is depressing but you've got to work your way through it because the point of being a teenager is surviving being a teenager so you're still around when things get better.

His "shock jock" radio becomes a catalyst for increasing rebellious behavior amongst his classmates and the authorities attempt to close in and shut him down by all means necessary. The movie ends with Christian being arrested while encouraging his fans that he's just one voice and they all have a voice.

It's interesting to me how "rock 'n roll" the ending is while it's technically so depressing. As it ends, he's going to jail, his girlfriend is expelled from school, his dad (a school administrator of some type) is almost certainly going to be fired and "the man" has triumphed once again.

As the movie ends and he encourages each of his followers that they too have a voice and they should use it, the movie fades to black as we hear a audio kaleidoscope of ordinary teens broadcasting on their own stations. He's apparently inspired a revolution.

What kind of a revolution is that though? If everyone had their own radio show (and therefore the ability to reach the world) no one in the world would be listening to anyone else anyway. They're too busy broadcasting a show of their own. Everyone's talking and nobody's listening. The world's air waves of ordinary people shouting over each other. Isn't that self-defeating?Oh and by the way, if you have a million adolescents monologuing about how much life sucks, what percentage would you think actually say something interesting?

The surprising part of the PUTV revolution is that it actually happened. At the end of "The Matrix" Neo's going to wake us all up to the horrifying truth and we can ditch this illusion that the powers that be are using to keep us down but that has stayed purely in the realm of fiction. At the end of "Hackers" we're probably supposed to hack the planet and revolutionize the world but the Average Joe had no time for "3-D Flyarounds" and "going for the Kernel". The same for "V For Vendetta" probably... I don't remember. But the amazing thing about the idea proposed in "Pump Up The Volume" is that it did happen. Not that every schmoe and there mother started a pirate radio station because clearly they didn't, but the internet revolution, with people twittering, blogging, vlogging, facebooking, etc is exactly analagous to everyone broadcasting their own radio station. And just as expected, everyone's talking to everybody else and nobody's actually listening (also see "The Sound of Silence", Simon, Garfunkel, et al.).

And so "Pump Up The Volume" is in a pretty exceptional category where it spoke of a revolution that DID happen (though it obviously wasn't by direct inspiration). Teens of today, can let their voice be heard and express their viewpoints to the entire world. But isn't it a somewhat dismal and depressing revolution of which this blog is a part? Are kids better off in a world where people shout what their pets did from the mountain tops? Is it any use writing a blog and sending it out into the world if it's completely ignored? The movie argues it is. One of the central themes of "Pump Up The Volume" is the idea that talking- that "getting it out", even if nobody is listening is still an important catharsis. It argues that whether you talk to a counselor, a friend, a doll, a forum, a microphone, etc, the point is to express yourself somehow for the sake of your own sanity. With this in mind, perhaps this new technology, though appearing to be egotistical, self-important and self-indulgent, is doing some good. So be it.

Rating : 6/10 (Worth Seeing).

Teen Angst Rating : 3 Å (Teen Angst is measured in Angstroms).