We Destroy the Family: Punks vs Parents (1982)

"We Destroy the Family: Punks vs Parents" (1982)

I originally uploaded this in 2008, but here is a higher-resolution version for you.

Back in 1982, local LA station KABC ran a 5-part special report on punk rock. You know the sort of thing -- part 1 airs on Monday, part 2 on Tuesday, etc. Each day's report lasts only a few minutes with a teaser for the next day's segment. Typically a sensationalized subject matter to get you to tune into their newscast instead of their competitors. And during the last segment they pretty much admit that there is more hype than substance to the issue (in this case, reminding parents that every generation has kids who like to rebel against them and/or society, and that not every punk lyric is meant to be taken literally).

Shortly after this first aired, KABC added some more footage and padded this thing out to 22 minutes (to fit into a 30 min TV slot) and then aired it very late at night (only once, if I'm not mistaken). I think this was done to make it eligible for a local TV award or something.

So, yeah, there's a lot of stupid stuff said during this short documentary, but at the same time it's pretty entertaining. And some nice vintage footage of Fear in concert to boot. So how can you lose?