So asked the comically exaggerated father in Twisted Sister’s 1984 video We’re Not Gonna Take It, created for the usual reasons (rock and parents have always been locked in mortal combat) and in the climate of Tipper Gore’s Parents’ Music Resource Center, a censorious, sticker-warning and outright banning group of right-wing lunatics. Twisted Sister themselves even got involved in the whole moral guardian issue during the eighties, best represented by the Parents Music Resource Centre, which embodied the sort of self-righteous moral guardians portrayed in Rock of Ages:īeginning in medias res, Mom asks her son to consider this philosophical question: “In what way does your life contribute to society as you sit here day after day after day in this dark room stringing along on that stupid guitar?” The video to We’re Not Gonna Take It even features the band terrorising such a civic-minded couple of parents. It’s a real reflection of what practically killed rock music in the ’80s.”Īs such, allowing the rockers in Rock of Ages to sing it is ridiculous, something that becomes exceptionally and bitterly absurd when you consider that selling any artist’s music for a jukebox musical like this is exactly the sort of absurd commercialism that the film itself seems to rally against – because, you know, selling out is bad… unless it’s to an eighties jukebox musical!Īt the same time, the bunch of moral guardians – mothers against rock – singing a Twisted Sister song is hilarious. “It purports to be anti-commercial but reeks of ’80s corporate-rock commercialism. The tune “seems to inspire the most virulent feelings of outrage,” says editor Craig Marks. The song has been repeatedly voted one of the worst songs of the eighties ( and even all time), because of its blatant hypocrisy: We Built This City is a song that is all but dismissed by serious fans of rock ‘n’ roll, because of what it represents. The beauty of the scene becomes clear to anybody with any familiarity with the material. In contrast, the moral guardians are making a stand against what they perceive to be a belligerent stance on the part of fans of rock ‘n roll, refusing to passively allow the erosion of moral values in the service of whatever clichés you want to trot out. After all, the rockers probably believe that rock ‘n’ roll is a legitimate part of the social fabric that makes Los Angeles the city that it is. On the surface, the lyrics seem to match the philosophical position of either side. The brilliance of the scene comes from an ironic reversal of what any seasoned eighties rock fan would actually expect. Meanwhile, on the other side of the street, the concerned moral guardians chant We’re Not Going to Take It. The “dyed-in-the-wool, never-sell-out, true-believer” rock ‘n’ roll fans chant their own version of We Built This City by Jefferson Starship. Anyway, the irony of the scene is in the way that it aligns the two rival factions protesting the appearance by Stacy Jaxx. That said, it has never stopped me before. Of course, if you explain the joke, it is no longer funny. With We Built This City, for about a minute, Rock of Ages seemed just a little bit smarter than the rest of the film might have you believe. Most of Rock of Ages was silly, enjoyable, hypocritical nonsense. It’s the only point in the film when it seemed like everybody involved grasped the ridiculous irony of basing a jukebox musical around the concept of rock ‘n’ roll’s refusal to sell out. When the cast broken into a medley of We Built This City and We’re Not Gonna Take It. The film didn’t seem to know quite when it was camping it up to eleven, when it was taking itself too seriously, or when it was approaching near-critical levels of irony. It had a lot of fundamental problems holding it back from any sort of consistent. And, as usual, I accept that my taste is completely absurd, so I fully expect you to disagree. The term “moment” is elastic, so expect some crazy nonsense here. #MOVIE EXPLORER SHOWING WRONG MOVIE MOVIE#As well as counting down the top twelve films, I’m also going to count down my top twelve movie related “moments” of 2012.
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