Wayne's World

Wayne's Worldⁱ is a well made and rather entertaining piece of 1970s nostalgia, as seen through the lens of 1990. This is an "America" that wasn't ever gonna be great again, looking upon an earlier time, back when it hadn't yet known. That's the fate of decay : to every generation, it seems as if their parents had much more drive than they do, much more optimism, much more spunk altogether. This is simply because to a child's eyes, the incomprehensible activity of adults appears in last instance motivated by some kind of metaphysical consideration. As they age and find simple answers for all the incomprehensible contortions of daily life, that hypothesis is no longer required -- though their children will in turn similarily imagine that some kind of teleology is animating Mom and stringing Dad along.

There's very much in there that's directly meaningful to me, and it'll be directly meaningful to you, if you were around back when the Gord was writing, for instance, the certain and unmistakable "metal" worldview, selfview, I can almost taste it like you can almost taste electricity in a storm. Piles upon piles of implicit reference, why do they do the "sell-out" thing in preference of any other randomness, you can see that Stratocaster even before they show it, of course there's one. These are the original geeks, by the way, this is what the term meant before Hot Topic got a hold of it -- yes he does things "with satellites" but there's no direct relation, there's no meaningful progression, "America" hadn't yet started "running on science", it was still running on something very much like spunk, so he does things with satellites like he'd do things with his boogers, "weird", that's it. No connection with the greater, more important "facts" of "life" (not that the reptilian's schmooze is any better, either). This is an America that ran on faith, basically, if you're Wayne the film's about you and if you aren't Wayne, well...

Not a bad way to waste a coupla hours in 2019, that's for damn sure. Especially if you have 16 yos around.

1. 1992, by the unquestionably cool and back in the 70s even hot Penelope Spheeris, with Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Tia Carrere.

   Two points of that line are worth delving upon. Firstly, Tia Carrere :

   

   Secondly, Penelope Spheeris. In the late 70s she was shooting the Los Angeles punk scene, wholesale, bands and their fans -- but not "as a woman", nor as a groupie. Arguably her expert eye captured more of that milieu than actually was there in the first place. A decade later (metal), she was doing the Sunset Strip. By the 90s everyone was bowing to her, but she went back in the street for the "gutterpunks", which she dubbed "The Decline of Western Civilization". In a word, she's the sort that you shut up when she starts talking, and yet "they" always seem to forget her name when they do those "influential women" junklets.

   Perhaps "they" really don't want influential women, what can I say. [↩]