Thursday 4 June 2009
Links for Quadrophenia
http://www.quadrophenia.net/
www.quadrophenia.net/thefilm/index.html
www.imdb.com/title/tt0079766/
www.modrevival.net/Quadrophenia.html
www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/561858/
www.bbc.co.uk/totp/
onlineclassroom.tv/sociology/catalogue/classic_collection/stan_cohen_-_folk_devils_and_moral_panics
www.theory.org.uk Resources: Judith Butler
www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_panic -
Quadrophenia -About the Film
An Introduction by Marc Leaman
It opens with Jimmy (Phil Daniels) walking away from the cliffs (from the end of the film), quickly cutting to Jim on his GS Scooter riding through the streets of London. There is a brief and mild encounter with some Rockers setting the stage for conflict to come. He arrives at a Mod club, where his first action is to buy some leapers. We're introduced here to Steph, who has no real definition in the album version (other than being referred to as ("The girl I love "), and some of Jimmy's friends.
Jim goes home and we see the "wall of Mod;" pictures of Brighton riots and nude women and there is an excellent scene with Jimmy's head by a picture of a young Pete Townshend.
The next day we find Jimmy in a public bath, becoming offended by a fellow bather's rendition of Gene Vincent's Be Bop A Lula. Competing, he begins to howl The Kink's You Really Got Me. The conflict escalates, and when Jimmy jumps up to confront the other bather he turns out to be an old friend. They decide to meet in a caf» afterward. And, as it turns out, Kevin is a Rocker. At first Jimmy is a bit put off, but he begins warming to Kevin until some Mods enter the diner and Jimmy rejects his friend to stay correctly Mod.
Than night, at a Mod party, Jimmy begins making out with a receptive girl. However, when he sees Steph in the room he decides to go completely "Mod" and takes off the dance-track and plays My Generation (to impress her, no doubt). This causes Steph to leave in disgust and Jim is left lonely and confused. As the others pair of for sex, Jimmy displays his berserker nature and tears up the garden with his scooter.
From here he drives to a quiet place under a bridge, and (as the rain flows down) reflects on his life (as I'm One plays in the background). Seeing a couple engaging in love play, he blasts by them in a rage.
The next morning at work Jimmy is feeling the effect of late-night partying. There is a brilliant scene in the bathroom which has Jim in the toilet throwing up while his bosses talk of business matters. As Jimmy emerges, the mirrors catch his reflections.
That night, as he tries to repair his scooter, Jim hears the roar of a Rocker motorcycle coming up the alley. He is ready to defend himself, but it's Kevin who helps him work on the bike. They talk, and Jimmy tries to justify his Mod dislike for the Rockers ("Well, that's it isn't it? They're third class tickets."), yet begins to see through the superficiality of Mod and Rocker titles. They're all human after all.
Once again there is a scene where Jimmy is reflected in the scooter's mirrors impressive direction there, as in the entire movie. A subtle reference to the four-personality theme that's otherwise ignored. The next day at work Jim is all smiles. There is an extremely funny scene when he's playing cards with his workmates ("Take it or leave it.") and as he is dispatched to take some photos across town he steals a picture of the model.
After work, Jimmy meets Steph and gives here a ride home. He finds out that he has a chance with her, which adds to his good feeling. Later, on the way to the club, his friend Spider's scooter breaks down. Left by the others, he is attacked by a band of Rockers. Upon hearing this, Jimmy leads a force of Mods to find the culprits. They come across two innocent Rockers, and the fight is on. One of these turns out to be Kevin, and Jimmy (unable to do anything about the fight) flees in panic really attempting to escape from himself. Things, so good only moments before, have begun to go wrong again. This is escalated by a confrontation with his Dad, who berates him about his behavior. Here we have the famous (and my favorite) line "Bloody Split Personality!"
Jim, in despair and seeking the good feeling he had only moments before, takes out the picture of the model and masturbates himself to sleep. This is obviously a nod to the song Pictures of Lily.
The next morning he blows off work to search for some Leapers for the upcoming event. In the end this leads him to dealing with a gangster, who rips him off. Jimmy and his friends trash the gangster's car ("Let's do his motor!) and escape.
Still lacking the needed pills, the Mods break into a chemist's. That gives us the funniest scene in the entire movie, that of (Daltery look-alike) Chalky with condom-covered fingers. They find the pills, and flee in stark terror of a ringing phone. Later Jimmy impresses Steph at the club with his stash of pills.
Another confrontation with his parents rotates around an episode of Ready Steady Go (featuring The Who, by coincidence). Jim is walking around with wet Levis on ("Ya gotta shrink 'em on ya.") and his parents think he's balmy. Rather than a reference to split personalities (as one might expect), this is merely a "generation gap" incident.
Early the morning Jimmy is preparing to head out to Brighton beach for the weekend (with a Radio London blurb from SELL OUT playing in the background). On the road with his friends, Chalky gets out ahead of the group and gets run off the road by some Rockers. And is left on the side of the road by his uncaring friends.
The next scene is the Brighton promenade, where the Mods have come together. Here we are introduced to "the ultimate Mod" Ace-Face (brilliantly performed by Sting). Jimmy is in Mod heaven, and it shows in his conversation with Steph (who disappears at a timely moment). The Mods gather in a discotheque for dancing and co-mingling. Jim, frustrated by the attention given by Steph to Ace-Face, dances on the railing and then jumps into the crowd. He is thrown out, to spend a lovely night walking the beach and once again contemplating his life. In the meantime, Dave and the Chalky rind a place to sleep (unknowingly) among a group of Rockers. The next morning finds Jimmy less than happy ("Why are you on the ump? Why are you so grumpy?") after a night with no sleep, but upon finding out that Steph is now free for taking and joining the other Mods his mood changes for the better. Now he's where he wants to be, among those who think as he does, chanting "We are the Mods!" and scaring passer-bys. Spotting some Rockers in a caf», the entire horde descends upon their enemies. The fighting trashes the diner, and the Police are called. The Mods retreat to the beach to be confronted with the host of Rockers. And a beach fight ensues. Jimmy escapes with Steph in tow, and they head for the streets and down a convenient alley. Here, Jim fulfills his fantasy of shagging Steph, and thereby making this day perhaps the best of his life.
Back on the street, Jimmy is captured by the police and taken away. He finds a moment of hope when Ace-Face is confined with him, and goes to Court with him, but it's short-lived.
When Jim returns to Shepherd's Bush, he finds that he's been kicked out of the house by his mother who has found his stash of Leapers. At work he's so disgusted with the boss's "dressing down" he quits ("Find one, then!"). On top of this, while he was in jail Steph and Dave have gotten together. Slowly but surely, Jimmy is losing everything he's gained since the beginning of the movie.
And then the coldest cut of all his bike is hit by a Postal truck ("There it is! On the floor now!"). Jim has lost everything, and he feels he has nothing left to stay in London for. So he decides to leave Brighton, where everything was Mod and cool and perfect.
Drinking gin and taking more Leapers, he takes the train back to the seacoast. However, on the weekday it's rather deserted and no Mods are about. He revisits the place where things were best including the alley and finds no comfort.
Just then, a ray of hope shines on him. Jimmy spots Ace-Face's scooter. He's found another, a cooler Mod. Smiling, Jim walks over to the Hotel to find his friend only to discover that Ace-Face is only the Bell Boy, bowing and scarping; no longer swaggering and arrogant.
That tears it for Jimmy. Screaming "Bell boy!" at his former idol, he steals the scooter and heads for the cliffs. He's struggling with the situation, and facing up to some uncomfortable truth. No longer can Mod be expected to sustain him. His friends are no help, and his parents abandoned him. So Jimmy takes the only solution that will help him exorcise the pain and sends the scooter over the cliff; the ultimate rejection of Mod and all it stands for.
It opens with Jimmy (Phil Daniels) walking away from the cliffs (from the end of the film), quickly cutting to Jim on his GS Scooter riding through the streets of London. There is a brief and mild encounter with some Rockers setting the stage for conflict to come. He arrives at a Mod club, where his first action is to buy some leapers. We're introduced here to Steph, who has no real definition in the album version (other than being referred to as ("The girl I love "), and some of Jimmy's friends.
Jim goes home and we see the "wall of Mod;" pictures of Brighton riots and nude women and there is an excellent scene with Jimmy's head by a picture of a young Pete Townshend.
The next day we find Jimmy in a public bath, becoming offended by a fellow bather's rendition of Gene Vincent's Be Bop A Lula. Competing, he begins to howl The Kink's You Really Got Me. The conflict escalates, and when Jimmy jumps up to confront the other bather he turns out to be an old friend. They decide to meet in a caf» afterward. And, as it turns out, Kevin is a Rocker. At first Jimmy is a bit put off, but he begins warming to Kevin until some Mods enter the diner and Jimmy rejects his friend to stay correctly Mod.
Than night, at a Mod party, Jimmy begins making out with a receptive girl. However, when he sees Steph in the room he decides to go completely "Mod" and takes off the dance-track and plays My Generation (to impress her, no doubt). This causes Steph to leave in disgust and Jim is left lonely and confused. As the others pair of for sex, Jimmy displays his berserker nature and tears up the garden with his scooter.
From here he drives to a quiet place under a bridge, and (as the rain flows down) reflects on his life (as I'm One plays in the background). Seeing a couple engaging in love play, he blasts by them in a rage.
The next morning at work Jimmy is feeling the effect of late-night partying. There is a brilliant scene in the bathroom which has Jim in the toilet throwing up while his bosses talk of business matters. As Jimmy emerges, the mirrors catch his reflections.
That night, as he tries to repair his scooter, Jim hears the roar of a Rocker motorcycle coming up the alley. He is ready to defend himself, but it's Kevin who helps him work on the bike. They talk, and Jimmy tries to justify his Mod dislike for the Rockers ("Well, that's it isn't it? They're third class tickets."), yet begins to see through the superficiality of Mod and Rocker titles. They're all human after all.
Once again there is a scene where Jimmy is reflected in the scooter's mirrors impressive direction there, as in the entire movie. A subtle reference to the four-personality theme that's otherwise ignored. The next day at work Jim is all smiles. There is an extremely funny scene when he's playing cards with his workmates ("Take it or leave it.") and as he is dispatched to take some photos across town he steals a picture of the model.
After work, Jimmy meets Steph and gives here a ride home. He finds out that he has a chance with her, which adds to his good feeling. Later, on the way to the club, his friend Spider's scooter breaks down. Left by the others, he is attacked by a band of Rockers. Upon hearing this, Jimmy leads a force of Mods to find the culprits. They come across two innocent Rockers, and the fight is on. One of these turns out to be Kevin, and Jimmy (unable to do anything about the fight) flees in panic really attempting to escape from himself. Things, so good only moments before, have begun to go wrong again. This is escalated by a confrontation with his Dad, who berates him about his behavior. Here we have the famous (and my favorite) line "Bloody Split Personality!"
Jim, in despair and seeking the good feeling he had only moments before, takes out the picture of the model and masturbates himself to sleep. This is obviously a nod to the song Pictures of Lily.
The next morning he blows off work to search for some Leapers for the upcoming event. In the end this leads him to dealing with a gangster, who rips him off. Jimmy and his friends trash the gangster's car ("Let's do his motor!) and escape.
Still lacking the needed pills, the Mods break into a chemist's. That gives us the funniest scene in the entire movie, that of (Daltery look-alike) Chalky with condom-covered fingers. They find the pills, and flee in stark terror of a ringing phone. Later Jimmy impresses Steph at the club with his stash of pills.
Another confrontation with his parents rotates around an episode of Ready Steady Go (featuring The Who, by coincidence). Jim is walking around with wet Levis on ("Ya gotta shrink 'em on ya.") and his parents think he's balmy. Rather than a reference to split personalities (as one might expect), this is merely a "generation gap" incident.
Early the morning Jimmy is preparing to head out to Brighton beach for the weekend (with a Radio London blurb from SELL OUT playing in the background). On the road with his friends, Chalky gets out ahead of the group and gets run off the road by some Rockers. And is left on the side of the road by his uncaring friends.
The next scene is the Brighton promenade, where the Mods have come together. Here we are introduced to "the ultimate Mod" Ace-Face (brilliantly performed by Sting). Jimmy is in Mod heaven, and it shows in his conversation with Steph (who disappears at a timely moment). The Mods gather in a discotheque for dancing and co-mingling. Jim, frustrated by the attention given by Steph to Ace-Face, dances on the railing and then jumps into the crowd. He is thrown out, to spend a lovely night walking the beach and once again contemplating his life. In the meantime, Dave and the Chalky rind a place to sleep (unknowingly) among a group of Rockers. The next morning finds Jimmy less than happy ("Why are you on the ump? Why are you so grumpy?") after a night with no sleep, but upon finding out that Steph is now free for taking and joining the other Mods his mood changes for the better. Now he's where he wants to be, among those who think as he does, chanting "We are the Mods!" and scaring passer-bys. Spotting some Rockers in a caf», the entire horde descends upon their enemies. The fighting trashes the diner, and the Police are called. The Mods retreat to the beach to be confronted with the host of Rockers. And a beach fight ensues. Jimmy escapes with Steph in tow, and they head for the streets and down a convenient alley. Here, Jim fulfills his fantasy of shagging Steph, and thereby making this day perhaps the best of his life.
Back on the street, Jimmy is captured by the police and taken away. He finds a moment of hope when Ace-Face is confined with him, and goes to Court with him, but it's short-lived.
When Jim returns to Shepherd's Bush, he finds that he's been kicked out of the house by his mother who has found his stash of Leapers. At work he's so disgusted with the boss's "dressing down" he quits ("Find one, then!"). On top of this, while he was in jail Steph and Dave have gotten together. Slowly but surely, Jimmy is losing everything he's gained since the beginning of the movie.
And then the coldest cut of all his bike is hit by a Postal truck ("There it is! On the floor now!"). Jim has lost everything, and he feels he has nothing left to stay in London for. So he decides to leave Brighton, where everything was Mod and cool and perfect.
Drinking gin and taking more Leapers, he takes the train back to the seacoast. However, on the weekday it's rather deserted and no Mods are about. He revisits the place where things were best including the alley and finds no comfort.
Just then, a ray of hope shines on him. Jimmy spots Ace-Face's scooter. He's found another, a cooler Mod. Smiling, Jim walks over to the Hotel to find his friend only to discover that Ace-Face is only the Bell Boy, bowing and scarping; no longer swaggering and arrogant.
That tears it for Jimmy. Screaming "Bell boy!" at his former idol, he steals the scooter and heads for the cliffs. He's struggling with the situation, and facing up to some uncomfortable truth. No longer can Mod be expected to sustain him. His friends are no help, and his parents abandoned him. So Jimmy takes the only solution that will help him exorcise the pain and sends the scooter over the cliff; the ultimate rejection of Mod and all it stands for.
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