There Is No Authority But Yourself
There is No Authority But Yourself is a Dutch film directed by Alexander Oey documenting the history of anarchist punk band Crass. The film features archive footage of the band and interviews with former members Steve Ignorant, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher. As well as reflecting on the band’s past the film focusses on their current activities, and includes footage of Rimbaud performing with Last Amendment at the Vortex jazz club in Hackney, a compost toilet building workshop and a permaculture course held at Dial House in the spring of 2006.
The title of the film is derived from the final lines of the Crass album Yes Sir, I Will; “You must learn to live with your own conscience, your own morality, your own decision, your own self. You alone can do it. There is no authority but yourself.”
There is No Authority But Yourself premiered at the Raindance Film Festival at the Piccadilly Circus, London Trocadero in October 2006 and was part of the Official Selection film programme at the Flipside film festival in May 2008.
The Art Of Punk – Crass – The Art of Dave King and Gee Vaucher – Art + Music – MOCAtv
On the next installment of The Art of Punk, we tear into the art of Crass. From the assaulting black and white photo-realistic paintings of protest, anarchy, and social satire, to their legendary adopted brand and two headed snake and cross symbol. We head up to the Anarchist Book Fair in San Francisco to meet up with Gee Vaucher, and founding Crass member, writer, and activist, Penny Rimbaud. We discuss the art and the lifestyle stemming from the infamous Dial House, where they have lived, worked, and crated their own brand of anarchistic beauty, for more than 3 decades. We have a sit down with artist Scott Campbell, at his own New York tattoo shop, and talk about how the art of Crass, and one single t-shirt created a fork in his own road of life. Owen Thornton talks some shit. Finally we hang out with British graphic designer Dave King – the creator of the infamous snake and cross symbol, and discuss post war England, hippies, punk, graphic design, and more, that led him to the creation of the symbol made legend by Crass.
Created By:
BRYAN RAY TURCOTTE
http://www.KillYourIdols.com
Created, directed, and Executive Produced by writer/author of ‘Fucked Up + Photocopied’, Bryan Ray Turcotte (Kill Your Idols), and Bo Bushnell (The Western Empire), The Art Of Punk traces the roots of the punk movement and the artists behind the iconic logos of punk bands such as: Black Flag (Raymond Pettibon), The Dead Kennedys (Winston Smith), and Crass (Dave King).
In addition to profiling the artists, the series includes intimate interviews with former band members, notable artists, and celebrities who have been heavily influenced by the art of punk rock including Jello Biafra, Tim Biskup, Scott Campbell, Chuck Dukowski, Flea, Steve Olson, Penny Rimbaud, Henry Rollins, Owen Thornton, and Gee Vaucher.
The filmmakers Bryan Ray Turcotte and Bo Bushnell take a unique approach to exploring the rich histories of these three seminal punk legends by focusing on the influential imagery and seeking out stories that have not been told yet through the artwork, which is integral to the importance and influence of each band.
Loud Alien Noize 
Love Crass (and Conflict…) 🙂
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Of Course You Fucking Do!!!!! 😛 BTW this post is like a response to my previous post about Bansky calling to arms against advertisers… Just to show that what CRASS were saying back then is still (more then ever) up to date with what’s going on RIGHT FUCKING NOW!
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> “You must learn to live with your own conscience, your own morality, your own decision, your own self. You alone can do it. There is no authority but yourself.”
Ironically this ideology leads to the very opposite of anarchy. Anarchy is what happens when people recognise the existence of moral rules that are greater than themselves and when they place universal moral authority above their own right to simply do as they please.
Moral relativism and ‘no authority but me’ are the foundations of monarchy, the church and statism, all of which are is the very opposite of anarchy (no rulers).
Punk gets it wrong because punk was just a continuation of the hippie culture which was itself subverted (if not outright invented) by the ruling classes in the 60’s to prevent the political, philosophical and spiritual awakening which was happening to the youth of that time from becoming a real threat to their rule. Hippie culture and then punk which it spawned were how the ruling classes ‘neutralised’ the youth of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s who had suddenly become a demographic – and a force for change – in their own right in post war society.
The ruling classes succeeded in turning anti establishment philosophy expressed through music and poetry first into a form of hedonism, then into fashion, then into narcissism and then to consumerism were it remains fixed today. These days ‘youth culture’ celebrates the very corporate values that the kids of the 50’a and 60’s opposed (for about five minutes before they got subverted).
The hippies were encouraged to adopt the image of smelly dirty pot smokers so that ordinary society would reject the idea of peace and love. Then the punks were encouraged to adopt the image of obnoxious, idiotic and anti social thugs and clowns so that ordinary society would reject the idea of anarchy. And on and on and on….
Any hippie or punk not willing to become a ridiculous caricature of themselves ended up sidelined and broke and …. you know, just playing to a small group of die hard fans in run down bars and such and living in their own tiny communities.
The subversion of youth culture and the arts is a fascinating subject. Until it is understood youth culture and music will remain effectively dead…. or worse than dead ….. X-factored! 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMwQMMQPi98
And that concludes my rant for the day 🙂
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I understand what you mean… Every lifestyle eventually eventually gets encaved into some sort of fashion, like it or not…Punk is just another way of trying….At least they tried in their own way. That’s why I think it is still worth something. The message got lost by people and the messengers at times but I do think the message itself is worth something still. It’s very essence has its roots in the beat generation, of course it has been diluted by some and/or manufactured in some other cases. Punk is dead and it was before it was even born. It’s a loud silent revolution and I do think it’s still better than a lot of movements, at least they are trying which seems you have given up.
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