Ongoing Research

My current research explores how punks in post-industrial Los Angeles both critiqued and contributed to rightwing cultural politics in the late 20th century. I am interested in exploring the political economy of segregation, the ramifications of the Volcker Shock, and industrial decline shaped the rebellion, as well as the reactionary tendencies of all those kids who grew up in the decaying suburbs of late 20th century LA.

The sonic and visual products of seminal hardcore band Black Flag exemplified this tension in American punk. While they raged against the conformity of the postwar suburbs that gave rise to the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan, they also used punk to try and reassert the racial and gendered privileges of white men as Los Angeles de-industrialized and became an even more global city.

Raymond Pettibon, TheWhole World is Watching: Weatherman '69 (1989), VHS cover.