Wasted Youth
By Erica Dymond, with comment by Alyssa Cadue
Titled on the D.V.D. as "Wasted Youth," this scene has received critical acclaim across the board:
--Janet Maslin proclaims the scene "perfectly captures the blazing chaos of the season in hell that Lee recalls" (E1).
--Paula Maswood declares, "In what is the best moment of the film, Ritchie plays guitar along with the sounds of The Who's 'Teenage Wasteland,'" and later postulates that "one gets the sense that Lee had a genuine fondness for this part of the story" (63).
--Hillel Italie observes, "And for a few minutes, in a montage set to The Who's 'Baba O'Riley,' Lee lives up to his idol, Martin Scorsese."
As a matter of fact, precious few critics fail to note the scene's grandeur. Why is it so unforgettable? Why is this scene important to this project?
Prelude to an Explication:
Beyond The Who's "Baba O'Riley," little other audio exists in this scene. Certainly, this is not serendipitous. Lee consciously selected this song to complement the scene's visual presentation. Before explicating any material, the lyrics must be presented . . . and kept in thought:
"Baba O'Riley"
(written by Peter Townshend)
Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don't need to fight
To prove I'm right
I don't need to be forgiven
Don't cry
Don't raise your eye
It's only teenage wasteland
Sally, take my hand
Travel south crossland
Put out the fire
Don't look past my shoulder
The exodus is here
The happy ones are near
Let's get together
Before we get much older
Teenage wasteland
It's only teenage wasteland
Teenage wasteland
Oh, oh, teenage wasteland
They're all wasted!
Let's Address the Basics:
This scene synopsizes the film in four frenzied minutes. The murky tumult of the decade streams throughout the scene's duration: the drugs, the sex, and the punk-scene. The chaos of that infamous N.Y.C. summer spills from the screen: the heat, the paranoia, and the violence. Most of all, the ghastly world of David Berkowitz threatens every second: the shootings, the writhing victims, and the spurting blood. All flash across the screen at a frantic pace, leaving the viewer dazed and uncomfortable.
A.) Through a series of interspersed jump-cuts, Lee unflinchingly illustrates a decade of unabated drug-use, hedonistic sensuality, and unmitigated rebellion. Gluttonous intoxication leaps at the viewer: Woodstock shoots smack into a track-riddled arm, Anthony polishes off a beer while surrounded by empty bottles, Joey T. holds a pair of lit joints in one hand. All images connote the excess of the decade when, as Lee explains, "people used to think that cocaine wasn't addictive, that it wasn't harmful" (Graham E1). While the close-up of Woodstock's heroin infected arm may ruffle some feathers, this scene's flashes of eroticism certainly leaves a residue of discomfort: Ritchie's violence-laden dance at "Male World," his implied prostitution, and his leering onlookers. This is the pre-AIDS decade, and Lee does not pull any punches. Paling in comparison to prostitution, segments depicting the punk-rock lifestyle demonstrate the general unrest of the 1970's: Ritchie's rebelliously spiked-hair, Ruby's non-conformist attire, and C.B.G.B.'s mosh pit (where dance has become an act of aggression). In a matter of seconds, all the above-mentioned jump-cuts create a savage mosaic of this turbulent time.
B.) Through a series of interspersed jump-cuts, Lee delivers a summer of sweltering heat, vicious paranoia, and incomparable violence. "The summer of '77 was one of the hottest summers ever!" exclaims Lee in an interview by Oren Moverman . . . and he makes it known in this scene: Berkowitz's face drips heavy beads of sweat, while both the hood of Anthony's Corvette and the "Dead End" sign blindingly reflect the white sun. The excessive heat a contributing factor, the city's stifling fear and paranoia are displayed in one of this scene's many horrific moments: Bobby Del Fiore (a.k.a. "Bobby the Fairy") appears on-screen as brutally beaten. Lee explains, "If you're gay or a punk-rocker or you've got long hair, you're potentially Son of Sam material" (Moverman 2). The unfounded assault of Bobby illustrates the paranoid violence of one of N.Y.C.'s "deadliest years, with more than 1,500 murders" (Graham E1). Further heightening the scene's tension, Lee jump-cuts to Joey T. and his boys bludgeoning Bobby's assailants with wooden boards. (Of noteworthy interest, as one of Joey T.'s cohorts ricochets his rival's face off a driver's side window, a brilliant-red blood splatter appears. This image is unmistakably reminiscent of the blood splatters in the shooting scenes. Hence, Lee seems to indicate that these barbaric men are not that far removed from Berkowitz.) Most assuredly, Lee effectively captures this fiery summer's terror in just a few feet of celluloid.
C.) Finally, through a series of interspersed jump-cuts, this scene renders a remarkably accurate portrait of David Berkowitz: his violent impulses and the results thereof. Foremost, Lee depicts the shooting of Judy Placido (17 yrs. old) and Salvatore Lupo (20 yrs. old). The couple share a passionate kiss in a parked car. Berkowitz approaches and fires several times through the driver's side window. As Berkowitz flees the scene, Lupo stumbles out of the car. Brilliant-red blood spurts from his shoulder as Lupo crawls down the road. Judy remains in the passenger's seat. In this short moment, Lee captures the actual event in near-perfect detail. The only potential oversight, Klausner's research reveals that the couple were actually discussing the ".44 Caliber Killer" during the time of the assault . . . not kissing (185). The longest snippet of this montage, Berkowitz's random assault on Placido and Lupo immediately establishes a frightful tone of anarchy. Additionally, Lee includes occasional close-up jump-cuts of Berkowitz's eyes. They seem to serve as a reminder that one cannot predict Berkowitz -- that he's always watching. This technique greatly contributes to the overall sense of paranoia provoked by this scene.
Combined, these wild jump-cuts summarize a decade . . . a summer . . . a madman.
Little Things Mean A Lot:
Sure, Lee's wild jump-cuts cast a feeling of utter bedlam, but it is all the easily overlooked details that render the scene unforgettable. Like the grand finale of a Fourth-of-July evening, Lee employs every trick of the trade to push the viewer to the cusp of sensory overload. Music, time, and lighting: all play their own part in creating a spectacularly chaotic scene.
A.) Back to "Baba O'Riley." The concept of "wasted youth" has two fairly obvious connotations in this scene. First, many of the on-screen characters in the montage are literally "wasted youth" (i.e. intoxicated young people): Joey T. tokes on his joints, Anthony guzzles his beer, Woodstock shoots his heroin. Second, many of the on-screen characters in this montage are metaphorically "wasted youth" (i.e. they have destroyed their young lives): Berkowitz is a homicidal maniac, Joey T. is a drug dealer, Woodstock is a heroin addict, Ritchie is a male prostitute, and Ruby is the town "whore." In sum, the very words of "Baba O'Riley" emphasize the aimlessness of this infamous decade.
Escalating the overall chaos, the tempo of "Baba O'Riley" rails against the jump-cuts. Already opening at a rapid tempo, this song progressively increases to a break-neck speed. Ingeniously, Lee reserves slow-motion shots for the montage's conclusion. While pillow feathers cascade around Ritchie in slow-motion, the music climbs to an impossible tempo. This conflict of sight and sound emphasizes the confused frenzy of Sam's summer and, perhaps, the jumbled mind of Berkowitz himself.
B.) Through use of a sweeping spotlight, Lee imbues this montage with a nightmarish quality. The first and most relevant use of this technique occurs in the shooting sequence. After being wounded by the on-screen Berkowitz, Salvatore Lupo's blood-soaked character dives out the car window and crawls up the road. Lee slightly accelerates the film speed and sweeps a spotlight over the writhing Lupo several times. The effect is jarring and disorienting. Perhaps a conscious effort, this sense of confusion has a historic basis. In Klausner's text, Lupo explains that he had no idea of what was happening to him. Innocently, he thought that someone may have thrown rocks through the car window. Only after Lupo returned to the crime scene with help did he "notice blood pouring from a wound in his right forearm" (186). Via a radical use of lighting and altered film-speed, Lee actually recreates the bewilderment of Berkowitz's victim, Salvatore Lupo.
Hope Springs Eternal:
The Asian concept of "yin" and "yang" is fairly simple: nothing can be entirely good or entirely bad. It seems that Lee is not oblivious to this idea. Much to his credit, Lee incorporates two moments of intrinsically normal, positive emotion in this overwhelmingly oppressive, negative montage. (see comment by Alyssa Cadue) The first occurrence: Vinny and Ritchie enjoy a pleasant afternoon at a Yankees game. Surrounded by jubilant fans, the men cheer on their team. Discarding all the lens filters, distorted angles, and washed-out backgrounds, Lee captures a beautifully sunny, perfectly normal portrait of what life should always be. Shortly following this segment, Lee inserts yet another vision of everyday-America: Ritchie's step-father enthusiastically plays air-guitar for Ritchie and Ruby. The couple initially appear dismayed by the sweaty, flailing man's goofiness. Then, in a classic moment, Ritchie registers an expression of utter embarrassment. Again, Lee drops all the technical tricks and lets the scene speak for itself. In its quaint humor, this segment depicts the essence of the parent/child relationship. The inclusion of these "positive" images yields a more plausible montage -- rendering the negative images all the more painful. Moreover, the summer of 1977 was not entirely "bad": as Lee says, "It was a crazy summer where all these energies, good and bad, came together. It was an exciting, dangerous, scary time. Disco, the heat, the Yankees, the blackout, Son of Sam -- what you see in the film are all my memories of that summer" (Graham E1). Narrowing this statement, what you see in this scene are all of Lee's memories of that summer.
A Final Word:
This energetic scene showcases Lee's commitment to both history and art. While the aesthetic beauty of the moment transfixes even the most casual viewer, the historical precision amply satisfies even the most discriminating. In a word: breathtaking.
Comments
In the scene analysis dedicated to the montage of “Teenage Wasteland,†by the Who, I found the attention to the cinematic intricacies to be very strong. I agree that Spike Lee used a blurry, distorted set of effects to put the viewer into the movie and feel the spinning, out-of-control glimpses of the characters lives. However, in the section entitled “Hope Springs Eternal,†I felt differently about the idea that this montage was oppressive and negative. True, watching young adults fall apart with drugs and sex and violence is not exactly uplifting, but I feel like certain characters were enlightened by the montage. There was something strangely beautiful about watching Ritchie dance on stage with the dolls. He seemed empowered by the control he had in the situation. At several times during his little courting dance, Ritchie flashes a knife out and pretends to cut along the dolls’ necks or bodies, but with a pleasured smile on his face. It’s not a normal reaction, but I never was convinced that Ritchie was getting some kind of satisfaction from the violence; he was satisfied with acting and the attention. In that raunchy theater, there were no boundaries and people to judge him, and I thought that the montage was somewhat appreciative of his behavior.
Graham, Renee. "'Summer of Sam,' Spike, and 1977." Boston Globe 1 July 1999: E1.
Italie, Hillel. "At the Movies: 'Summer of Sam.'" Associated Press 28 June 1999.
Klausner, Lawrence. Son of Sam: Based on the Authorized Transcription of the Tapes, Official Documents and Diaries of David Berkowitz. New York: McGraw, 1981.
Maslin, Janet. "Red Hot Buttons in Lee's Steaming 'Sam.'" New York Times 2 July 1999: E1.
Masswood, Paula. Rev. of Summer of Sam. Cineaste 25.2: 62-64.
Moverman, Oren. "Son of Sam Spiked! (Filmmaker Spike Lee) (Interview.)" July 1999. http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1285/7_29/55084053/p1/article.jhtml?term=
