Blitzkrieg Bops

A riotous look at the intersection of politics, protest, and punk—and what it means to turn to art for survival.

Since its inception, punk has defied convention. Angry, unruly, and equipped with an “anti” ethos—anti-establishment, anti-authoritarian, anti-corporation, and anti-conformity—it became a rebellion bound in leather and a daring fist in the face of political oppression.

Chronicling a brief history of punks at war, Blitzkrieg Bops, studies those who have soundtracked a movement of resistance—from Stiff Little Fingers protesting the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the South African group National Wake defying apartheid, the Russian protest group Pussy Riot and the Ukrainian feminist punk band Death Pill standing up to Putin, to those fighting for a free Palestine to this day.

Blitzkrieg Bops documents how punk music—with its socially charged lyrics and distorted, cathartic guitar—can ignite movements and be a global source of liberation. Speaking directly to these musicians, journalist Alli Patton shows how they create music to overthrow corrupt governments, stomp out oppressive regimes, fight the establishment and, in turn, fight for their lives.