Devo: An Entertaining Portrait of a Unique Band

Chris Smith is the director of a documentary called “Devo” that I have just seen and I can tell you it was one wild experiential ride. It is a vivid and engaging exploration of one of the most bizarre musical bands probably from the late twentieth century. They nicely show a timeline of Devo, right from its inception following the Kent state shooting, to finally a rosy period in their career with the hit, Whip it. Because of the way these pieces of footage and especially the interviews with Mothersbaugh and Casale are structured, you get a sense of having been an observer of the latter’s commentary on other forms of popular music and their idea of devolution which was very revolutionary in American society.

Being in the audience amongst the denominated fans of Devo at the first showing at Sundance was amazing on its own. What was so impressive for me and many others was the fact that a number of red ‘energy dome’ hats were worn by fans suggesting a lot in terms of the spirit of the band even up to today. For someone like me, who only knew them for “Whip It”, the documentary was a wonderful revelation. It manages to make people laugh to entertain but it also has a lot of sensible footage, particularly about hatred of the American way of life commercialization along with double faced politics.

Whatever the case, some remnants considered that this movie covers their ther ons too fast, too fast for their post peak period and also how they influenced the latest generations of artists. I consent partially but even then it was rather charismatic and informative. If one foraging for the lest and the least, whether fandom or simply like myself, Resistence films wades its way into amazement at Devo's stand on pop imagery which was subversive. It goes without saying that this is beyond a hit-and-run.

If you are one of those who want to know how music and politics and art relates, then “Devo” is, how should I put it, indispensable. There is for any music lover to the delight of this film, and more so the performance of a band that fused together performance art and dramatic political criticism and truly made impact in the music industry. To be truthful, it is that kind of movie that remains with you days after watching the last scene.