Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist
Used to be that fashion could be a street-level way of confronting society. Vivienne Westwood was at fashion’s forefront in London’s ’70s punk scene. She fell in with Malcolm McLaren, that overrated architect of rebellion (or for him, was it just a way of making cash from chaos?). But in Lorna Tucker’s revealing documentary, Westwood is tired of talking about punk. She says she grew “intellectually bored with Malcolm” and as for The Sex Pistols, she “can’t be bothered with them,” adding that John “Johnny Rotten” Lydon should have “changed to something else by now” instead of becoming a nostalgia act.
Westwood reveals a sharply intelligent woman and a demanding boss who still runs her own fashion house. Her clothes have always had eccentric historical-cultural dimensions and remain eye-popping if no longer revolutionary. Her Sex Pistols’ T-shirt, by the way, is on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
“Madam Secretary Season Four”
It’s frighteningly true to life. In episode one, season four, of “Madam Secretary,” a foreign diplomat drops dead while meeting Secretary of State McCord (Téa Leoni) and, within hours, a rightwing conspiracy website claims she killed him, and the rumor is shared by millions. The power of social media hijacked by nut jobs, abetted by unctuous Fox-style blowhards and sinister Republican senators seeking power, is effectively dramatized. Will cool heads prevail? Stay tuned for more.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Concert: Encore
Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is inclusive in choosing inductees, and the annual induction ceremony with its performances has become a highlight. The two-disc Encore, featuring performances from 2010 and 2011, contains something for everyone with its variety. Green Day’s paint-by-numbers rebellion prefaces ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill’s induction of the late bluesman Freddie King (followed by a few numbers with Joe Bonamassa). John Mellencamp gives a heartfelt tribute to Donovan.
