Bloody Bloody Belgium: documenting 'punk' history DIY with reflections on a contemporary international punk scene [Video Essay]

This research will focus on how the history, development of aesthetic and political aspects of the Belgian punk movement were firmly rooted in a D.I.Y. ethos which relied on individual spontaneous contributions outside of any social or commercial structures. This activity had particular characteristics of social affluence different to other similar movements elsewhere in Europe but argues that this small diverse punk scene had a valuable impact on facilitating the growth and development of the punk scene world-wide. Positioned at the crossroads of Europe the Belgian DIY punk scene actively implemented the potential of the UK anarcho-punk ethic ‘post Crass’ and facilitated a vibrant scene with global participation, which it still engages with to present day. The nature and approach the subculture participants fostered, developed and maintained a 'unique diversity' of inclusion particular to the Belgian culture which helped cement a functioning self-sustaining infa-structure facilitating 'unique' approaches to inclusive participation with a touch of surreal Belgian humour. These networks (like many others across EU & UK) still function to support and facilitate the contemporary punk scene, which still struggles with tensions around the transition of punks within an aging movement. In Belgium as in many other punk scenes, real and ideological tensions have seemingly ‘enounced’ the political potential of punk with the resulting fragmentation of a movement and participants who once celebrated its unique solidarity. Is Punk Dead? Definitely not I would argue, using my documentary journey to explore ‘how’ punk has developed to inform contemporary activities in Belgium and its impact within the current punk scene and the wider society. However, a key set of questions arising from this research is ‘what impact does contemporary dominant political libertarian perspectives within the world-wide ‘punk’ movement have on the individuality, creative originality, social manifestations and political activities of the participants?’ Now that music, image and other forms of ‘punk’ representations are in conflict with the capitalist ideologies informing traditional modes of media production with free immediate access and availability via the internet. Why would you bother making a documentary about Punk in Belgium?