In The 1970's Punk emerged as a youth movement that was successful at shocking the mainstream. The first defined Punks came from England (although punk music had a lineage that went back more than a decade). In the beginning, Punk was masterminded by Malcom Mclaren. He recognized England's terrible economic situation and applied previous subcultural movements the current situation. Punk fell somewhere in-between Dada and Situationalism. He envisioned a melding of Rock and Roll with the beautiful chaos of situationalism as well as Dada's practice of using existing ideas and objects to create new meaning. .
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Punk wanted to destroy the Capitolist "Facist" system. Punk made just enough impact on the mainstream for people to be aware of it. When the Sex Pistols appeared on a Talk Show on December 2nd, 1976, Johnny Rotton said "Fuck". Something like this left at least a memory in the mainstream conscienceless. Other events dealing with Punk or the Sex Pistols were sensationalized in the media (to make money) and created a controversy. Soon after the controversy faded, and Punk wasn't seen as a threat (at least in England). It was still a very young movement, and as it spread to the states it managed to cause a similar controversy in regions. The Los Angeles band Black Flag were banned for "inciting riot". And consequently Punk made headlines for a while. .
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Punk style was chaotic and raw. Unlike the Dada and Situationalists it had a visual identity. It was all about amplifying the ugly as a revolt against the status quo. Punk was not pretty. It was sloppy, self hating, and also; very personal. Each punk had their own identity. This can be seen in fanzines, record covers, show flyers, clothing, and language.