Join us for a reschduled viewing of Chris Smith's Devo!
Saturday, April 26th
4 PM
Michigan Theater, 603 E Liberty St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
 
Chris Smith
London, UK | 2024 | 93 | digital
This documentary captures the gloriously radical spirit that is Devo—a rare band founded by a philosophy: a Dada experiment of high art meets low, hellbent on infiltrating American popular culture. Through never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh, and Jerry Casale, Devo relishes in the highs, the lows, the surreal moments, and the incredible performances of a 50-year career. Director Chris Smith (American Movie, Fyre, Wham!) embraces the spectacle of the band, from their lo-fi beginnings to their pioneering videos in the early days of MTV’s cultural dominance. Band members are open with their memories and archives, charting their origins as Kent State University art students shaped by the activism of the late 1960s. Following the 1970 massacre on their campus, the band’s concept of cultural “De-Evolution” turned from satirical humor to urgent social commentary, and what began as subversive counterprogramming to a campus arts festival would go on to warn of, comment on, and reflect back the absurdism of the late 20th century. Finding mainstream success at the height of 1980s consumerism, Devo soundtracked the De-Evolution they’d long predicted—and influenced a 21st century they’d have never believed.