The Music Documentary by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2022-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

This scene is especially important in all three films about Joy Division: 24 Hour Party People, Control, and Joy Division all feature this moment as Joy Division getting their big break. After verbally accosting Tony Wilson, Ian had finally secured a spot for the band on Wilson's show and, here, Wilson introduces them in the context of “everything from The Beatles to The Buzzcocks.” In terms of all three films’ narrative structure it is treated as the moment that marks their arrival as a band that has finally broken through to a larger audience. And it's here that they are introduced to the world as intricately linked to Manchester's urban spaces—the imagery itself even dominates over the band in some of the shots.

Here, too, we find not a band that is deeply troubled by Martin Hannett's production of Unknown Pleasures. In Joy Division, Peter Hook claims that he wanted to sound more like they did when they played live, but this line is noticeably moved to later in the film's staging away from the brilliance of Martin Hannett's production. Instead, we get Factory co-founder Peter Saville suggesting that “it might be heresy,” but that he believes that “Hannett suggested a way to understand Joy Division.” It's a great insight that holds a lot of truth, but is far from heretical when it is the predominate story foisted upon us through films of the last decade. In fact, it's practically canonical.12

And why Joy Division is so important is not only chalked up to Martin Hannett. The documentary deftly pulls together many people who were involved in creating the product that is Joy Division, from the aforementioned Tony Wilson of Factory Records, to the photographers who encouraged them to pose in front of those decrepit buildings and concrete tunnels, to Peter Saville, the artistic director of Factory who designed the look of their albums. In other words, without directly stating it, the film catalogs the way that Joy Division were a construction as carefully honed as many other rock bands. And that is why it is quite intriguing to hear Peter Saville claim at the end of the documentary that Joy Division are “one of the truest stories of pop; there are very few true stories in a business-dominated pop culture.” This sense of “trueness” is the clear claim for Joy Division's authenticity and credibility. But, in what sense are they “true” or authentic? Many claims about Joy Division's authenticity rest on the tragedy of Ian Curtis's suicide. That is, when you listen to that depressing and moody sound, those introverted and isolated lyrics, you know that Curtis must have meant those feelings because he acted on them; he was not faking.

However, this is not all that Saville or Gee intends, because Saville's quote is prefaced by the following titles on the screen: New Order “became one of the most successful and influential groups of the 80s and 90s. And sold more than 20 million records.” Much like 24 Hour Party People,

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