Dum Boys By Camden Joy: Film Analysis

In the story, Dum Dum Boys written by Camden Joy depicts the lives of two friends who journey down entirely different paths from one another. It all began when Cameron and the Narrator first meet when they were 13 years old. They were great friends all the way through high school sharing experiences of their enjoyment of punk music, drugs and girls. When Cameron and the Narrator graduate they go their separate ways ultimately losing contact with each other. A few years later, the Narrator returns to his hometown to visit and discovers that Cameron had died. Before his death, Cameron had spiraled out of control becoming even more obsessed with rants against society and the police. (Abcarian) Punk music had a significant impact on these two characters

To society during that time punk music was simply a mixture of noise with vocals but to those that actually understood the music, it was greater than that. Punk music also proved to those individuals that they could stick up for what they believed in and fight back at what ideas they found unjust. Camden Joy writes, “Leaning on our favorite wall of combination lockers, close to the edge of campus, some of us crouched down, positioned so that the wall supported only our heads, others standing, one knee bent, we would proudly pass around well-worn copies of Berserk books whose scenarios fit us more comfortably than high school.” The Narrator and his circle of friends often looked at books that influenced their punk values and which related to their situations. One book, in particular, was an anime series called Berserk. It was illustrated by Kenturo Miura who created violently horrifying anime that was not for the squeamish or someone who is easily offended. This set of books was even referred to as their group's Bible or the holy literature. At one point in the story, the Narrator and Cameron discuss a revolution and possibly disposing of those who were not for how they lived their lives. These thoughts may have been influenced by the anime series

They used it as an outlet to work through their feelings and emotions. There are countless amounts of activities for people to find comfort in and work out their inner struggles. For example, Camden Joy writes, ‘“You’re running,” we’d smirk at some former friend whom we’d catch training for a track and field event. They’d glance up dazed, their expression flushed, looking near death, sweat-covered, short of breath, their bodies ruddy, almost naked in those trim jerseys and gym shorts. “What are you running from?’” One of the boy’s former friend chose to pick up track and field as his outlet. The quote shows how critical the boys were of those who did not stick with punk music like they did. (Abcarian) A study done at the University of Queensland found that listening to punk music was had a calming effect and even help teens process their feeling in a healthy way. Thirty-nine participants who listened to punk music, ranging from eighteen to thirty-four years old, spent sixteen minutes thinking about their anger and described factors that upset them such as relationship, work, and financial issues. Then they were randomly given to one of two groups. One group spent ten minutes listening to songs of their choice from their personal playlist. The other group, a control group, sat for ten minutes in silence. Results showed that punk music did not make the volunteer more