Mark has just moved to Arizona from the East Coast. His parents give him a short-wave radio so he can talk to his pals. But he sets up a pirate Station, going under the pseudonym of D.J. Hard Harry, and becomes a hero to his peers while inspiring the wrath of the local high school principal. When one of Harry's listeners commits suicide and chaos breaks out at the school, the authorities are called in to put a stop to Harry's broadcasts....Made in a time when Slater was at the height of his Heartthrob-ness, and to be fair he was a pretty big deal in the early nineties (if you were fifteen), The film is like a big sunshine Strawberry smoothie, with a little teen angst thrown in.Slater does channel a kind of profane, alcohol induced Spider-man in his performance. By day, a shy, spectacle wearing back of the class type student, by night, well, you get the gist.And he has never been better, and I really don't know what happened from there. His Harry is something many the targeted demographic could only dream of doing.He's honest, funny, sympathetic, and full of empathy, yet he still inspires anarchy across the very small town, and obviously, it irks the older population of the town.The soundtrack too, is wonderful, playing a kind of narrative in itself, and only adds a little more depth to the film.There are minor flaws in the film, stereotypes are rife throughout the film, but it wasn't aimed at most people, it was aimed at misunderstood teens, and at one point in our lives, we were one of those.Still cool 23 years on....

"Everything is backwards; everything is upside down. Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the major media destroy information and religions destroy spirituality." - Michael Ellner Alan Moyle's "Pump Up The Volume" stars Christian Slater as Mark Hunter, a high school student who lives in a sleepy, Arizonan town. Looking to lash out at the world, Mark starts an FM pirate radio station. This station becomes an outlet for his angst and aggression. The film then becomes a teen version of "Network" or "Rebel Without a Cause", Mark rallying fellow disaffected and alienated youths until he becomes the unwitting leader of a minor student revolution.In historical terms, Hunter's caught in the deadlock of late capitalism, or what Francis Fukuyama called "the end of history", a time populated by what Nietzsche called "the last men"; pathetic, contemptible things. Fukuyama's position counterpointed that of Hegel and Marx, who saw historical development as a purposeful journey from primitive stages of consciousness to "something better". This goes against the "there is no alternative" (T.I.N.A) mantra of late capitalism, a stance explicitly reborn in the mid 20th century, but which has bee around in various forms much longer, perhaps starting with Thomas Malthus, a nineteenth century progenitor of "no alternative" politics and its credo of "permanent" scarcity and "necessary poverty". Malthus contested nineteenth century radicals who were steadfast in their belief that labour, properly deployed, could usher in a new society. Indeed, the initial need for elites to publicly announce the absence of any alternative to existing social arrangements was entirely a defensive move, in response to such radical ideas.One of the first to counter T.I.N.A was William Godwin. In his 1793 book, "Enquiry Concerning Political Justice", he argued that the "existing state creates a servile and truckling spirit," and that the cruel monotony of the system "produces a kind of stupid and hopeless vacancy in every face". From Godwin can be drawn a line to libertarians, anarchist communism, socialism and even the labour theory of value. The British government then tried to prosecute Godwin for treason, but abandoned the idea. Godwin was instead attacked by Malthus, who in "Principles of Political Economy" essentially defended class structures and even went so far as to advocate starving the poor because "that way they wouldn't breed too heavily". In anticipation of the permanent war economy of the United States, Malthus would even offer war and state debt as perfect mechanisms for "enhancing value through the careful calibration of scarcity".So though white and privileged, Hunter's part of a long list of validly ticked off people. On air he calls himself "Hard Harry", and begins his radio program with Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows", the lyrics "everybody knows the dice are loaded, everybody rolls with their fingers crossed" heralding his audio rants. "All the great themes have been used up and turned into theme parks," he tells his audience, as he begins to develop a sort of naive political manifesto. Where adults condescend, he empathises, where they ignore, he provides an outlet for the hopes, dreams, fears and tragedies of other youths.Elsewhere Hunter challenges the ethos of his college, which cares more about test scores and image than actual education. Unsurprisingly, his college is named after Hubert Humphrey, a despicable archetype of cold war neoliberalism and apologist for much violence (Vietnam, the police beatings of peace activists etc). "The truth is a virus," Hunter tells his listeners, as he becomes increasingly subversive and empowering, shaking fellow students out of apathy. "It begins with us! Not the experts, but the ones who need it most!" Pretty soon he's changed from an object of hero worship to one of strategic appropriation, youths taking from him what they need to advance their own empowerment and emancipation. Elsewhere the songs he plays are politically charged, but in offbeat ways. There's "Freedom of Speech" by Above the Law, Ice T states "I've no time to whisper in your ear", Hunter plays "Wave of Mutilation" by the Pixies, has Soundgarden say "Accused and convicted for nothing" and Liquid Jesus "Stand, and they will make you crawl"."Nothing is more important than a good education!" adults tell Hunter. "Except the basic right to it," he counters. Slowly he moves from isolation and individualism to community and collective action. He accepts that he has a responsibility to his listeners, understands that meaning and expression are terrains of political contestation, repeatedly fought over, but then quickly finds himself chased by the police and FBI. They want to shut him down. To silence him. The film ends with Harry on the run, romantic engagement finally deemed inadequate, until a final sequence in which every student in America starts their own pirate radio station. This is offered as something positive, but the internet/Facebook generation's told us otherwise: the podiums afforded by technology increase atomization and tend to become just more outlets for narcissism.Traditionally, young people have energised democratic movements. But resistance to domination has been subdued and power has long created societal institutions designed to break resistance. The young, reflexively impotent, are perhaps now entirely acquiesced to the idea that they can and will be repeatedly screwed. Large debts, and the fear they create, have become a pacifying force. Elsewhere we psychopathologize and medicate noncompliance, a fact which led Erich Fromm to state that "today the function of psychiatry and medicine threatens to become the tool in the manipulation of man." Indeed, schools themselves inculcate compliance not democracy, and routinely traffic standardisation and fear. The intelligent are shamed, surveillance is normalised and fundamentalist Religion and Fundamentalist Consumerism are exalted above all things. And so, like Howard Beale, Hunter yells from a radio, before being shut down.8.9/10 – One of the best teen movies of the 1990s, despite a weak, corny third act.

In a career dotted with offbeat and quirky roles Christian Slater was at his most offbeat and quirky in Pump Up The Volume. Slater plays a young transfer student from an eastern high school to a new school in Arizona. His Clark Kent persona is a mild mannered wallflower type. But his father made the mistake of giving him a short wave radio set to keep in touch with friends back east who are presumably ham radio operators. What Slater does is create his own pirate radio station and starts with another whole personality of disc jockey Harry Hardon. Slater's other self isn't Superman, he's more like a teenage version of Howard Beale from Network.He's amusing at first until one of the students commits suicide after calling in and Slater does little to discourage his intentions. That's a hard call to make, even professionals miss telltale signs of that kind of serious depression.But when Slater starts disrupting the power structure in the person of principal Annie Ross, the hunt is on with even the Federal Communications Commission brought in to track down this broadcasting felon. Imagine Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest as a school principal and you've got Ross. The main weakness of Pump Up The Volume is that Slater and Ross create the only two memorable characters. All the rest are strictly in support, we get no insights into any of the rest of the cast. But these two are memorable characters. A teenage mad prophet of the air and a school principal from hell.Pump Up The Volume is a staple for Christian Slater fans.

Some "kids" my age were defined by certain movies, namely John Hughes classics, though you probably can't get a lot of guys to admit that. The sadly underperforming Pump Up the Volume was mine.It was back in 1989 when I started taking movies more seriously, seeing them more and noticing that they'll eventually consume me. A year later, I saw my first Christian Slater movie (though, almost immediately following, I watched – and not for him – Young Guns II) as well as a "star" I would fall in love with for thereafter: Samantha Mathis, coincidentally, her first movie.I remember loving the movie, the idea, the setting – finally a teen movie that was set in my current location, Arizona, the mood, the dialogue, the music and definitely the message. What also impressed me was the nonchalant take they had on homosexuality and how the main hero, Hard Harry (Slater) was so accepting of it. (Side Note: I hadn't come out yet by this point, but this certainly helped verses all the negativity surrounding the "gay lifestyle" I heard around me.)And as independent as this was, it was certainly far before it's time. Christian Slater really plays Mark, but, in what also appealed to me, by night his "Clark Kent" image of Mark was transformed into the "Superman" Hard Harry on a radio program on an unused frequency. What he was doing would be considered a podcast nowadays, only he went the long, and probably only, way around it.Literally, he didn't think anyone was listening. So this lonely kid, Mark, who was moved by his parents to a small Arizona town, babbles on the air about how bad the high school he was attending as well as the small town. Although, it sounds like he's complaining, he's actually hitting on some direct topics the parents and school board are either ignoring or were ignorant of.Well, the kids are listening, one by one, growing by the night. Namely, Nora (Mathis), the obvious "Lois Lane" of the trio of characters (if you count Clark and Supe as two), who's trying to find the identity of the voice she hears and absolutely agrees with. Oh, and is it obvious she's also in love with Hard Harry?A tragedy, one you might not expect with the direction the movie was headed, occurs and now Hard Harry's a target for parents, police, the FCC and of course the school board for what he's saying might actually be true.They all want him shut down. Naturally, all the kids want him to continue – he's their voice, each and every one of them. Only, Clark, er, Mark's conflicted and the much more shy version of Hard Harry. Leave it to Lois, er, Nora, to save the day once again by giving the real hero a backbone.I rated this with the highest rating I give: 10/10 stars. I do this for nostalgia purposes, obviously, but re-watching this movie now, after not seeing it for probably 15+ years, it really holds up today. Sure, the one message (revealed in the end) of why the school board is wronging the students is somewhat weak, the dozens of others thoroughly outweigh that revolution. Also, as mentioned, I did love (literally, I fell hard for) Mathis; she did a fantastic first job and bold – see: well, her. Further, Slater equally did a excellent job. And the soundtrack remains as one of my all time favorites. I have probably listened to Everybody Knows by Concrete Blonde 660 times since this came out.This was the un-Hollywood independent film I will cherish for all time. It wasn't splashy, it was intentionally small, it was tight and it was right. All that I wrote above about my first impressions back in 1990 hold up and I stand by them. Watch this movie and know what it was TRULY like being a teen in the early nineties.