Documentary Review: 'Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche'

If you aren’t a fan of the British punk rock wave of the late 70s and early 1980s then you may not be aware of the trailblazer known as Poly Styrene. Poly Styrene was the rebellious and distinctive voice of the punk band X-Ray Spex. The band is arguably best known for being banned by the BBC over their song “Oh Bondage, Up Yours,” an anti-authority, anti-patriarchy punk anthem that became a big hit in spite of and because of the BBC ban.

Poly Styrene was a mixed race teenager growing up in a London suburb with few dreams of becoming a punk rock pioneer. Forming a band was an idea she had while writing poetry and searching for a way to share her poetry. Turning her spiky poetry into songs was a natural extension of wanting a way to speak louder and get heard. Punk was the most influential genre of the time and it happened to perfectly fit Poly’s anarchic style of poetry.

These are things you will learn while watching the new documentary Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche. But the documentary has a much bigger idea than a merely chronological presentation of the life of Poly Styrene. The documentary was co-directed by Poly’s daughter, Celeste Bell and as much as the documentary is about Poly’s life it’s also a reckoning of sorts for Celeste as she wrestles with her complicated relationship with her mother.

Poly Styrene suffered from Bi-Polar disorder at a time when such a diagnosis was uncommon. Early on in her mental health journey, Poly was diagnosed as schizophrenic and the misdiagnosis and treatment was messy, upsetting, and had a profoundly negative effect on Poly’s life and career. Though she was on a track toward breaking through to mainstream success in the wake of The Sex Pistols and other popular punk off-shoots, Poly ultimately walked away from X-Ray Spex before stardom could fully flower.

Poly walked away from X-Ray Spex at the height of the band’s popularity and though she stayed in music, releasing solo albums, stardom was of seemingly no interest. Instead, Poly fell into a whirlwind romance and became pregnant with Celeste, her only child. Domesticity and the typicalities of life were not for Poly and when her relationship with Celeste’s father ended Poly and Celeste’s life took a whole new direction. Poly fell in with the Hari Krishna religion, joined a Krishna church and found a minor amount of stability for a little while.

That stability didn’t last and it led to a frightening series of events that drove a wedge between Poly and Celeste that forms the heart of Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche. Celeste has felt the burden of carrying her mother’s legacy for the last several years and that weight is palpable in Celeste’s wistful and resigned voiceover in the documentary. Having been born after her mother rose to prominence it’s been a long journey for Celeste to understand and embrace her mother as a trailblazing artist and icon of punk.

Poly Styrene passed away in 2011 from Cancer and since then Celeste has grappled with what to do with the treasure trove of poetry, music and photos Poly left behind. For a time it was impossible for Celeste to even look at the material her mother left behind, too painful and raw. Eventually, she began to look at it and it resulted in both a book and now this documentary that have helped to reshape her mother’s legacy and give Poly Styrene the credit she deserves for her pioneering work. At the same time it's been a healing journey for Celeste who was raised by her grandmother and didn't really get to know her mother until later in life.

It’s the aspect of combining Poly and Celeste’s stories that makes Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche so compelling. I’m sure a fawning documentary could be made about Poly as a beloved yet reclusive and under-appreciated punk icon but Celeste and her co-director Paul Sng find a much richer story to tell about a complicated woman, her struggle with identity, race, mental health and motherhood. Ultimately, the story of Poly Styrene is one of searching for comfort, for sanctuary, for stability and acceptance and rarely finding any of those things. The art Poly created along the way is the story of a life and her complicated legacy is also the story of her daughter and the effect that the life behind that legacy has had on her.

Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche, featuring narration by actress Ruth Negga as Poly Styrene, will be released on streaming services nationwide on February 4th, 2022.