'Poly Styrene : I Am A Cliche' (2021)

'Poly Styrene : I Am A Cliche' (2020) is a documentary about singer Poly Styrene who was a member of the punk band X-Ray Spex. It's co-directed by Poly's daughter, singer Celeste Bell (Debutant Disco), with Paul Sng who also co-directed the critically acclaimed music documentary 'Sleaford Mods : Invisible Britain' (2015).

This music documentary resonated more with me than any I've seen in recent times. I feel I can relate to a lot of what's heard in Poly's poetry and diaries, particularly about growing up mixed race in Britain. Her social scene seems exactly like how mine was, with disparate parts coming together to form a kind of community. Her struggles with bipolar disorder sound similar to those of the woman I loved in my 20s, she too was extremely sensitive, artistic, got misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, hospitalised a number of times, given multiple diagnosis, struggled to find the right drug, had a sense of style like Poly's that was all her own, experienced bouts of abandonment, indulged in exhibitionism, lost herself in crazy obsessions and addictions. So, I enjoyed this film and I appreciate Celeste Bell for making it. She had a beautiful, talented mother and she looks a lot like her mum when they're up on stage together. And they named this documentary after my favourite X-Ray Spex song, how cool is that.

There are spoken / written contributions from a number of musicians and plenty of snapshots from the group's past. Paul Dean and Lora Logic are among the contributors.