With their archaic and viral language, clothes that dramatized poorness, punks were Dickens' postmodern children. Instigated by amphetamines and their way of life, their gestures were spastic, violent and unpredictable, their demeanor was rough and boisterous, and their faces were as pale as zombies. Dramatizing catatony, punks stood out in the crowd: they weren't sedated by the English dream and boasted about it.