The Punk Singer

One of the many good things documentaries can do is make you aware of a person, a movement, a moment that you somehow overlooked, and help you realize just how important and how wonderful that person (or art form or whatever) was and/or is.

So it was for me with "The Punk Singer". Not growing up a big punk fan, I missed out on Kathleen Hanna and Bikini Kill, and the Riot Grrrl movement. My loss. This angry, joyful, tough, articulate, crazy, sexy, insightful, funny, political artist was a major force in feminism and social politics, and if I came late to the party I'm grateful to the film for making the introduction now.

The film can be uneven – some (not all) of the talking head interviews with others aren't very interesting - when compared to the performance footage of Hannah, or her ability to analyze her work and it's meaning in her own interviews – but I ended up inspired by the woman and the artist, and inspiration these days is in short supply.

Firstly, let me say this: I agree that Kathleen Hanna played a very important role in feminist history and I respect her for that. Get down with your bad Riot Grrrl self! However, please, for the love of whomever you find sacred, please get some perspective!

I am very sorry that she is suffering from what is revealed at the end of this film. I am, I truly am. I have not walked a mile in her shoes but I can only assume that her journey through her health issues have been a nightmare.

Here's my problem with the film: it's such an exercise in navel-gazing and delusion, at times it's almost painful to watch. If she would have just OWNED the fact that she's married to a Beastie Boy and has access to care and treatment that most normal people do not, I would have found her story more tolerable. And let's not forget that this is supposed to be an empowered feminist, yet when she talks of her stripper past (which I am NOT judging her for), she says, "It was the only decent paying job I could get." I call B.S. on that! Honey, just own it! You wanted to strip for the money - no big deal. But please don't make it out like it was the ONLY job you could get. Puh-leeeeze! We are basically the same age and while she's a heck of a lot cuter than I ever was and looked better in a bikini than I ever did, I found a way to have a decent paying job where I didn't remove my clothes (my choice).

I wanted to love this movie. But I did not. I did however love all the old 90s footage and some fun interviews with the likes of Kim Gordon and Tavi Gevinson.

I saw this movie after reading the siff website and went to check it out. In my opinion it is a well-made biographical documentary that outlines the Northwest music scene. It taught my friend why it "smells like teen spirit" and it taught me what a feminist band is. I was interested in seeing the feminist movement that grew out of Olympia, Washington. The movie is youthful and tragic. It is easy to sympathize with the characters.

Though I was not familiar with anything regarding Kathleen Hanna's life before seeing the movie, there is for sure a charisma that radiates from Kathleen that is well depicted in the film. But I am not one to judge whether it is a factually accurate documentary. It shows her entire life from early to late years and I was especially intrigued to see her reflect upon her youth.

"I'm your worst nightmare come to life! I'm a girl who you can't shut up!" On an old home video in a tiny living room, a woman screams about pain, feminism, and the aggression of men in Olympia, Washington, in 1991. It's the voice of Kathleen Hanna, who will front groundbreaking punk band Bikini Kill and feminist party band Le Tigre, help launch the Riot Grrrl movement, inspire a mainstream grunge rock scene dominated by men, and courageously and emphatically serve as the mouthpiece for every girl who thought she could only whisper things in her bedroom.

Over 20 years later, Hanna is finally given her day in rock history in director Sini Anderson's award-winning documentary THE PUNK SINGER. The origin stories this born leader, third wave feminist icon, and ultimate low-fi artist are brought to life through archival footage, intimate interviews, and commentaries by Kim Gordon, Carrie Brownstein, Ann Powers, Adam Horovitz, and former bandmates. Hanna's in-your-face activism—through lyrics, zines, and manifestos—moved women to the front, literally and figuratively. Two decades later, Hanna is still ripping down barriers of music and gender and art, still proudly saying "Stay out of my way!"

One of the best rock documentaries I've seen. Well made, you really get a sense of Kathleen Hanna, everything she stands for and all she's been through. It's not a glossy profile full of butt-kissing. You get the good and the bad.

It's also a fascinating look at the riot grrl movement. Despite knowing the music, I was hardly aware of many of the details. It's about a lot more than just punk rock.

This is excellent filmmaking, about a riveting subject, that made me pulling out my old Bikini Kill cds.

In a nutshell, it rocks!