The Punk Singer

"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!"

Kathleen Hanna, the talented lead of a 90's punk band makes waves appealing to a niche audience of punk rock fans that admire or agree with a feminist stance. No, stop...it wasn't the music (aside from her)turning people off - it was because the group is admittedly horrible and unapologetic about it.

I'm not invested in this film, nor have I ever heard of them. I just find it odd that Kathleen scrawls "Incest" on her chest before live shows and then bemoans the consequence when people think she suffered from it. (go figure).

This was during the 90's? What serious systemic anti-feminist movements were occurring?

She goes on to state her boyfriend made jokes around inequality. So she dates him on the sly for years.

I would never sexualize this woman. I don't need to, to make her and the band to become irrelevant.

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.

The Punk Singer is a bio flick of root girrrl Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of the band Bikini Kill.

I'm honestly not familiar with Kathleen Hanna's music. I was searching for items on the local library's card catalog and this came up in the search results and since I enjoy this type of thing I put in a request for the DVD.

I found the Punk Singer to be an entertaining film. There's interviews with various artists that Kathleen has played with. I can't say how in depth the film is as I'm not too familiar with Kathleen Hanna or Bikini Kill, but it's a cool film none the less. I didn't know that she was married to one of the Beastie Boys or that she was friends with Kurt Cobane.

Kathleen Hanna seems like a cool artists who stands up for women's rights and is an icon of the Riot Girrrl scene.

While I listened to Bikini Kill and Le Tigre I never sought out that much info on Kathleen Hanna, especially since that was much harder to find in Bikini Kill's active years. Watching this documentary made me fantasize about going back in time and begging Bikini Kill to let me carry their equipment before quietly slipping away so they could have all female Riot Grrrl meetings.

Nothing is left out that needed saying. The trauma of her past is acknowledged without morbidity, and her success is tempered by the realities of Bikini Kill's grueling tour life. The movie does a great job of giving equal time to her days with Le Tigre and Julie Ruin, as well as her relationship with Adrock.

I have to admit I found myself a little ashamed of how stricken I was by just how beautiful Hanna is and was. I know this movie isn't about her looks but I hadn't seen most of the live show footage before and honestly I was taken aback. The movie doesn't shy away from acknowledging how Kathleen used her sexuality on stage and the criticisms against her by those who thought a feminist had a responsibility to be non-sexual.

This movie is a must for anyone who loves punk, American feminism, riot grrrls, or ever had their lip split open in a pit.