The Punk Singer

2013
7.4| 1h20m| en
Details

A look at the life of activist, musician, and cultural icon Kathleen Hanna, who formed the punk band Bikini Kill and pioneered the "riot grrrl" movement of the 1990s.

Director

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Film4 Productions

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Reviews

PlatinumRead Just so...so bad
Manthast Absolutely amazing
Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
Staci Frederick Blistering performances.
moonspinner55 Excellent documentary from director Sini Anderson on Bikini Kill/Le Tigre front woman Kathleen Hanna, who dropped out of the music biz in 2005 after contracting late-stage Lyme disease (but who kept her disappearance mysterious, hardly disclosing her illness to anyone). A rage-filled college girl from Olympia, Washington, Hanna was a rabid feminist with a troubled childhood whose jagged fanzine art and spoken word rants eclipsed into musical genius with her first band, Bikini Kill. Although not for the faint-of-heart, Bikini Kill (three females, one male) were instrumental in leading the Riot Grrrl movement of the early 1990s. Testimonials from Hanna's peers (including members of Bratmobile and Sleater-Kinney, Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth and Joan Jett, who produced Bikini Kill's most proficient EP) help fill in some of the personality gaps, yet when Anderson just allows Hanna to speak--and when the musician opens up, she's quite candid--the results are fascinating, most especially for fans. Also interesting: the potentially-explosive paradox of a young, hardcore feminist who finds true love (and eventually marriage) with a male kindred spirit, Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys. *** from ****
Meaux Bacon 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.
SoSickOfTheRain 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!
steveg-264-66591 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.