GirlsRock! Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Review: Girls Rock!
Filed under: Documentary », Music & Musicals », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews », New in Theaters »
Rock 'n' roll in all its forms has always had an enormous power. As soon as white artists began adapting its catchy rhythms for the mainstream in the 1950s, conservatives began barking and howling, calling it "devil music" and trying to ban it and censor it every which way. Jerry Lee Lewis always believed that he was going to pay with hellfire and damnation, and played that much harder in spite of it. And each time the music grew too comfortable, someone came along with a louder, more ferocious idea, like Jimi Hendrix's feedback, or punk, or hip-hop. The musicians can seem godlike, with their simplified, direct line to poetry, sexual energy, anger, and overall physical, emotional release. Because of this, rock is self-propagating; there's no shortage of young, insecure musicians who yearn for this same kind of power.
This goes double for girls. There's a great list of girl rockers in history: The Ronettes, Patti Smith, Liz Phair, P.J. Harvey, Debbie Harry, The Pretenders, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Go-Gos, The Bangles, Kim Gordon (of Sonic Youth), Lauryn Hill, Sleater-Kinney, The Donnas and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, plus many bands of mixed sex (X, Talking Heads, Smashing Pumpkins, The Velvet Underground, etc.). But for some reason, girls still have a hard time getting into this boy's club. These days it helps if you have a body like Fergie's, but that doesn't exactly send a hopeful message to those same young, insecure, up-and-comers. And so the new documentary Girls Rock!, directed by Shane King and Arne Johnson, begins by taking a trip to the annual "Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls" in Portland, Oregon and comes away with something a bit more.
'Girls Rock!' Helmer Tackles Truth in Documentaries for Filmmaker Mag
Filed under: Documentary », Independent », Newsstand », Cinematical Indie »
Perusing my rss feed today, I came across an interesting scanned article over at Jennifer Venditti's Billy the Kid blog. First, if you've been lurking around Cinematical Indie, it's no surprise that I love Venditti's feature documentary debut. I reviewed the film from Hot Docs, have mentioned Venditti in a few posts, and had a chat with her about her take on indie film. Now she's got a Filmmaker Magazine article up, which was written by Arne Johnson the co-helmer of another favorite 2007 Hot Docs film, Girls Rock!In the piece, Johnson tackles the extreme pressures documentary filmmakers face when it comes to the troubles of truth. He cites his own struggles with the kick-ass tykes in Rock!, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's challenges with Jesus Camp, and Venditti's struggles with Billy criticism -- focusing on the Variety review I posted about in May. It hits a lot of bases, from the need to edit quotes in interviews, or be faced with a terrible-in-text sea of "ums" and awkwardness, to the discussion of whether documentarians taint their source material, or just present a truth that some viewers aren't appreciative of.
Johnson includes a quote from Judy Irving about subjectivity that I found particularly interesting: "When someone throws that at you, like that your film does not have journalistic integrity, or it's not objective, what they're really saying is "I don't agree with you. My subjectivity is different from your subjectivity and I wish you had portrayed what I feel about the subject rather than what you feel." It's a worthy thought -- complaints always come from those who disagree, so do those who agree turn a blind eye to subjectivity, or think that a film covers the bases? And overall, what do you think of this whole argument over truth, subjectivity, and documentary filmmaking?
'Girls Rock!' to Hit Theaters in the Spring
Filed under: Documentary », Independent », Music & Musicals », Distribution », Cinematical Indie », Trailers and Clips »
One of my favorite films of the year is a documentary called Girls Rock!, which I reviewed for HotDocs back in May. It's a sassy flick that follows a bunch of young women who are taking part in the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls. Each young goddess takes her angst and turmoil and turns it into rock music, finding that oh-so-rare outlet to rant, rave and let it all out. As if a bunch of great, strong girls wasn't enough, the film also shows the potential that lies within them -- building their bands, writing the lyrics and music, performing for an audience -- and all in one week. I'm happy to report that according to the doc's official website, it has been picked up by Shadow Distribution and will be released on March 7, 2008. I can only hope that Girls Rock! makes a medium-sized splash so that more young girls can see that there are many more roads open to them -- something other than mainstream teen fare would lead them to believe. Arne Johnson and Shane King's doc is not only great for adults, but can be a big source of inspiration for young females -- by delighting in their own uniqueness and showing them all that they can accomplish. In the interim, you can check out a trailer here, and get ready for the likes of death-metal-lover Laura, gang-survivor Misty, sneering Palace and songwriter Amelia.
Hot Docs Review: Girls Rock!
Filed under: Documentary », Independent », Theatrical Reviews », Cinematical Indie »
I don't know if I have ever seen a greater collection of girls in one sitting then I did when I went to see Girls Rock! Even more importantly, I can't remember the last time I saw a film, or television show for that matter, and was inspired and energized by the females on the screen. Surprisingly, this comes from the hands of a couple of men -- Arne Johnson and Shane King. Yet it doesn't really matter, because they understand their subject perfectly. With the driving sounds of notable female rockers from Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon to Veruca Salt, the documentary is an intensely intimate, yet respectful, portrait of the pressures and releases of a group of dynamic young women.
The premise is simple – follow a group of girls ranging in age from 8-18 who are partaking in a one-week rock camp – one run by the likes of Sleater Kinney and other notable female bands. The campers embody every type of look, personality and even musical background, and they come together for a week to create a band, learn their role in it, write a song and perform it at a showcase. The film focuses on a few girls in particular, who are epically memorable and varied – Amelia, the insanely exuberant rocker girl, Misty, a green bassist who is working her way out of a troubled past, Palace, the toughest 8-year-old on record and Laura, a Korean 15-year-old with a deep love for heavy metal.
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
Peter Jackson Says Spielberg's 'Tintin' is Done Filming, but...
Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
_thumbnail.jpg)
