The Punk Singer (Sini Anderson, 2013, USA)
The Punk Singer is a 2013 documentary focusing on the life and career of Kathleen Hanna, musician and founder of the riot grrrl movement. The film traces Hanna’s origins in the Washington-state-based punk band Bikini Kill (contemporaries of the grunge movement and Nirvana in particular), to her introspective solo project The Julie Ruin, to her mainstream breakout success with the electropunk trio Le Tigre. The film also addresses Hanna’s hiatus from her career following her diagnosis with Lyme disease and the personal challenges she faced in dealing with this disease. The film uses plenty of videos of Bikini Kill and other performances to set the atmosphere of the late 80s / early 90s punk environment. This also establishes Hanna’s stage presence and manner in a heavily male-dominated space. From her unconventional “Valley Girl” accent to her often provocative stage presence, Hanna stood out at the time. The film integrates interviews with other members of the riot grrrl movement to sh...
