Cinema’s women and music problem
Cinema has a dubious reputation when it comes to sympathetic portrayals of women in music
I have a confession to make.
I haven’t seen Vox Lux or Wild Rose yet, and I’m not sure that I want to.
I’ve seen the trailers and, judging purely on that basis, I have to say that Wild Rose is the one I’d be more likely to watch. The trailer for Vox Lux left a very bad taste in my mouth.
On one level, it seems unfair to pigeonhole Wild Rose as a women in music film because, while the heroines music career is at the heart of the story, what Wild Rose really is is a redemption story. It’s gritty, it looks as though it has well developed characters and performances even if the story is a well trod one.
As for Vox Lux, this is a film that is clearly operating on a much bigger, almost operatic scale. It has the look of Breaking Glass crossed with Sunset Boulevard and has a darkness to it’s core that reminded me a bit of Natalie Portman’s earlier film, Black Swan. The ballet world didn’t feel that Black Swan did it justice, and I suspect the pop world may well feel the same about Vox Lux.
Does it matter if cinema provides accurate and sympathetic portrayals of women’s involvement with music and the music industry?
I would say it does, even in an age of YouTube concert clips. It matters because more people watch films than attend concerts and, as with music concerts, there is a strong visual quality to film that is immediately inspiring and can be a massive creative spur to young people who might be unable to attend concerts.
That is why it matters that films like Wild Rose and Vox Lux are good.
Neither of those films are for me, I suspect, and while the standard for music films with female characters in them is, admittedly, on the low side, I can think of some films that are still worth seeing.
If we’re looking for realism, it feels natural to turn first to the music documentary, an area of film making where there are regularly shocking omissions in mainstream narratives of music history. You will all have your own examples of this so I won’t bother listing all the ones I’ve seen. Needless to say, many of the problems with music documentary are also endemic in music journalism and the two tend to feed each other’s worst impulses.
If I was to highlight two examples of documentary done well, it would be two DIY documentaries, Stories From the She-Punks (2018) and She’s A Punk Rocker (2007). That these are both DIY documentaries about the role of women within the 1970s UK punk scene speaks volumes in terms of the omission of women from more mainstream accounts of punk. Helen Reddington and Gina Birch, who made Stories From The She-Punks, and Zillah Minx, who made She’s A Punk Rocker, not only self financed their films, they also conducted all the interviews and did all the editing and production themselves. Why? Because they were sick of their story and those of their contemporaries not being represented in accounts of the 1970s UK punk scene. Two crowdfunded independent films, Here To Be Heard (about The Slits), and the upcoming film about Poly Styrene, also highlight the failings of mainstream documentary making when it comes to women and punk.
Staying in the area of women and punk, or post punk, there are flawed but inspiring female focused takes on that particular cultural moment to be found in two dramas: Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains! and Times Square, both of which provided inspirational touchstones for Bikini Kill and Courtney Love respectively.
Some fictional accounts of women involved with music and the music industry do manage to achieve an air of gritty realism, gravitas and authenticity while, unfortunately, being thoroughly depressing to watch. This sub genre of women and music film is best exemplified by Prey For Rock’N’Roll, a film which feels real, has good writing credentials, but which is also bleak to the point of harrowing.
It follows the fortunes of Clam Dandy, a mid weight all female rock band in the US who have a steady following but who, despite being good, haven’t been able to secure a record deal or make it to the next level. It’s a tough watch, not because the band don’t make it, but because of what happens to the individual members of the band on a personal level. Do watch it by all means but, really, do steel yourself beforehand.
At a personal level, the films I’ve found that do women in music best are those that discuss the issue of women in music as a side issue to a wider story, generally as coming of age films. The Sichel Sisters All Over Me and Lukas Moodysson’s post punk era film We Are The Best! being two particularly good examples of this. Neither of these films concern themselves with the music industry, instead they use the creation of music and the forming of bands as tools in the arsenal of the rites of passage story. As such, they feel realistic rather than exploitative and have flawed but likeable characters that are relatable. Times Square works on a similar level, while the similarly imperfect Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains!, makes use of elements of the coming of age story while also showing the grimmer side of the music industry.
I’ve had to really scrabble around in the corners of subculture and independent cinema to find all of these films, which not everyone is determined to do, so I’m hoping that, one day, someone, somewhere will make an effort when it comes to writing a film about female musicians or female fans, with or without tackling the way that women are treated by the music industry.
If we are looking to create a film for teenagers about a female pop singer, a film that also provides sharp commentary on the music industry and how it treats young women, a good place to start would be with Rachel Cohn’s teen novel Pop Princess. Cohn has form when it comes to book adaptations: Her earlier novel, Nick and Norah’s infinite playlist, was adapted for screen, and Pop Princess features a cast of credible, multi faceted, complex characters. It would probably make for a more likeable film than Vox Lux too.
Of course, film adaptations, particularly involving younger characters, don’t always come off well: Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries emerged largely unrecognisable on screen and there does seem to be a tendency, overall, with Hollywood to tidy up messy or unconventional teen characters, to make them more wholesome. If care was taken with an adaptation of Pop Princess, this could be avoided, but in the wrong hands it’s fair to say it could be horrific.
At the start of the novel, our heroine is discovered leaping around a Dairy Queen at the end of her shift, singing along to ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ with a broom in her hand. Her favourite band are Green Day and the whole point of the story is that she isn’t a natural pop princess, that she is stepping into other people’s shoes. Take that aspect away and it becomes far less subversive and interesting.
While I’m lecturing Hollywood, it seems only fair to declare that I have developed my own personal criteria when it comes to any future films about women and the music industry. I am laying out my guidelines here but something tells me I’ll be waiting a very, very long time for a director to deliver on them.
1) Give us likeable, fully developed leading female characters who are intelligent. It doesn’t feel like a big ask but, my God, does it seem to be when I look at what’s available on film at the moment.
2) Have our heroine be supported by a cast of other fully developed female characters. They don’t all have to be likeable, but they do have to feel real.
3) By all means use conflict as a narrative device and have Bad People doing Bad Things in the film but please make those Bad People doing Bad Things realistic rather than making the film exploitative and grotesque for no obvious narrative reason.
4) Films where the lead female character is manipulated and brainwashed into a powerless neurotic mess are only fun to watch if you enjoy watching films where women are utterly destroyed by men.
Yes, women are utterly destroyed by men in many areas of life, including the music industry and, indeed, the film industry, but it would be nice to also see films with strong female characters where this doesn’t happen. Partly to provide a source of inspiration and encouragement to future female musicians, but also because not every woman who has made a successful career in the music industry has been destroyed by men in the process. Harmed by men, quite possibly, but not destroyed.
5) Can we have a film about fandom in which the lead fan character doesn’t want to shag any of the musicians in the film? One with real, fully fledged, complex characters where there is a real sense of community and camaraderie amongst the fans? Maybe even a film where the fans are prioritised over the musicians in the story?
6) Can we see stories about musicians and fans where gender, sexuality and ethnicity are much more considered? It doesn’t have to be about pretty white people with perfect teeth all the time. I mean, that’s just not realistic is it?
As I’ve said, I won’t hold my breath on any future film directors delivering on my six points, but it feels good to get them out of my head and down on paper (metaphorically speaking). As with all aspects of life, if you don’t see yourself represented in culture, why would you want to participate in that culture? Why would you watch a film about women in music if you knew it was going to be awful and not represent your own experience or the experience of anyone you know who is involved with music? As the media and cultural landscape changes, shifts, and more and more platforms are fighting over smaller and smaller niche audiences, this issue will stand more chance of being addressed.
