Rebel Girl

Kathleen Hanna still from The Punk Singer
Kathleen Hanna still from The Punk Singer

I came awake thinking about “The Punk Singer,” a movie we saw last night at the Little. It is a pretty meaty movie with all the sexual abuse and gender unbalance issues that Kathleen Hanna so expertly shoves in our faces. I loved the clips of her old band, Bikini Kill, and it was a kick to see Joan Jett in the movie. I hope the whole Riot Grrrl thing still has some legs. Hanna stopped touring when she discovered she has late stage Lyme disease, a turn that hit hard.

We had just driven by a grizzly accident at Culver and Titus where a car was over on its side and another had its front end up where the front seat should be. There was someone lying in the street and a cop was already there but it had just happened. In the movie, the Beastie Boys Adam Horovitz, who married Hanna, describes the first time he saw Bikini Kill as like an accident you can’t turn away from. I got the picture.

The director was interviewed via Skype after the screening and she said the movie will released on dvd this week.

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