Girls Rock! [DVD]

Review The act of picking up a guitar and making some noise becomes a life-changing experience in Girls Rock!, an irresistible new documentary from filmmakers Arne Johnson and Shane King that showcases the transformative power of rock 'n' roll. The film's subject is the Rock 'n' Roll School for Girls; every girl between the ages of 8 and 18 should be required to check it out. --Chicago Sun-Times Young women find expression for more than their music in Girls Rock!, a jubilant documentary about a place where power chords and empowerment go hand in hand. At the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Ore., 100 delirious 8-to-18-year-olds many of whom have never touched an instrument are encouraged to make noise and take up space. For one earsplitting, consciousness-raising week, they form bands and write songs while watchful counselors volunteer musicians from bands like Sleater-Kinney and Gossip provide expertise, mediate meltdowns and reassure the strugglers. Everyone needs to feel that someone gets them, says Laura, who loves death-metal and worries about finding like-minded band mates. The 8ight-year-old Palace, a diminutive diva with a high-decibel vocal style, pens lyrics that hint at deeper anxieties. Interweaving candid interviews and despairing statistics girls are the only group to begin school with a testing advantage and leave with a disadvantage the directors, Shane King and Arne Johnson, inform but never lecture. --New York Times A documentary about a rock 'n' roll camp for girls ages 8-18 could have been cutesy or condescending. Instead, it's the best film of the new year, a funny, wise and inspiring ode to spirits set free. And it rocks. Among the 80 campers who form bands, write songs and perform them for an audience, all in a five-day period, are some vivid young people including: Palace, a precocious 8-year-old who emerges from her shell to shriek a lyric about burning down San Francisco so her mother can't go there on business trips; The equally young Amelia, who invents her own guitar chords for space jams about her pet Chihuahua; Laura, 15, who feels like an outcast because she loves death metal and because she's a Korean who was adopted by a white couple from Oklahoma; And Misty, 16, whose drug-addicted parents surrendered her to a series of foster homes, where she reigned as a bully before channeling her anger into soccer and hip-hop. The annual camp near Portland, Ore., is run by veterans of the indie-rock revolution, including a member of the riot-grrrl band Sleater-Kinney. But these cool, confident young women teach their pupils more than just chords and counting the beat. For the girls, the touchingly awkward process of sniffing out kindred spirits and starting a band becomes an ice breaker and opens the door to teacher-led workshops on self-defense, assertiveness, body image and conflict resolution. Because so many feelings bubble up in the creative ferment, "Girls Rock!" is an unusually insightful documentary about growing up. The battle-tested teachers are astute about the pressures on girls from their peers, their parents, sexually aggressive males and the media, while directors Arne Johnson and Shane King provide context with ironic old film clips and cuttingly presented statistics. All this drama has a cathartic payoff, as 700 visitors pack an auditorium to hear the kids perform their songs, which range from folk to funk to punk. The beauty of the Rock 'N' Roll Camp for Girls is that individual identities are enabled to take wing, whether they are butterflies or banshees. --St Louis Post-Dispatch
ASIN: B001CCIS36
VSKU: DBV.B001CCIS36.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Carrie Brownstein|Shane King;Arne Johnson|Beth Ditto
Binding: Dvd
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: Individually inspected: Guaranteed to play perfectly or your money back. Case may show wear and may be in library packaging. Ships Fast!