Watch Alice Bag documentary, We’re Here, We’re Present: Women in Punk
If you’re a woman in rock music, you’ve got to deal with a whole lotta bullshit. For every resilient stride of kickassery being taken to combat this issue, it seems there is an defeating account of sexism to match it — showing that the long and mighty journey towards equality still has a ways to go.
Thinking of how difficult it still is to be a woman in rock music oftentimes makes me wonder how courageous and badass female punk pioneers must have been; when there were no prior examples or role models to look up to, and every glorious shredding of guitar was simultaneously machete-ing a path for women to come.
Local writer and videographer, Amanda Silberling, shines light on both past and present female artists making important, jam-filled noise in the punk community with her recently debuted documentary, We’re Here, We’re Present: Women in Punk. In the 15-minute video, Silberling follows feminist rock legend, Alice Bag, and punk trio, Leggy, for a week of touring in the Midwest.
Featuring interviews with Leggy and Bag, along with politically-charged sentiments between live sets, the documentary focuses on calls for inclusivity and raising awareness for the amazingly strong and cool as heck women and queer artists who have fought, and continue to fight, for equality and recognition in the punk community.
On a parting word of empowerment, Bag notes that the true essence of punk is not found in wearing leather jackets or acting cool, but instead lies in punk’s ability to enact change, stating:”You can challenge what’s happening and create the world that you want.” Hell yeah we can, Alice.
Check out the documentary below.