PROVOKR Pick: Bad Reputation
The Joan Jett Documentary
In the 1970s, rock and roll was a boys’ club. Female singers were popular, but not as punk rock or glam acts. They were plucky pop stars, not gritty rock and rollers. There were definitely notable exceptions, timeless performers like Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, and Suzi Quatro, but Joan Jett really shook things up with her guttural growl of a voice, straight-up punk aesthetics, and almost parodic levels of distorted guitar.
Enter Bad Reputation, a new film from Magnolia Pictures. The documentary explores the life and times of Joan Jett with interviews from rock and roll icons like Iggy Pop, Billy Joe Armstrong, and the woman herself. From her early career with The Runaways (which included guitarist Lita Ford), to her mainstream breakout success with The Blackhearts, Bad Reputation retraces the steps of Jett‘s career, leaving little question as to why she’s revered as a rock and roll goddess.
The documentary is directed by Kevin Kerslake, who has directed music videos for such artists as The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Depeche Mode, Soundgarden, and many more. He also directed documentaries like Nirvana’s Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! and The Ramones‘ We’re Outta Here! Bad Reputation is familiar territory for Kersaike, and he’s more than equipped to handle his subject matter.
Bad Reputation isn’t just for Joan Jett fans; even those with but a cursory interest in rock music, gender equality pioneers, and the history of righteous feminist causes will get a lot of mileage out of the words, deeds, and music presented in this film. It’s another in a long line of rock docs, but its historical relevance is especially noteworthy in today’s troubled times, where too many men view equality for women as some type of assault on the male gender.
These so-called “Men’s Rights Activists” are spoiled little babies who can’t handle the competition presented by women. They fear the pressure to lift themselves above their comfortable mediocrity, and lash out at the women who work twice as hard to get half as much recognition for their deeds. That’s what Joan Jett was all about, and that’s what punk rock champions; challenging the status quo, disobeying authority, and ignoring the rules which are designed to hold us back so that the rich get richer and the poor stay down-trodden. Scrappy punks resist, fight, and never accept defeat.
Bad Reputation is in theaters now.
