Poster of The Punk Singer

The Punk Singer

Documentary, Biography, Music

Director: Sini Anderson

Release Date: May 23, 2014

Where to Watch

The Punk Singer probably hit my radar because it was on a list of movies directed by women or top documentaries available on Netflix. I’m not really into punk music, and I knew nothing about Kathleen Hanna before watching The Punk Singer, a documentary. During the 90s, I found the grunge aesthetic dreadful yet I really enjoyed The Punk Singer and found it engrossing. The Punk Singer focuses on Hanna’s personal life and her role in the punk scene, contrasts her feminist take on performing and consuming music with her male counterparts and compares her principles with reality. There are implicit allusions to her cis feminist inclusiveness with transwomen and lesbians. Even though I enjoyed The Punk Singer and Hanna’s subversive energy/anger, I won’t be buying her music or looking for her zines anytime soon. You don’t have to be a fan, just mildly curious or interested to enjoy The Punk Singer.

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