''Girls Rock!'' is a 2007 documentary film that follows four 8-18-year-old girls at the
Rock and Roll Camp for Girls
The Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls is both the original Rock n Roll Camp for Girls non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States, and the common name associated with the Girls Rock Camp movement of youth organizations for girls in ...
in
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
At Rock and Roll Camp, girls ranging in age from eight to 18 are taught that "it is 100% okay to be exactly who you are." The girls have a week to select a band, an instrument they may have never played before, and write a song. In between, they are taught by indie rock stars such as Carrie Brownstein from
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member Janet We ...
various lessons of empowerment from self-defense to anger management. At the end of the week, all the bands perform a concert for over 700 people. The film follows several campers: Laura, a Korean adoptee obsessed with death metal; Misty, who is emerging from a life of meth addiction, homelessness and gang activity; and Amelia, an eight-year-old who writes experimental rock songs about her dog Pipi.
The film ultimately explores what happens to the girls as they are given a temporary reprieve from being sexualized, analyzed, and pressured to conform.
Screenings
The movie opened in the following cities on March 7, 2008: New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Berkeley, Chicago.
Critical reception
The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds a 70% approval rank based on 43 reviews, with an
average rating of 6.4/10. The site's consensus states: "Girls Rock! is an inspiring and enjoyable documentary of girls' empowerment and self-discovery".
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
reported the film had an average score of 62 out of 100, based on 7 reviews.
Ty Burr
Ty Burr (born August 17, 1957) is an American film critic, columnist, and author who reviews films for ''The Washington Post'' and writes the film and popular culture newsletter "Ty Burr's Watchlist". Burr worked as a film critic at ''The Boston ...
of the ''
Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it fall ...
'' said that "How are girls supposed to behave in a culture that tells them they're Disney princesses for the first 12 years and
sex toy
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating. The ...
s after that? ''Girls Rock!'' has one answer: Strap on a Fender and rage against the machine".
Ultimate Guitar
Ultimate Guitar (Ultimate Guitar USA LLC), also known as Ultimate-Guitar.com or simply UG, is an online platform for guitarists and musicians, started on October 9, 1998 by Eugeny Naidenov and based in San Francisco, US. Its website and mobile ...
gives ''Girls Rock!'' 7 out of 10, while Kimberly Jones of ''
The Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...
'' gave it 2.5 out of 5.
Jeannette Catsoulis of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' praised the film, saying that "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".
Noel Murray of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' pointed out that "Frankly, the scenes of these girls trying to work together and share ideas are enough to make the movie's point".
References
Bibliography
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External links
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Documentary films about children
2000s feminist films
American feminist films
2007 documentary films
Portland, Oregon
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
English-language documentary films
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