By Michele Yeo
“Women have used their music as a form of resistance for decades,” says Selena Gomez in Louder: The Soundtrack of Change, “taking risks, singing the truth. When the world is telling you to shut up, I think music is one of the most powerful ways to put a message out there.”
The hour-long documentary is co-produced by Gomez and activist, author, and former Georgia house representative Stacey Abrams. Now streaming on Crave and Max, it’s a celebration of women in music who have used their voices to speak out on issues, like gender equality, civil rights, racism, and other important issues. “My mission, my work, is to amplify voices that are marginalized and empower people to organize around their beliefs,” says Abrams, “music can do the same thing.”
The doc hears from artists like H.E.R., Melissa Etheridge, Chaka Khan, Linda Ronstadt, Riot grrrl pioneer Kathleen Hanna, as well as pop culture experts, music writers, and also features archive footage and interviews from trailblazers from the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. It’s also part history lesson as groundbreakers like Linda Martell, the first woman of colour to perform at the Grand Ole Opry and find success in the country music genre are given her flowers and we’re given the backstory of Nina Simone’s protest song “Mississippi Goddam.” Attention is also paid to revolutionary moments in pop music, like Madonna’s early AIDS advocacy, and hip hop like Queen Latifah’s bite back against women being called “bitches” in rap music.
While the documentary is an celebratory ode to women musicians past and present, it’s also a rallying call for future artists, particularly as the United States heads into a crucial election and part of the world are turning back the clock on certain issues like voting rights, reproductive freedom, and LGBTQ2+ equality. “The 30 years I have traveled since I came out have been amazing as I have seen the world change,” says Melissa Etheridge, “ but today it seems like things are going backwards.” “These aren’t single issues, these are things that connect all of us,” adds Kathleen Hanna, “young women are such a vital part of changing the world.” Says Abrams, “if we fight, if we resist, we can have more, and this music reminds us that we have been here before, we have pushed through and we will do so again.”
Louder: The Soundtrack of Change is a celebration of music and rallying cry across generations, genres, anchored by female icons whose songs and activism inspired the fight for equality, empowering all. The documentary is streaming now on Crave in Canada
