The other evening I watched the documentary Louder: The Soundtrack of Change, which is available on HBO’s streaming platform, Max.
Produced and narrated by Stacey Abrams and Selena Gomez, the film focuses on female musicians in America and their advocacy regarding social justice, feminism, sexuality and sexual politics. I was unaware that Abrams and Gomez had become friends when back in 2020, Gomez lent her Instagram account to Abrams during the Black Lives Matter movement. Gomez also publicly endorsed Abrams in her gubernatorial bid (although she’s been disappointingly silent regarding the upcoming general election.)
With one notable and infuriating omission, which I will speak to towards the end of my review, I found the film to be surprisingly wide ranging. I did not expect to see Loretta Lynn, for example, but in 1975 Lynn co-wrote and recorded The Pill, a housewife’s celebration of the freedom that readily available oral contraceptive provided her. While the song was a hit, it was very controversial, with many radio stations refusing to play it.
I was similarly surprised to see Dolly Parton pop up, but her very popular song Nine to Five, written for the movie of the same name, detailed the struggles of working women. A number of artists also pay homage to Parton’s public persona...an unapologetically cartoonish version of femininity.
Artist that get significant screen time include Chaka Khan, Queen Latifah, Salt n’ Pepa, Nina Simone, Melissa Etheridge, Linda Ronstadt, and many others. Rock, Pop, Hip Hop, Rap, Punk, and other genres are covered, with scant attention paid to Folk, for whatever reason. Musicologists and scholars share their insights as well.
Now….for the infuriating omission: Other than briefly showing an album cover with her image, Billie Holiday and the song Strange Fruit receives NO mention! Unless its mention was so fleeting I somehow missed it!
While I understand that filmmakers must make numerous decisions regarding what to include and exclude...for the sake of length if nothing else….I find the omission of Holiday’s ground-breaking anti-lynching song to be unconscionable.
Nonetheless, with that caveat, I definitely recommend seeing the film if you have the chance to do so.
Below is a trailer for it:
