By Samuel Juarez-Solis
I found Garrison’s talk about resistance to be very compelling. Garrison noted that “Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of Bikini Kill” said “resistance is everywhere, it always has been and always will be. Just because someone is not resisting in the same way you are… does not mean they are not resisting” (147). Kathleen Hanna is right resistance comes in many forms and I will be talking about two different forms seen in Alice Bag’s Violence Girl. The first form is resistance through physical violence which Bag’s father displays. Bag states “my father suddenly unleashed a vicious punch at the man’s jaw. The guy went down hard” (28). The second form is resistance through lyrics which Bag displays when she sings, “she’s a violence girl, she thrives on pain, she’s a violence girl you can’t restrain” (7). Bag is displaying resistance against society for making her turn into a violent girl due to constant domestic abuse she faced and ignorance from the police who let her father get away with it. While some forms of resistance are more effective and ethical than others, different people may be more comfortable with certain methods. Also, it’s really sad but true about Hanna’s comment that resistance always be around. Society will always find a minority group to chastise. NWA’s Fuck Tha Police appears as a prime example about resistance through lyrics. NWA used unfiltered and angry criticism in their lyrics to fight against police brutality. Creedence Clearwater Revival’s (CCR’s) Fortunate Son also is a great example of declaring resistance against society via lyrics. CCR used harsh commentary to denounce the Vietnam War.
References
- Alice Bag, Violence Girl, selections (PDF)
- Ednie Kaeh Garrison, “U.S. Feminism-Grrrl Style! Youth (Sub)Cultures and the Technologics of the Third Wave.” Feminist Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Spring, 2000): 141-170. (PDF)
Song Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jOqOlETcRU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec0XKhAHR5I
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