The Runaways, trailer, 2010
Questions to Consider:
* What kinds of challenges do you think The Runaways faced in the 1970s?
* Is the music industry more accepting of women today, or are women still expected to act a certain way?
* What was unique about the band The Runaways?
What We Think:
In the age of Lady Gaga, Britney, and, of course, Madonna, it’s easy to forget that women didn’t always dominate the music charts. In fact, if you were born after 1980, you may not even realize the stifling sexism that once reigned supreme in the industry. Enter Joan Jett and Cherie Currie. In The Runaways, we get to see what it was really like for teenage girls to take on the chauvinistic music scene in the ’70s. Based on Currie’s autobiography, Neon Angel, the film takes you on the gritty journey the five-girl group took from complete obscurity, to meteoric success, to a devastating downfall. The film doesn’t go out of its way to glorify the girls’ sometimes self-imposed trials and tribulations, and you get a realistic glimpse of the consequences that go along with reckless sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. But make no mistake: the movie isn’t a cautionary tale of what happens when trouble-making girls get to the top. Joan, Cherie, and the rest of the band persevere against intensely ingrained stereotypes to prove that women can rock hard and make history. (by Michelle Konstantinovsky)
Take Action! Contact:
River Road Entertainment
2000 Avenue Of The Stars, Suite 620-N
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: (213) 253-4610
Web site form: riverroadentertainment.com/emailUs.html
Floria Sigismondi (Director)