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Charnice Horne is a Gen Z writer who strives to make cultural criticism pieces at the intersection of politics and pop culture. This is often reflected through her writings on the website and her fun takes on films and television. She is a recent Political Science graduate from North Carolina looking to make even bigger waves at The Cinema Spot. 🙂
I had the pleasure of getting to watch Rebel Country this past week at the Tribeca Film Festival to gain more of an understanding of the history of the country music genre. In addition to that, I learned about the things that members of this genre may have potentially experienced while creating this music. Little did I know that this documentary would not only vastly cover issues from matters such as gender identity and women’s rights. Rebel Country also covers trivial subject matters in our nation’s history, including racism and slavery.
This documentary has a mixture of all topics, good and bad, that it makes it more than just a traditional educational documentary or music documentary. There is something here for every type of documentary consumer. If you enjoy watching documentaries about individuals’ lives, then Rebel Country is absolutely for you. If you enjoy documentaries that discuss the implications of politics and history, then Rebel Country is a documentary that you should peruse. This documentary is one of the better selections of the Tribeca Film Festival, and ultimately, it should be used to teach some of the darker history within this country.
Discussion
One of the most important parts of this documentary is establishing how the country music genre was first established and created. This documentary states multiple times that this genre comes from African American roots and even has influence from Black and Brown people across various regions in the Southern United States of America. It goes on to highlight people, e.g. Lil Nas X, who successfully blended the country genre alongside trap music to produce one of the greatest hits in Billboard history.
When working on this documentary, it is clear that the vision of the story was to highlight what exactly really started the country revival. Not only that, but it accentuates how we can further voices and faces who are not traditionally known and heard of in this genre of music. Ultimately, Rebel Country serves its sole purpose, which is to truly define that the country genre is a music genre of rebels who are unafraid to challenge the status quo. Yet, what exactly is the status quo? How is that defined through this documentary?
Rebels in the Country Genre
Through this documentary, people kind of define being a rebel in the traditional sense of going against the odds, and that is what multiple subjects in this film documentary are doing. Rebel Country highlights multiple upcoming stars that are not the traditional heterosexual or white country stars that you usually see gain mainstream coverage. These are mainly people from marginalized communities who are using the genre to get out their frustrations with their status in life or other matters going on in the world. Viewers are able to watch true artists channel their frustrations in song while also describing the livelihoods that they grew up in.
This documentary highlights the core and true definition of being any type of artists that might be going through something and song is their outlet to discuss whatever they are going through. Quite frankly, if there was ever a moment where someone needed to feel empowered, then this documentary should absolutely be a suggestion.
The Minimizing of Marginalized Artists
There are even moments highlighted within this Tribeca documentary that explore how exactly the genre has historically been exclusive to established artists and icons for not always following the rules set aside by certain members in the community. This punishment is often linked back to the original idea of the documentary—the importance of being a rebel and what exactly this genre was created in, i.e. rebellion.
As aforementioned, this documentary does not lightly tread over what is to be said about the depth of the music and the storytelling that country music reaches. Artists who make political statements are not of the majority of listeners and can oftentimes be ostracized or shied away from. In one portion of the story, they describe how much harder it is for female artists to have a more active voice. For years, the genre expected its women artists to be quiet about politics that may potentially impact them or their audiences. One of Rebel Country‘s subjects goes on to express how “the two-party is here to divide us, not unite us.” A great detail to notice when watching this documentary are the real life political entities contained within this film.
Conclusion
Rebel Country is a reclamation of all things old and new. There is a deep admiration and gracefulness for the history of this country and events that happened within our time. This Tribeca documentary does not shy away from the important discussions that need to happen regarding race, sexuality, and sexism within genre. More so, the film pushes for the audiences, particularly members in this genre, to not be afraid of speaking out against bigotry and wants to confront them.
For those interested in a more inclusive and detailed storytelling about the history of country music and artists who currently trying to push through, make sure you check out Rebel Country while at the Tribeca Film Festival. The provocative storytelling alongside the social awareness of the documentary truly places this film above most traditional documentaries out in the world.
If there was ever a necessary documentary that people need to be watching, then it is for sure Rebel Country. Spend time out of your day becoming more educated and a better human being with documentaries like this. In order to grow as individuals, one must first learn the lessons of the past. In fact, creating dialogue and discourse is one of the most important factors in filmmaking, and Rebel Country successfully sets the tone for filmmakers everywhere by doing this. It is excellence at its finest.
Final Rating: 4.5/5
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Charnice Horne is a Gen Z writer who strives to make cultural criticism pieces at the intersection of politics and pop culture. This is often reflected through her writings on the website and her fun takes on films and television. She is a recent Political Science graduate from North Carolina looking to make even bigger waves at The Cinema Spot. 🙂
This article was edited by John Tangalin.