FEATURE:
Dark Blue Hour
PHOTO CREDIT: Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels
The Desire for New and Challenging Music Documentaries in 2024
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THROUGH this year…
PHOTO CREDIT: Donald Tong/Pexels
I have been writing features about gender inequality and discrimination. I have written about it in the past couple of weeks, in fact. It is another year when there is this imbalance still across the industry. I do feel that there needs to be more action from the industry when it comes to ensuring that female artists are provided bigger stages and more acknowledgement. That they are not overlooked when it comes to festival slots and the headline places. In terms of radio playlists and production studios, there are issues there regarding equality. To different degrees, obviously! There is a lot of work to be done - though there are always tiny steps being made. It needs to be tackled harder and faster. A definite priority for next year. The fact that so many in the music industry and tipping a wave of female artists for success in 2024 shows that the talent there is ready to go! Is that going to be mirrored when it comes to opportunities, festivals etc.?! You would hope there are no excuses now. Who knows! I just hope the music industry wakes up and stops dragging its heels regarding balancing things. Women still being sidelined in a lot of cases. It got me thinking about ways in which quicker progression could be made. Maybe awareness needs to be raised through a documentary. I know there are those in the industry that could come together and talk about their experiences. The statics are out there and we can put that in features and podcasts. I just wondered whether there needs to be something more visual. I don’t think there have been many music documentaries in the past decade or so regarding gender inequality. Pairing that with women who are ruling music and dominating. Asking why things are still as they are.
IN THIS PHOTO: Annie Macmanus/PHOTO CREDIT: Stephanie Sian Smith
One of the more disturbing things we are noticing is more and more cases of sexual assault and harassment. From Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to LA Reid to Michael Greene, there are prominent men in the industry being accused of assault or rape. The U.K. Government is asking women who have been victims of sexual assault in the music industry to come forward. Artists such as Axl Rose have also been accused of assault. It is not only a case of prominent men being accused. There are still issues at music festivals. Hard to police and monitor fully, there is a lot to consider and address. We know of cases that are reported, as women are coming forward and telling their stories. There are many more afraid of not being believed or feeling that there would not be justice or a prosecution. It is a complex subject that we need to ensure is addressed. There is, as I have written before, a massive issue. Annie Macmanus recently spoke to the House of Commons committee about a tidal wave of abuse cases in music. It is a moment when as much is being done by women to get progression and ensure that the industry is not rigged against women. That they are not silenced. It got me thinking about documentaries. Maybe something that is already in progress, it does seem like the recent cases of high-profile men in the industry being accused provides an opportunity to hear from women and those in the industry who have experienced assault and abuse.
IN THIS PHOTO: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs/PHOTO CREDIT: Jordan Strauss/Invision/Associated Press
One of our best documentary makers who has experience with bringing very difficult conversations to screen is Zara McDermott. Currently on Strictly Come Dancing, there is this side to her career that many might not know. Beyond Made in Chelsea and Love Island. Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn was announced in February 2021. This was an emotion and raw documentary where McDermott discusses sexting and her experiences of revenge porn with fellow victims. Many might not have expected her to turn to documentary making. Someone who might have otherwise been in tabloid columns and paid for an exclusive interview and gone down that route instead brought out an acclaimed and powerful documentary. Credit to her for the bravery to do what she did. This is what i said when they reviewed the documentary:
“The morning after Zara McDermott left Love Island in 2018, she was informed by a press officer that explicit images of her had been widely shared.
“I wanted to die,” she said, in the documentary Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn. Initially the show hit the expected beats as the reality TV contestant described her guilt, shame and anger, and explored the collateral damage to her distressed family and friends.
But it is the revelation that this was McDermott’s second experience of revenge porn – the first came when she was a bullied 14-year-old schoolgirl – that allowed the documentary to really excavate how this particular crime can annihilate someone’s sense of self-worth. It was heartbreaking to hear her ask: “How could I have been such an idiot… again?”
The show covered the many ways in which revenge porn stories can play out. There was McDermott’s narrative of building a career based on total control of her image; there was Sarah, whose ex-boyfriend was convicted for secretly filming and distributing images of her; and there was the devastating story of Damilya, who took her own life after an abusive partner threatened to share a video of her.
Commendably, the programme engaged with nuance around the issue, particularly the idea that some victims are more deserving of sympathy than others. Still, it would have been interesting to see a little more scrutiny of the judicial process and how common a conviction actually is.
McDermott herself was impressive, smartly engaging with the perception of her sexy image, movingly discussing the school incident with her parents for the first time and bravely attempting to contact the men who shared her image (neither responded)”.
In more recent times, she has made a documentary, Zara McDermott: Disordered Eating. McDermott discussed trolling she received about her body when she was in Love Island. She met with numerous young people suffering from eating disorders. I think one of her most important and enduring documentaries was Zara McDermott: Uncovering Rape Culture. Broadcast in 2022, it was another acclaimed documentary. Bringing her own experiences in together with a compassionate approach to those who have been through similar things, it is no wonder that it was lauded. The Independent said this:
“In her documentary Uncovering Rape Culture (BBC Three), McDermott is speaking publicly about the assault for the first time. She is on a mission to find the root of sexual violence against women and girls. McDermott thinks her “freckly, boyish” attacker – who was never found by police – could only have been about 15. Her first port of call, therefore, is schools.
McDermott is a compassionate interviewer. She meets dozens of schoolgirls who have been pressured by their classmates into sending nude pictures and told they are “frigid” if they don’t. She holds the hand of one survivor of sexual assault, Mary, who was left with internal bruising after unwanted touching at a house party aged 15, and comforts a mother whose 12-year-old daughter, Semina, took her own life after being raped.
The reality star is intrepid, too. In her interviews with children, one word keeps coming up: porn. Schoolboys tell her they started watching pornography as young as 11. At the time, they say, they had assumed it was a healthy, realistic depiction of sex. But, as shown in this programme, a seemingly innocent search on Pornhub brings up violent videos tagged with words like “destroy” and “barely legal teen”. McDermott wants to ask the company why they don’t stop children watching their content. Unable to get through on the phone, she tracks down the HQ of MindGeek, the tech company that owns Pornhub, and turns up at their offices. They’re on the edge of a roundabout opposite a Kwik Fit. She is dismissed from the premises”.
That may seem roundabout, but my intention is to show that we have talented documentary makers like Zara McDermott who could help bring to life a documentary exploring something dark and toxic in the music industry. Toxic masculinity and assault. Harassment women face online. Maybe her interest might not extend into music though, as she has helped bring to life such important documentaries that have resonated with many people, she would be a point of call. A source of influenced in terms of tone and scope of a documentary. There are other documentary makers that could be considered. It does not necessarily have to be a woman. Also, when it comes to abuse and assault in the industry, I also know that men and non-binary people experience it too. Perhaps to a lesser extent, there are still quite a few cases. Body-shaming and judgment is also something that is aimed at so many women. Again, features are written and some artists discuss their experiences. Billie Eilish shared her experience of being body-shamed online. I think, particularly, it is a rise of sexual assault and abuse claims that is worrying. A point where we need some action and activation. I know it will take more than a documentary to have a huge ill and evil quashed and under control. There needs to be a multi-limed approach in terms of educating and informing men. Ensuring that organisations like Safe Gigs for Women are highlighted. The great work they do. With sexual harassment still rife in music, many women are afraid or hesitant to report. There is insufficient protection and safeguarding available. I think a powerful and uncompromising documentary would bring to life vividly the stories and statistics which should give pause for thought. As we end a great year for music and a time when so many women are being tipped for success next year, we also thank those throughout the industry who are so valued and essential. On the other side of the coin, women are also being assaulted, abused, threatened, harassed and made to feel unsafe. It is cleat that how things are right now cannot…
IN THIS PHOTO: Is Zara McDermott a perfect choice to help bring to screens a documentary about abuse through the music industry?/PHOTO CREDIT: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
GO on for much longer.