20 Feet from Stardom: Let Women Speak for Themselves

            In the film 20 Feet from Stardom, we get an inside look into the life and career of a background singer.  The film covers an array of singers, mostly African American women, and their journey from background singer, to prospectively headlining a show of their own.  Many of the women never reach their star potential, despite the amount of talent that they have.  Others are content being a background singer, and are simply happy that they have the opportunity to do what they love, sing.  The story is told through mainly interviews, interspersed with B-roll footage.  However, throughout the entirety of the film, the women singers are spoken for through men.  The fact that they are not fully entitled to their own voice, as well as seeing the struggles they endure to establish themselves in the music realm, demonstrates the inequality that existed between men and women in the past, and still is intrinsically seen today.

            As observed through the film, nearly all the backup singers are women.  Their standout vocals are what make the music memorable, yet they are not given the recognition they deserve.  Many women interviews describe their past dreams of becoming a solo act, yet insurmountable trials and the lack of support from audiences hindered them from ever reaching their goals.  In one occasion, a female background singer finally broke free from her record label, and begin to pursue her solo endeavors, only to have her contract sold back to the artist she was previously singing for.  The talent of these women went unnoticed, and they were forced to stay in the background throughout the entirety of their singing career.

            In the film, many male singers were interviewed about the circumstances of the background singers.  While it was evident that the men (such as Sting and Mick Jagger) were advocating for them, and were empathetic of their plights, it still took away from the women having a voice entirely their own.  Instead, we saw their situation explained through the eyes of men who were already famous.

            In Gloria Anzaldua’s Borderlands she frequently discusses how her, as well as other individuals of Mexican descent (specifically women), often had their voices taken away from then.  Instead, they were spoken for on behalf of men.  They often had roles assigned to them, such as a housekeeper, or caretaker of the children, and were deprived of other aspects of life that they may have desired, such as an education.  Furthermore, they often had derogatory terms ascribed to them that would define their place in life.

            Just as the women in 20 feet from Stardom were spoken for through male singers, so is Anzaldua.  However, rarely do we see the reverse of this phenomenon, where women are speaking for men.  In today’s society, women have defined their place for themselves substantially more, but we still have quite a ways to go before we reach equality in vocal representation.