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  • 11 months ago
Janis Ian Breaking Silence Documentary Movie Trailer HD - Plot synopsis: In 1965, Janis Ian, a 14-year-old singer-songwriter from New Jersey, wrote “Society’s Child” about an interracial relationship. Recorded and released a year later, the song launched Ian's career, but its subject matter ignited controversy, even resulting in death threats. The fallout plunged Ian into an emotional tailspin–and yet a few years later she emerged from the ashes with an even bigger hit, “At Seventeen.” Over six decades, Janis Ian gained ten Grammy nominations in eight different categories, saw her song “Stars” recorded by such luminaries as Nina Simone and Cher, and overcame homophobia, misogyny, and a life-threatening illness to produce an indelible body of work that continues to draw audiences around the globe. Featuring Janis Ian, Joan Baez, Jean Smart, Arlo Guthrie, Lily Tomlin, and Tom Paxton, among other icons.

IN THEATERS MARCH 28. EVERYWHERE YOU RENT MOVIES APRIL 29.
Transcript
00:00And the winner is, at 17, Janis Thea.
00:04When I started out, I wanted to be really famous.
00:08So naive.
00:11What do you consider yourself, Janis?
00:13Just a singer.
00:14Of any particular notoriety?
00:17Infamously, yes.
00:18You're welcome, ladies.
00:19Janis Thea.
00:20Janis standing there with just an acoustic guitar.
00:23It was just mesmerizing.
00:26This little woman wrote giant works of art.
00:30Very strong, emphatic, social commentary.
00:33This is perhaps one of the most censored, I think, of all records.
00:37What I was doing was right.
00:39It had the power to make people stand up.
00:41And that's why it scared them.
00:45You have this young girl taking on interracial relationships.
00:49The record company was afraid of it.
00:51Radio stations were afraid of playing it.
00:53All the odds were stacked against her.
00:55Bernstein said, let's have her on the show we're doing about pop music.
00:59Listen hard to society's child.
01:03That was an embrace of God.
01:04It just took off.
01:05And then she took off.
01:08I learned the truth at 17.
01:12How do you react to the music business?
01:14You have to sacrifice a certain part of yourself for a time.
01:20She was not able to cope with daily reality.
01:23For those of us who knew the pain.
01:27I had no money.
01:28I had nowhere to live.
01:29Of valentines that never came.
01:33In those years, it was not cool to be out of the closet.
01:36And those whose names were never called.
01:40We were writing every day.
01:41And of course, we fell in love.
01:47I know what it is to feel powerless.
01:49I know what it is to feel trapped.
01:50And so I can use those feelings as part of being truthful.
01:54There's a creativity there.
01:56There's a power there.
01:57Her legacy is not just as a songwriter, but it's as an LGBTQ icon.
02:01I can't say the rest is history, but history was being made.
02:05Child prodigies have complications.
02:08I don't think that she intended to become a symbol of social change.
02:13She was writing about what she knew.
02:15She's true to her music and true to herself.
02:20Music is about telling stories.
02:22This is mine.
02:24It's been a long time.
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