i Riot Dyke: Music, Identity, and Community in Lesbian Film by Alana Kornelsen A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Music and Culture Carleton University Ottawa, ON © 2016 Alana Kornelsen ii Abstract This thesis examines the use of diegetic pre-composed music in three American lesbian feature films. Numerous trends can be noted in the selection of music in lesbian film broadly— music is often selected to draw on insider knowledge of the target audience of these films, creating cachet. This cachet comes with accompanying “affiliating identifications” (Kassabian 2001) that allow music to be used in the films’ construction of characters’ identities. This is evident in the treatment of music in many lesbian films: characters frequently listen to, discuss, and perform music. This thesis focuses specifically on riot grrrl music and the closely linked genre of queercore (which together Halberstam ([2003] 2008) refers to as “riot dyke”) in three films that focus on the lives of young women: The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (dir. Maria Maggenti, 1995), All Over Me (dir. Alex Sichel, 1997), and Itty Bitty Titty Committee (dir. Jamie Babbit, 2007). By examining how diegetic riot dyke music is used in these three films to build characters’ identities and contribute to the films’ narratives I argue that in these films, riot dyke music is presented as being central to certain queer identities and communities, and that this music (as well as the community that often accompanies it) is portrayed as instigating or providing opportunities for characters’ personal growth and affirming characters’ identities in adverse environments. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Anna Hoefnagels, for her guidance, support, and encouragement during the process of writing this thesis and over the duration of this program. Her input and critique has been invaluable and her reassurance and confidence in me have helped to guide me through this process. Additional thanks to Dr. Alexis Luko who helped shape this thesis in its beginning stages. Thanks to Dr. Jesse Stewart and Dr. Carolyn Ramzy for their continual encouragement of those of us working in the Graduate Resource Centre and to Dr. Ramzy, Dr. James Deaville, Dr. Paul Théberge, and Dr. Amrita Hari for their exceptional teaching, which made the first year of the program an exciting and engaging experience. A huge thank you to my colleagues, whose engaging conversation, suggestions, and commiseration were invaluable and appreciated, and to my family and friends for their continual support. iv Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Introduction 1 Methodology and Outline 4 Chapter 1: History and Theoretical Background 7 Definitions: “Lesbian Film” and “Queer” 7 A Brief History of Lesbian Film 9 Identity and Community 15 Links between Music and Queer Identities and Communities 20 Music in Film 22 Popular Music in Lesbian Film 24 Chapter 2: Riot Dyke Music: History and Context for Its Use in Film 29 Riot Grrrl 30 Queercore 35 Interactions between Riot Grrrl and Queercore: A Case for “Riot Dyke” 37 Riot Grrrl’s Relationship to Race and Class 42 Conclusion 46 Chapter 3: Case Study: The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love 48 Identities and Music in Two Girls in Love 52 Music, Social Milieu, and Community 53 Music and Politics 55 Music and Gender Expression 56 Music and Class 57 Randy’s Music Listening Choices 60 Conclusion 67 Chapter 4: Case Study: All Over Me 69 Music, Social Milieu, and Community 72 Music and Politics 74 Music and Gender Expression 75 Musical Listening and Performance in All Over Me 78 Conclusion 85 Chapter 5: Case Study: Itty Bitty Titty Committee 87 Music and Politics 91 Music and Gender Expression 94 v Music, Social Milieu, and the Community of IBTC 95 Anna’s Introduction to the C(i)A and Riot Dyke Music 98 Riot Dyke and the “Rebel Girl” 104 “White Girl”: A Call for Change 107 Conclusion 109 Conclusion 110 Future Directions 113 Appendix I: English-Language Films Examined in Preliminary Research 116 Works Cited 125 Discography 130 Filmography 131 1 Introduction A quick glance at the soundtracks of a few lesbian films will quickly reveal to the viewer that although they may vary depending on the age and style of the film, most films with popular music soundtracks feature at least some music that is likely to appeal to an audience of queer women. Music plays an important role in many queer communities and in the lives of many individual LGBTQ people and as such is often central to portrayals of queer identities and communities in film. Anahid Kassabian, for instance, in her 2001 book Hearing Film: Tracking Identifications in Contemporary Hollywood Film Music, discusses how the lesbian film classic Desert Hearts (dir. Donna Deitch, 1985) uses music to appeal to a specifically lesbian audience. Kassabian does not focus in particular on lesbian film in this book, she simply finds Desert Hearts a compelling example of how a film’s music can present different meanings for different audiences. Though Desert Hearts holds a unique position as being perhaps the most “classic” of all lesbian films, it is not unique in its use of music to appeal to lesbian audiences and to create realistic queer characters. While Desert Hearts primarily employs country and rock ’n’ roll music, there is a wide range of genres that frequently appear in lesbian film soundtracks. This thesis focuses on another commonly used type of music is lesbian film, riot dyke music—that is, music by queer women in the riot grrrl or queercore genres, or that emerged in the overlap of these subcultures. This thesis is concerned with portrayals of identity in American lesbian feature film as inflected by the use of riot dyke music. Specifically, I focus on how riot dyke music and specific songs within this genre are used in relation to characters’ identities in a selection of thematically related films. I examine the music both in terms of its lyrics and extrafilmic associations, and 2 explore the uses of the musical selections in the context of the films, looking at their relationship to plot, the identity of characters, and characters’ development over the course of the films. Guiding questions include: What kinds of identities are linked to riot dyke music in these films; and What does riot dyke music contribute to the narratives of lesbian film? In order to explore these questions, this thesis examines three films, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (dir. Maria Maggenti, 1995), All Over Me (dir. Alex Sichel, 1997), and Itty Bitty Titty Committee (dir. Jamie Babbit, 2007), each of which engage with riot dyke music in different ways. Though these three films have similar themes of youth, self- confidence, feminist ideologies, identity formation, and young love, each has a unique tone and style, and in each, the protagonists’ life situations are remarkably different. In all of these films, the main character grows, matures, and becomes more independent, but this manifests differently in each film. Similarly, though all three films use riot dyke music, the music takes on both similar and contrasting purposes in each film. I discuss the three films in chronological order in part because the most recent film, Itty Bitty Titty Committee, which was produced more than ten years later than the other films, uses riot dyke music in a very different way than the earlier two films; in both The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love and All Over Me, the main characters profess interest in performing this music, while in Itty Bitty Titty Committee, the main characters listen to and dance to riot dyke music but show no interest in personally making this music. Further, the use of music in All Over Me, the second film chronologically, serves as a good bridge between the relatively individual style of engagement with riot dyke music exhibited in The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love and the almost exclusively community- based listening in Itty Bitty Titty Committee. Following is a brief overview of each of these films’ plots and soundtracks. 3 The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (dir. Maria Maggenti, 1995) is the story of two high school girls in small-town USA: Randy Dean (Laurel Holloman), a tomboyish girl who works at the local gas station and is having a dead-end affair with an older married woman, and Evie Roy (Nicole Ari Parker), a well-off only child from a more “cultured” family. The two girls bond over their love of music, each introducing the other to the very different genres of music that they listen to, while their relationship is threatened by their differences in class and opportunity (though Randy is white and Evie is black, race is almost ignored in this film; Evie’s well-off background seems to overwrite any discussion of race). Though their relationship is challenged when Evie’s mother finds out that Evie is dating a girl and when Randy’s aunt finds out that Randy is failing out of school, the film ends with a comic, somewhat optimistic moment. The soundtrack for Two Girls in Love relies heavily on music from in and around the riot grrrl scene, in particular “Cool Schmool” by Bratmobile, “Page Two” by Lois, “Wake Up, I’m Leaving” by Velocity Girl, and “Resist Psychic Death” by Bikini Kill. This music is associated with Randy, while Evie professes to enjoy classical music as evinced by her introduction of Randy to the Dies Irae from Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D Minor.