Reelout: Tales of Turtle Island: Badassery By: Kate Quimby

The selected film Tales of Turtle Island: Badassery was centred around three female DJ’s and their high and lows on working in an industry that is male dominated. It gave attention to the impact their presentence in the industry was having on the Toronto hip-hop scene. As it reflected the struggles and obstacles that the women faced in building a career and an identity, it additionally looked at the gender dynamics within the hip-hop scene drawing on the impacts it had on the development of the three DJs. Looking further, the three DJs experienced similarities and difference in ways in which they presented their music, advertised themselves and stayed true to their identity. Additionally, the film highlights the obstacles and hierarchy that the hip-hop scene in Toronto has in relation to gender roles and gaining respect and praises for producing music and entertaining people. Furthermore, it examines the political, social and cultural factors that empower the achievement of these three DJs in regard to the growing exposure of social media, one’s beauty appearance and the escalation to be independent artists. It emphasises the important of being true to yourself and building an image that is not built upon stereotypes that have been embedded in society. The film is a representation of treatment of individuals in the music industry based on their gender, specifically looking at their appearance and journey in hip-hop scene in Toronto. 

The movie engages with the audience as it draws on the imbalance of representation the women receive in comparison to men in the hip-hop scene in Toronto. Specifically, looking at the ways in which the women represent themselves in the industry, particularly at the notion of expectation and reality. However, first one must understand the influence and potential that media creates and impacts one’s status and recognition in the particular industry. Media is constructed as an outlet the keeps the continuous interest of the audience as it displays what society expects and wants. Popular culture is intertwined as media broadcasts the material of the DJs and looks at the desires and category’s in which society continuous seeks out for enjoyment. Popular culture is viewed as a culture that is spread across society as favoured and well liked by majority (Storey 5). The concept of popular culture is used in many industries as the material and products that they produce is directly corelate to popular culture. In the film the use of media produces an image that fans seek out, however the film drew on the many ways that media representation fails to recognize one’s true identity in regard to oppressing one’s identity of fit the needs and popular ideas of society. Particularly drawing on DJ Killa Kels experience as a female DJ, she was pressured to constantly fit this image of a “typical female” in the hip-hop industry as hypersexualized. However, DJ Killa Kels prides herself in streaming away for stereotypes of women in the hip-hop industry, while marking towards the popular as well as staying true to her own identity and portrayed her brand in her own freedom of expression. The film reflects the oppression that the women have faced and, in some cases, have overcome based on the challenges that are produced by popular media and the gender representation in the industry. 

The film draws on the stereotypes that corelate to the music industry, especially highlight the stereotypes and norms that relate to men and women in the hip-hop industry. Normativity is a concept that generates perceptions and manifests ideas in society regarding what is accepted and what is not (Baba Slide 13). The notions that are constantly pushed into society are naturalized, furthermore making it difficult to alter the norm in society. The idea of what is normal and expected was constantly mentioned in film in relation to the comparison of female and male DJs. Additionally, what is consider acceptable in relation to their gender expression in the industry and what is not. Examples of the norms in the film project this notion that women are more hypersexualized and need to be more expressive with their body language and censor their speech. The film drew on this representation as women were expected to fit this category ad meet these expectations in the hip-hop industry. Normativity perpetuates and fuels the stereotypes in society creating a bigger gender divide within in many industries, as well as creating misinterpretations of what is proper and what is not. The film does a good job in drawing on the expectation of what is norm for each gender in the industry and fights to challenge the norms and encourage the idea of true identity and freedom of expression. 

After experiencing the film Badassery I personally have a better understanding within the hip-hop culture as well as the intense length to which women in that particular industry go to in order to prove themselves. It was evident that the film reflected the constantly uphill battle that women in the hip-hop industry endure. The film drew on the positives and negatives of being a female DJ in Toronto, as each of them reflected different images and beliefs. As someone who lives in Toronto, I was surprised on the constant divide that was made in the film between female and male DJs, as in the end they are both providing a service of enjoyment. Furthermore, I found it disheartening that women were held at different standards and expectations as there passion was the same as men, to produce music that was entertaining and respected. This particular film opened my eyes up to the divided of hip-hop culture in Toronto, as gave me an insight in what society considered “proper” and was not. It represented the imbalance in the film as it drew on personal experiences and reflected the many factors that directly correlates to becoming a DJ. The film represented the privilege based on gender in the industry and emphasized the imbalance of respect, acknowledgement and journey one must go to in order to create an image and present in the hip-hop scene in Toronto. 

Works Cited  

Baba, Habibe B. Gender Identity and Normativity. Jan. 2020, https://onq.queensu.ca/d2l/le/content/377345/viewContent/2190381/View?ou=377345 PowerPoint Presentation. 

Storey, John. “What is Popular Culture?” Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. Essex: Person Education Ltd., 2009. 1-15.