Great solid documentary!
I particularly enjoyed the incorporation of archived footage as it felt immersive and engaging, additionally I learnt a great deal about the way the music industry worked. In relation to that, I was intrigued by the representation of the industry – primarily male dominated and controlled, the film emphasises an underlining of female empowerment. In addition to the ideology of ‘putting yourself out there’ and providing a first hand experience of the struggle to achieve fame and once achieving it, maintaining it. My only criticism in regards to the film would be the amount of scenes featuring ‘performances’ by the women. I understand that the documentary is essentially about music and everything related to it however, the number of instances felt repetitive and could have provided a stronger argument to the topic of discussion – backing singers.
Read more on my film blog :) http://alphashadowsblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/26/20-feet-from-stardom- documentary-film-review/