MisterWhiplash There is so much to unpack about Born in Flames after a first viewing (much belated I must say, I feel regret this wasn't there or I didn't find it when I was younger), but the first thing that comes to mind about it is television and media. Where do all of these "issues" - I put that word in quotes for almost ironic purposes, as worker's rights" equality for women, equality for *black women*, homosexuals and other women who have been made to become second class citizens as their quasi-original sin based on their gender and/or who they were born to in society - intersect and become amplified, or have the chance to? You gotta be on television, dummy! Borden's use of TV as this dangerous, insidious medium, where the great damage is really/often by these men (and sometimes bourgeois white women) in their glasses and suits seeming to have authority when dismissing attitudes and just ideas of the other, is staggering. I think this, even more than the title song, is the glue and spine of how this all can stick together.I say stick since this is, really, experimental and punk rock cinema at its fiercest and dirtiest. Borden at first gives this the appearance of a documentary - Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker turn up in the credits, though the latter I think was a special thanks it shouldn't be underestimated his influence here - but it is not quite that. Sure, that is blood flowing through this stylistically, but there are many scenes shot and meant to be scripted with actors as well. Then you throw in archival footage of demonstrations and other things - actual marches, police beatings and rages against the system, from what appears to be the past ten years - and it takes on a shape that is all its own. It's like if you had dropped Peter Watkins in the lower East side, and he hadn't been born Peter but, well, a woman, and one who understands her place is total shit in society.Is it messy as all get out? Could any bits be cut? Im sure if I saw it again id find a place or two. Would I dare tell her where? Not a chance. This has the energy of revolutionary cinema, and I dont mean that more polished but didactic kind one may have seen from Godard in the 60s, albeit that sense of ambition is there. This has a big cast of characters, from the black section of the women's army to the (white, middle class seeming, including Kathryn Bigelow?!) journalists trying to meet the women halfway, to the agents hounding the women on their trail (these scenes carry the kind of authenticity that made me think of how the FBI also infiltrated and tried to put the kabosh on the Black Panthers, which was also full of women), and the women in the pirate radio stations giving fuel to the fire on the streets and so on. Sprinkled in are vignettes showing right at street level women being oppressed economically and with their bodies. Early on the first action taken by the womens group is to bicycle around to police attacks when no one else will. And then, well, the guns become a necessary evil for them.Is there some wish fulfillment and flights of fantasy? I'm sure there are. At the same time everything is of the same piece which is Borden saying: there is already economic suffering for everyone, but if you don't come to our help, there cant be equality in a country - regardless of if this post "liberation" as this is meant to be set ten years after (I thought of Hunger Games, except Born in Flames would eat that dystopia for lunch) - whether it is construction workers or sex workers or a waitress or whomever. And Borden goes goes the extra provocative step of... Violence is not something preferable but, well, what else is there to do if you men wont stay by our sides in the fight against the corporations?One might say that this isn't as relevant anymore; the women's marches last and this year were full of men not only supportive but possibly empathetic to the struggle which is constant in an America that values wealth and whiteness and the MALEness and all that horseshit bag of chips (just look at the president). With the exception of the last scene, which hasn't aged well for what will be obvious reasons to anyone who's been alive since this film came out, it actually is even more relevant than ever. When a piece of science fiction satire about the falsehoods and depravity and decay of society is made it's about when it is written - 1984 is about the 1948 Orwell was in, Huxley in 1932 with Brave New World, many of Dick's works, Hunger Games too to a lessor extent - and Born in Flames is Borden looking at Americans in the time of that "New" America of Reagan saying "no, things aren't right, things are really worse despite the women's movement that did little, and if you don't see the class issue above all else then you'll never come to see through our eyes."In other words, any of the technical amateurism here (acting too, though theres more good and natural performing than not, especially from the black actors) is all not of concern when substantively this is one of the richest works of volcanic-hot, Pompeii-the-Earth satire that has existed from an American filmmaker.

visene Born in Flames is one of those films that people start out discussing with the word "Considering.""Considering the budget is so low, it's pretty interesting.""Considering it's so badly edited, it still has some good moments.""Considering the acting is so poor, its ideas are kind of compelling."NO.This is not a film that needs to apologize for anything about itself. It's a great film about revolution that gets more compelling each time you see it. Here's some stuff to notice.First, this movie could not succeed if it had a bigger budget. It's about trying to make change when you have almost nothing, and its own production values help keep the focus on what feels like a real struggle.Second, this movie is BRILLIANTLY edited, cutting across three or four different plot lines rapidly to encourage us to connect the dots, to try to figure out how the various characters and perspectives can be seen as a whole. Example: a montage consisting of female hands doing various tasks: filing papers, typing, putting a condom on an erect penis (!!!!!), rinsing dishes. No commentary on this string of images, but what a message this lack of commentary sends! If you've never thought of prostitution as labor, you will after seeing this film.Third, the bad acting works. Revolutions don't have perfect, adequate actors who are up to the task of fulfilling their roles. They have regular people who are struggling to play their part. Hollywood A-listers would have ruined this point.I'm not done re-watching Born in Flames, and I'm sure I'll see more as time goes by. For now, though, it's on my list of truly important SF films. See it, teach it, tell your friends.

litlcreaux Not only have I had the luck to see this movie, I had the privilege of receiving it from "Honey" one of the lead actors. This movie is so important as it brings to life the struggle of not only women who were active in the 70's, but that the issues they brought forth still continue. If one thinks we have come a long way in overcoming gender discrimination, then take a fresh look at this film. I particularly appreciate the feminist analysis that seems to be missing today from women's activism and politics. Every activist ought to view and take heed of this movies message. This film parallels much of the social climate women endure today. It reminds one of the radical ideas that fired the women's movement and how they might be reignited in todays world.It is timeless, yet carries the rawness of movies made in the 70's. I highly recommend this film.

frogspinner Even almost 20 years after its release, "Born In Flames" retains its sense of urgency and immediacy. This is due both to the energy of the performances, soundtrack and direction and to the fact that most of the women's demands in the film - including equality in the workplace, safety from harrasment and sexual crimes, and equal representation in government - still have not been met.One of the film's greatest achievements is its representation of the divisions and debates within feminism. The film does not try to offer a single solution or plan of action as a definitive best way forward and so avoids tempting over-simplification of a complex set of issues. Rather than negative or unhelpful, I found this approach incredibly refreshing in a medium rife with happy endings and simple, fictional solutions. "Born In Flames" doesn't have an answer, but it has many, many questions and many, many voices. These voices and the regular delivery of discourse straight to camera and audience has regularly led to critical disapproval and claims that it is "overly polemical". I don't find "Born in Flames" overly polemical. I don't agree with many of the opinions and strategies given voice and action in the film, but I found the experience of being directly addressed by a female character on issues that are largely invisible in mainstream cinema energising and inspiring. This film won't change the world, but it made me start writing for my fanzine again and get on the phone to my bandmates to get a practice organised. Enough films, debate, writing, and noise, and we'll get somewhere.