A Woman’s Mission To Change the World With Her Music

Amidst the barrage of economic bad news, social revolt, and the superfluous press lavished on such superficial role models like the Kardashian sisters, we at IndieWomanMag find ourselves more determined to shut off all the media polluting noise and remain committed to finding our own truth, creating our own heroes, and finding our own sources of inspiration. There are a lot of extraordinary human beings out there who yearn for substance and choose to connect by sharing their ideals despite negative influences, busy lives, or personal obstacles. Those people do not reside inside a TV screen. They are not accessible by remote control. And you won’t find them on E Entertainment. On the contrary, they are often within arm’s length – neighbors, teachers, acquaintances, friends. When was the last time you connected with someone in your community, or even with your own friends and family?

Meet our next IndieWoman Model: Chana Rothman, a former Brooklynite now residing in Philadelphia. I have recently and serendipitously met this remarkable woman in the guise of a neighbor no less. She is not only a young mother to a beautiful one-year-old boy, but also an activist, educator, and a talented singer songwriter. Her agenda is simple and to the point: speak, or in her case sing the truth, to unite people and inspire change. Through her funky and unique fusion of world, folk, jazz and reggae beats Chana Rothman doesn’t shy away from calling out our legacy of capitalist greed, the ‘false’ American dream, and her vision for a better world. Her newest CD Beautiful Land, prominently inspired by time spent in Jamaica and South Africa, is like a storybook weaving pressing social agendas with a biographical quest for personal identity, truth, and a call for change and liberation. Speaking of her experience in those latter places, Chana shares that she was struck by people’s incredible resilience. “Despite having been savagely and systemically oppressed, locals were kind and generous, sharing stories, food, and song. I wanted to write a song honoring these extraordinary people and the land where they live,” hence the inspiration for the song and album title Beautiful Land. “There’s a universality to their struggles and triumphs that everyone can respect and relate to, whether they are world travelers or simply heading around the corner to buy milk. I didn’t set out to write a hit; I set out to give voice to a story of survival.” Her poetry and wit marry perfectly in the latter song and also in my favorite and super catchy tune on this album, Inadequate, which pretty much embodies Chana and her reverberating message in a nutshell:

I’ve got scabs on my skin, I’ve got knots in my hair
And my chest feels tight when I breathe in the air
I’ve got a few extra pounds, I wish they weren’t there
I try to convince myself that I don’t even care
But there’s subliminal messaging of which I’ve got to be aware
Expecting us to look like models in our underwear
See, I’m a human being – Eastern European
And my people aren’t known for being long, tall & lean
So how do I reconcile what they taught me as a child:
I’m “beautiful outside & in”, but only skinny girls win??!?

I feel inadequate
And I’m sick of it
But I’m not gonna quit
Nuh nuh nuh NOT YET

There’s a discrepancy in what they’re telling me
And what seems to be in this industry
So they left me on my own to try to figure it out
They tell me “it’s all good” but what are they talkin about?
They say “American Dream” I say it ain’t what it seems
You’ve got to go to the extreme just to see a little green
Sacrifice your pride, suck it up deep inside, wait for the pain to subside
And get back on the ride
This is the recipe, and you’ll hear it repeatedly
But it still ain’t helping me or my family….

To see Chana rock it out check her out on her YouTube Channel at: youtube.com/chanarothman. This chanteuse is as much a social activist as an idealist with a profound sense for global community and kinship. She has been teaching music and leading workshops geared towards youth and communities worldwide for over ten years. You will not find this woman standing on the sidelines. Most recently, aside from touring nationally and internationally, she partook in and performed at such landmark demonstrations as Occupy Wall Street. Like a loving yet cool mother Chana gets her groove on and urges us to wake up, stand up, and not give up. At the core, her message is pure unadulterated love – love for self, and love for each other. The superficial media and news pollution exalting to fame inauthentic role models has finally been replaced and drowned out by a real and authentic role model with an angelic voice.

Chana Rothman performs regularly between New York City and Philadelphia. Beautiful Land is available digitally and in stores on December 6, 2011. For more information, news and upcoming shows, visit www.chanarothman.com, www.facebook.com/chanarothman, www.twitter.com/chanarothman.

Be sure to spread the love and share the soulful music of this genuine uber role model, because together we can make a difference and rewire our thought forms with positive vibrations.

***Join Chana at the Point of Destination Cafe in Mount Airy, Philadelphia on December 10th, for her CD Release Party. Click on the latter link for event details.

Sex And The City 2: Bring It On & Keep It Up Ladies!

Last night, all giddy with excitement like a teenager eager for the Twilight sequel, I got all dressed up and went to see Sex and the City 2 with one of my girlfriends. Much to my dismay, I had heard mixed reviews about the movie.  But then again I’ve never been one to care about other people’s reviews anyway.  Taste is such a personal thing.  Besides, it’s like being a Star Trek fan – once a Trekkie always a Trekkie.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bro, by Craig Blankenhorn

What I always loved about Sex and the City is how over the years it has consistently managed to take women’s lib and kick it up a few hundred notches into the left hemisphere. Let’s be honest, women have had their naked bodies plastered on film for decades, so I’m pro exploring male nudity on camera Candace Bushnell style. Sex and the City is all about US fickle little creatures — our superfluous whims, incorrigible fantasies, obsessive genetic inclinations, and self-deprecating insecurities. And if you’re a woman, don’t even try to pretend  that you don’t fall into any of the above categories!  Throw in incredible fashions and all the IT things a girl could want, and you’ve got one major guilty pleasure.  If what I’m about to say next makes me sound even shallower, then I’m prepared to be burned at the stake like great old Savonarola (hey, at least he got a chair named after him!).

Some have dubbed the movie as too self indulgent, especially in light of the global economic crisis, exalting shallowness and excess.  Yet, I haven’t heard anybody complain about James Bond, the whole premise of which is an unrelenting extravaganza of sex and men’s gadgets that sends most members of the opposite state into an orgasmic coma.   Sex and the City is merely a take on 007, for those of us without penises.  Sorry, I cannot talk about the movie without invoking sex – after all the nomenclature speaks for itself, and to ignore that is to take away all that Betty Friedan and Bushnell have done for the further emancipation of women!  The former feminist would have never dreamed that in 2010 a sexually voracious and liberated vixen of 52, played by a glorious Kim Cattrall, would be throwing condoms at the screen and screaming at the top of her lungs in an Arab market, “Yes, I have sex! Bite me!!”

Photo courtesy of Warner Bro, by Craig Blankenhorn

That was definitely the highlight of the movie for me.  And to those critics who dubbed the movie racist or mocking Muslim culture, well, let’s be honest, those people lack a certain sense of humor or fail to understand the meaning of voyeurism through entertainment.  As a voyeur you observe and are intrigued by certain things which most of the time are not shared or are kept private.  The fact that Carrie expressed her fascination with the way Muslim women get around performing everyday tasks, including eating fast food in public while wearing a hijab, or traditional head covering, actually brings a level of humanity and realness to the character. I think it would have been actually very awkward not to address those uniquely cultural details and pieces of every day life that would intrigue any traveler – let alone an outspoken group of ladies from the Big Apple. Curiosity doesn’t spell out racism.  Speaking what’s on your mind doesn’t either.  And indulging in a guilty pleasure and spending two hours in the company of four liberated designer clad chicks who’d rather be fanned by Arab men than strut their stuff through a New York subway – well, all I can say is where do I sign up?

This movie definitely and unapologetically left me feeling good – heck, fabulous – about being a woman, stereotypes and all.  Thanks to Sex and the City we’ve transitioned beautifully into the 21^st century, and I can only hope that as time goes by we’ll continue to evolve and help other women who are less emancipated to achieve the same level of liberation – one beautiful Louboutin stiletto at a time!