I Am Noise Film Review

I Am Noise (2023) Directed by: Karen O’Connor, Maeve O’Boyle, Miri Navasky

I had the privilege of attending a screening of "I Am Noise" and a post film discussion with the one and only Joan Baez at the Nantucket Film Festival. “I Am Noise” is a masterfully crafted portrait of a cultural icon. It transcends the boundaries of a typical music documentary, delving deep into themes of family trauma, mental health in the 20th century, heartbreak, and adolescence, all through the lens of the artists plight. For over sixty years, Joan Baez has bridged the realms of music, fame, and activism. Being in the presence of such an influential figure as Joan Baez felt surreal. Standing so close to someone who has been witness to and effected so much history was an honor. In 1965, Baez was profiled by Joan Didion, later published in Didion’s “Slouching Towards Bethlehem.” The title references the Yeats poem - “The best lack all conviction / while the worst are full of passionate intensity." Baez was just 24, living on a commune among revolutionaries and members of the resistance movement, and had just launched her Institute for the Study of Non-Violence. She already had worked closely with Dr. King, sang at the March on Washington, and become a leading voice in anti war efforts. The profile portrays Baez as earnest and sincere in her political efforts, yet disconnected from the world she aimed to change. Didion didn’t buy what she thought Baez was selling. She perceived her as a musician swept up in the adrenaline of a movement. What did this 24 year old musician know about the world? I feel as if her sensitivity, artistry, and compassion appears to have stripped her of credibility in her activist life. After seeing I Am Noise, it’s those traits that I believe made her into a force of nature that confused everyone around her. During the interview with the trailblazing female journalist Maureen Orth, Joan Baez was asked if she believed she will have left the world a better place than she found it. Her response was a simple “no." While her impact may not have resulted in the global cultural revolution that the 24 year-old Joan envisioned, I firmly believe that her art, this documentary, and her decades of activism will leave behind a legacy that make everything worth it.