My Thoughts on Finding and…Following Your Own Voice, Inspired by the Movie The Forty-Year Old Version
The Forty-Year Old Version, written, directed and starring Radha Blank, hit Netflix on October 9th. Being in the midst of creating the 40-year-old version of myself, I was immediately drawn to the title and put the movie on my list of films to watch. The synopsis, “A down-on-her-luck playwright thinks the only way she can salvage her voice as an artist is to become a rapper at 40” further piqued my interest, so at around 9:00a.m., before I started cooking Thanksgiving dinner, I curled up on the sofa with a cup of Yogi peach detox tea and watched.
*There may be some spoilers within my thoughts about the movie, so if you want to watch it first, do so, and then come back and read this blog.*
While researching Radha Blank and the movie, I came across the Vanity Fair article, “Take on An Old Formula” written by Richard Lawson. He perfectly articulates the beauty of the film in the description below:
The 40-Year-Old Version is, yes, partly about a woman who is older than most upstarts in a youth-skewing industry trying to make a go of it. But Blank uses that template to explore something much deeper and vaster than the quick logline premise suggests. Her film is about the waning of youthful artistic zeal and potential and the waxing of something else, a more studied and self-aware but no less energized version of creative passion.
As expected, age comes up a lot in the movie. But, though some of the negative feedback comes from the sassy older lady, and the bougie homeless man who live on Radha’s block; most of the doubt is from Radha herself. As Lawson so eloquently put it “a more studied and self-aware but no less energized version of creative passion” has emerged and as Radha comes to realize, is no less valuable than the achievements and expectations of her youth.
As I watched, I thought about the internal conflict that comes up for me when thinking about this milestone birthday. Many people see forty as old, especially for a woman, but this film is yet another example of how it isn’t old…it’s older and in many cases better. When Radha raps, as her producer said, she is a skilled storyteller unlike some of her younger counterparts who don’t have the experience or expertise as a successful playwright. Those years gave her wisdom and the ability to tap into real emotions and bring them to life in her music.
The film also made me think about how we need to keep working to change the narrative about age equating to talent, value or success. Yes, things are different when are at various stages of life, but if you work hard at your craft you can be successful.
Radha is a teacher by day and when giving her students advice, she described herself and her dream of rapping as unworthy. We must watch how we talk about ourselves. She is actually a good rapper; one her students describe as a mixture of “Queen Latifah and Judge Judy.” It seems everyone around her believes in her more than she believes in herself. She even says “I’m three months shy of forty, I need to stay in my lane.”
Well, what is one’s lane at forty? In this day and age, it can be almost anything you want it to be. So, I found myself asking if Radha really wants this rap thing. Her producer friend wonders the same thing, and takes her to see a female-battle rap show to give her some inspiration.
Radha and Producer at Femael Rap Battle Event