- I'm sitting here in the studio reacting to my friend.
That is just so special. - I always say this:
Normalize girls being mad! - ♪ You are a... ♪
- Have a healthy outlook for anger. Scream it into music.
♪ (upbeat techno intro) ♪
- (man) Yeah, maybe for this first one,
the first thing... - What is this?
- Moxie? - Wasn't Moxie a movie?
- I've seen this before. But where?
- I know Bela! (claps) Bela's my friend! (laughs)
- They're so young! - (Mila) One, two, three, four!
- They look like they're 14. (laughs)
- BELA! That's my girl! - It even sounds like a top tier band
for them being that age. - (Lucia) We opened for Bikini Kill
at the Hollywood Palladium, and Amy Poehler
was at that show... - Oh, that's cool.
- (Lucia) ...which was really cool. And then, one thing led to another,
and she invited us to be in this movie,
so now we get to play two songs in it.
- ♪ That girl thinks she's... ♪ - They're so cute. What's going on?
- They're so good. They're popping off.
- Amy Poehler, make my dreams. - That's a powerful voice for 15.
- Oh my god.
- ♪ Rebel girl ♪ - Yo, they're killing it.
- Love how they're singing this while they still have their braces on.
I don't know why, but I found it adorable.
- (Lucia) So, we've all been friends for a while,
but we only formed the band last year. - (Bela) Yeah, last year.
So, we're pretty fresh. - I'm just awestruck.
- I love them. (claps) I'm a huge fan.
- That was extremely wholesome and amazing.
- (React) Do you know this band? - I actually have no clue.
- No, I have no idea who they are.
- (React) The Linda Lindas officially formed in January of 2018
and are already making quite the impact
on the music scene. - Okay.
- (React) The band consists of Bela on guitars,
Eloise on bass, Lucia on guitar,
and Mila on drums. Bela is the oldest at 16,
and Mila is only 10. - 10 to 16.
Damn, they're killing it. - (React) One of Moxie's
main storylines is about punk feminism,
which is the ethos of the Linda Lindas.
What are your views on modern feminism
in this day and age? - It's so empowering.
It's so cool for young girls who have that idea.
"Oh, I wanna do something cool. I wanna be creative.
I wanna start a band." It could go great.
- (React) Last year, their original song was featured
in a Netflix documentary called The Claudia Kishi Club
about the importance of the Japanese-American character,
Claudia Kishi, from the Babysitter's Club.
♪ (pop punk music) ♪
- ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ - Yo, this goes hard.
- Their outfit. I'm digging your dress
on the left, Ms. Girl. - It's pretty dope.
- It's really catchy. - They all play instruments
and they all sing! - I can't believe
I'm watching Bela, dude. This is...
I'm-- (squeals) - For some reason,
this feels distinctly 2000s. I don't know why. (laughs)
- I was into 5SOS when I was young, the pop punk.
- They're so cute. - This is so pure.
- Yeah, this is really-- I feel like I'm eight years old again,
and I'm just like reliving that era. - Woo-hoo!
- This song's also really good. - I can't believe that girl
in the back is 10. It's crazy.
- Dude, they got it down. They have their sound and everything.
- ♪ We are Claudia ♪ - This is such pure, wholesome vibes.
- Oh my god. Did they write the song?
- ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ - We are Claudia Kishi.
Everybody. - That is dope.
- They're writing hits at 10 years old! That's crazy.
- (React) When the Babysitter's Club debuted in 1986,
there were very few Asian-American characters of note
in mainstream fiction. And the stereotype-shattering,
art-loving fashionista, Claudia Kishi, became a hero to many.
Why is this kind of representation so important?
- I mean, this is big. I haven't really mentioned it,
but NEVER really looked up to an Asian artist.
Very big lack of Asian people in music, which is so sad.
- You don't really see Asian people in media.
There's a whole article I read the other day about how
Asians all went to YouTube to fill the same void
that was left by television. It's pretty dope to see all of that.
- Yeah, I think it's more important seeing more of a diverse
of different ethnicities. And they should really open more
on different takes than just white and more just other people
and what they want. - When Biden and Harris won,
they posted-- the Linda Lindas posted a picture of Kamala on their story,
and they were like, "She looks like us."
And that's so important in every arena of life
to have people in music and in fashion and in TV,
like, diverse people, so all people can relate.
I think that's so important.
- (React) Most recently, the Linda Lindas went viral
for one of their songs that they performed
at the L.A. Public Library as part of the AAPI Heritage Month.
Let's take a look. - (Mila) A little while
before we went into lockdown, a boy in my class came up to me
and said that his dad told him to stay away from Chinese people.
After I told him that I was Chinese, he backed away from me.
Eloise and I wrote this song based on that experience.
One, two, three, four! ♪ (punk rock music) ♪
- Come on, girls! - I've never seen this, actually.
- I always say this: Normalize girls being mad!
- ♪ You are a... ♪ - Have a healthy outlook for anger.
Scream it into music. - (laughs)
- The music feels so much angrier than the other one.
Love it. (laughs) - I swear. I don't know why.
I appreciate so much their outfits and that they're dressing their age
and that they're just vibing.
- (Mila) One, two, three, four! - Ooh!
- ♪ You say mean stuff ♪ ♪ And you close your mind
to things you don't like ♪ ♪ You turn away from what
you don't wanna see ♪ - That's a great line
about ignorance is just honestly not knowing sometimes
and not caring to know. - (laughs) I love this.
- Dude, that bass go hard. - Eat the mic! (laughs)
- I wonder if they realize how iconic they are.;
- ♪ You are a racist, sexist boy! ♪
- (claps)
- Bruh, that's crazy. Dude, you felt--
you could feel that. - All the racists
are fuming after this. (laughs) - Mila, in the beginning,
was describing this awful experience,
like, traumatizing experience
with just the biggest smile on her face.
And that is just so, so... it's so productive.
- (React) Okay, so now that you know about the Linda Lindas,
how does this make you feel? - It makes me feel like...
like I wanna mosh. - I feel really proud of Bela
and her friends and of women-- of young women.
I feel really hopeful. - I think they're great.
I think their songs are really catchy. I think they're probably gonna
get somewhere really big, since they've barely
been doing this for a year. And I feel like they're gonna
probably get more and more into it.
- (React) Do you have any stories like this that you want to share?
- I grew up in the suburbs. You definitely experience it
when you're not white. If you're a minority in the suburbs,
you get treated like a minority in the suburbs, you know?
(chuckles) It's just how it is. - The people who are saying something
and don't like you is such a small percentage,
and you just have to be able to tune that out.
- Trying to fit in with American culture,
really difficult when you're Asian,
because they have to pivot that whole east-west thing.
- (React) What are your hopes for the future
when it comes to racism?
- Hmm. - I feel like the world is always
gonna be a little racist, which sort of saddens me.
But I hope things get better. As time has gone by,
it's gotten way better already. As each generation passes,
they're becoming slowly more and more... more accepting.
- I honestly hope that the level race plays in our society
becomes lessened and that it actually--
we just embrace each other.
- Well, I definitely want racism to cease to exist.
It's definitely not gonna be possible, 'cause racism has always been there.
It's just been quiet, 'cause there was no phones.
- I hope more people won't, like, probably shy down
or maybe be more expressive with what they've experienced,
so they can make other people aware.
- (React) Is there anything you wanna say to the Linda Lindas
if they were watching right now? - Man, first of all,
y'all make me feel old. (laughs) I remember when I was 10,
and I'm just like, "I didn't do any of that."
You guys seem to know way more than I did when I was 10.
- Yeah, they were saying what they have to say,
writing it, shouting it to the world when I felt like I couldn't even
stand up for myself when I was their age.
- (claps) Oh my god, yes! I can't wait to meet the rest of you.
Bela, I love you. You inspire me so much.
Just keep creating what's inside of you
and let it come out naturally.
- Racism, even casual racism, is still prevalent
throughout the world. - It's up to us to use our voices
to call it out. - Thanks to the Linda Lindas
for doing something about it. - Thank you for watching
this episode of React. - Let us know what you guys
want us to react to next. - Bye, guys!
Don't be a racist, sexist boy. - See ya. (imitates explosion)