“I don’t give a damn ‘bout my reputation.” Joan Jett sings this rebellious line from her song “Bad Reputation” while standing in an alley by a bar with all black attire, dark makeup, and grungy hair. Straight away Jett is sending the impression that she’s not the stereotypical self-conscious female. With a confident tone, she is conveying the message that people should not care what others think.

In the beginning of the video Jett gets kicked out of two establishments, presumably for her nontraditional appearance. The words, “We don’t want your kind in here” and “Come back when you’re dressed like a lady,” appear on the screen, to which she replies by giving the middle finger. This act of disrespect shows that Jett truly does not care about what others think of her.

More notably, Jett is shown being rejected by not one, not two, but six record companies. This emphasizes the fact that many companies were not confident in Jett, and therefore did not want to take the risk of signing her. Jett is fed up and decides to create a record company of her own. An image of the Billboard Hot 100 appears with Jett’s first hit song “I Love Rock N’ Roll” circled in the number 7 spot. This image is then followed by  “This record’s a hit,” which appears two more times. The repetition of this phrase reiterates the fact that Jett became successful on her own regardless of numerous rejections.

Moreover, the text “Twenty three record companies said no. One million record buyers said yes!” is shown across the screen. Jett is implying that the audience should not care about judgments from others. Many people gave her the impression that she wouldn’t amount to anything, and she went on to have a Billboard Hot 100 hit. The music video then returns to the scenes where record company businessmen had previously rejected her—only now they want to sign her since she has a hit song. Instead of showing disproval, the businessmen are smiling at Jett and giving her a thumbs up, acknowledging that Jett had indeed been a success. As the video progresses, another image appears containing a list of hit songs, with “I Love Rock N’ Roll” sitting in the first place spot. The phrase ”2½ million record buyers said I Love Rock-N-Roll!” This familiar phrase is yet again reiterating the fact that Jett became successful despite her bad reputation.

In the music video for “Bad Reputation,” Joan Jett is trying to encourage her audience to disregard judgments from others. Jett doesn’t care about her reputation and isn’t afraid to stick up for herself when kicked out of establishments. Finally, Jett proves that not caring about what others think can be rewarding through a series of repetition. After all, despite rejection, Jett became a megastar.