Trailer Tuesday - Miss Representation
Miss Representation is an important documentary that should be watched by young women around the world. It might look like it's an American-centric film, but I think its message is global. The documentary "explores how the media’s misrepresentations of women have led to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence".
This quote from the trailer really touched me, "There's no appreciation for women intellectuals, it's all about the body and not about the brain."
The recent trend on TV does make me worry about the portrayal of images of women - and I'm not just talking about western shows. I can't think of any Middle Eastern TV shows that portrays women in inspiring roles. Maybe I'm out of touch with the recent shows on Middle Eastern TV channels, but with 1000s of channels with nothing to watch, I'd rather watch re-runs of old Egyptian films. Can't go wrong with the classics of which some were a lot more progressive compared to what I see in the current world of Middle Eastern media.
About Miss Representation:
Like drawing back a curtain to let bright light stream in, Miss Representation uncovers a glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see. Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.
In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader. While women have made great strides in leadership over the past few decades, the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, women hold only 3% of clout positions in mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls have disordered eating behaviors.
Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics, like Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem build momentum as Miss Representation accumulates startling facts and statistics that will leave the audience shaken and armed with a new perspective.
[Warning: A few seconds of sexually offensive images appear at the beginning of the trailer.]