“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any” (Walker). “Miss
Representation” is a documentary film written, directed and produced by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who
argues how mainstream media contributes to the misrepresentation of women in influential positions
by having limited portrayals of women. Newsom’s argument is an evaluation of the media's influence on
our society, particularly as it shapes the way we view gender roles, politics and national discourse, and a
proposal to change this culture by diminishing the self-objectification of women , keeping media
corporations and companies accountable, and encourage women to pursue powerful positions in our
society. Jennifer Siebel Newsom bases her argument on analysis of the miss portrayal of women in the
media with news excerpts, interviews with famous personnel, advertising images and several statistics
Newsom asserts the controversial exploration of the miss representation of women in the media. She
uses her personal life experiences as an example to help us understand the issue, along with her worries
and ambition to change society to be more fulfilling for her daughter. Newsom uses interviews from
influential people such Katie Curic and Jane Fonda, News excerpts, along with statistics to increase her
argument. It is stated that “the media is the message and the messenger” and a powerful one since
“people learn more from the media than any other source of information, so if we want to understand
our society we have to understand media”. The media is demeaning toward the most powerful women
in the country which differs women from pursing powerful positions in our country. She argues that the
self objectification of women is linked to depression, eating disorders lower confidence,lower ambition,
lower cognitive function and lower GPA's. “Women who are high self-objectifiers have lower political
efficacy, political efficacy sit the idea that your vice matter in politics and that you can bring change in
politics.” Women who build up more than half of the population do not have a voice in in public forms in
our government.
The media portrays gender bias and stereotypes in tv, films and advertisements. Gender roles in society
are created by the media and that we need to have a psychological breakthrough to allow change. The
media sends a message that sexuality is the way to achieve empowerment and that their value and
worth depend on how they look.. This puts pressure to look a certain way and dehumanize them. The
myth that “the media is giving us what the public wants” is false, the media is giving us what the
advertisers want. Marketers dictate cultural norms and values made un our society.
The documentary “Miss Representation” uses several examples of rhetoric ethos as a persuasive appeal
based on the speakers emphasized. The author Jessica Siebel Newsons ethical motive for creating this
documentary to raise awareness to this public issue in our society draws appeals to the audience and
creates a more persuasive argument. The sponsors of the documentary are Oprah and Rosie O'Donnald,
two largely influential and admired women based on their ethical qualities. Along with the numerous
well-known influential women and some men interviewed ranges from activists, professors, directors,
politicians, actors, news anchors and journalists all create and rhetoric ethos in the documentary and
ultimately sends the message across easily. An appealing ethos creates a sense of trustworthiness and
working towards an ethical end to the audience.
Appeals to emotion or pathos is highly evident in media such as “Miss Representation” to persuade an
audience and appeals to their emotional sense of morality. The documentary appeals to the more
virtuous of our emotions such as empathy, motivation for change and ambition along with anger and
frustration. The target audience is largely young females, and to educate them on our society and how
they can change it. It causes women come to a sense of realization and to motivate them to create
change. The documentary also targets men and the media companies, to appeal to their empathy
enough to realizes that this is an important issue that needs to be changed.
The appeal of logos focuses on the argument and is used to enhance it using facts, statistics and rational
explanations. All three appeals are evident in the documentary, although logos is the most effective to
supporting the argument and persuading the audience from a logical standpoint. Current statistics from
our country such as “we are exposed to 10 hrs 45 min of media consumption a day” and 17% of women
are in Congress” are used to inform the audience and support the argument with evidence. Evidence is
very difficult to deny and is powerful form of persuasion.
10 Minute Argument
First: I agree strongly that the media's portrayal of women contributes to the misrepresentation of
women in influential positions.
Second: The media shapes many aspects of our society and therefore the media should stop having
limited portrayals of women.
Third: The media is the most influential source of information and for that reason society forms its
ideologies based upon the information they absorb from it. "Miss Representation" evaluates how the
media shapes our perceptions in a negative way, especially towards women and proposes how we can
improve our society.
Fourth: Educator Vincent Ruggiero has described the modern electronic media as "the most powerful
force that has ever influenced the human mind and heart" (Nonsense Is Destroying America, p. 95).
"The media sends a message that being a strong,accomplished women is not enough and that
their worth is based upon their beauty." ... cool start. So do you want to argue that media
representation of women is even more influential than charted here? Or (I think) you want to argue for
media to stop certain portrayals of women. Why not pick one cite or magazine and write your argument
to them, as you leverage some of what you learned? Later in the semester I want some students to go
after THE CHIVE as a sexist website. That’s an option here too.
Some help with citations here:
The rule is that you simply cite the Director's name as you would the author. The additional rule is that
you can name and cite any performer from it.
Then, the rule is simply "You may include other data that seem pertinent, such as writer of screenplay or
writer of work upon which the film is based, depending on the focus of your research."
So for us, you can have one Works Cited, and switch the name if your citing someone from within the
film.
Then I think it's appropriate for a close analysis to just include the starting time, like this (Rice 10:15).
Here's the excerpt:
Films or Movies
List films (in theaters or not yet on DVD or video) by their title. Include the name of the director, the film
studio or distributor, and the release year. If relevant, list performer names after the director’s name.
Use the abbreviation perf. to head the list. List film as the medium of publication. To cite a DVD or other
video recording, see “Recorded Films and Movies” below.
The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen
Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro. Polygram, 1995. Film.
To emphasize specific performers (perf.) or directors (dir.), begin the citation with the name of the
desired performer or director, followed by the appropriate abbreviation.
Lucas, George, dir. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Twentieth Century Fox, 1977. Film.