Section 2—Further Resources
(2e) Films and Videos
NO!—The Rape Documentary —Explores the international reality of rape, other forms of sexual
assault and healing through the first person testimonies, scholarship, spirituality, activism, and
cultural work of African-Americans. This groundbreaking, award-winning documentary also
explores how rape is used as a weapon of homophobia. There is a small clip on the website—
http://notherapedocumentary.org/
Women Make Movies—Women Make Movies is a multicultural, multiracial, non-profit media arts
organization which facilitates the production, promotion, distribution, and exhibition of
independent films and videotapes by and about women. http://www.wmm.com/
Banaat Chicago: Growing Up Arab and Female in Chicago. A documentary featuring
interviews with several young Arab girls in Chicago. http://www.arabfilm.com
Media Education Foundation—This is one of the most comprehensive websites for films
regarding issues of oppression in U.S. society. In particular, this site has a large catalogue of
exceptional and extremely popular films addressing gender issues, sexism in mainstream society, and
sexism’s relationship to other forms of oppression. Below is a sampling of titles from their
catalogue. I strongly encourage you to visit their website for a full listing of their video resources at
www.mediaed.org.
- Beauty Mark—This courageous, deeply personal film examines American culture's
unhealthy fixation on thinness, beauty, and physical perfection. 2008.
- Deadly Persuasion—The Advertising of Alcohol and Tobacco—2000.
- Generation M—How negative, hateful attitudes toward women and femininity are being
perpetuated at the very heart of American popular culture. 2008.
- Game Over—The first educational documentary to critically examine video games and
their potential impact on kids' attitudes and behavior. 2000.
- Girls—An exploration of the sexual dilemmas and difficult life choices young girls face as
they come of age in contemporary American culture. 2004.
- Playing Unfair—How mainstream media misrepresent, and under-represent, female
athletes and women's sports. 2002.
- Killing Us Softly 3—Jean Kilbourne's groundbreaking analysis of advertising's depiction
of women and femininity. 2000.
- Hip-Hop—Beyond Beats and Rhymes (Abridged and Unabridged)—As seen on
PBS and at Sundance, a riveting examination of manhood, sexism, and homophobia in hiphop culture. 2006.
- Off the Straight and Narrow and Further Off the Straight and Narrow—New Gay
Visibility on Television, (1967–1998) and (1998–2006)—A nuanced view of
representations of GLBT characters on sitcoms, reality shows, and premium cable.
- Tough Guise—Jackson Katz's pioneering and influential examination of how American
popular culture glorifies violent masculinity. 1999.
You Tube Clips—I frequently use You Tube clips and there are literally thousands to choose from.
Here are just a few to provide a place to begin.
- Dove Evolution (1:15)—This excellent clip (a Dove commercial aired nationally) shows
how fabricated Ideal Female Beauty truly is.
- The Photoshop Effect (5:37)—This clip demonstrated how photoshop is used n “99.9%”
of all photos seen in U.S. magazines. The interviewer’s critical lens is questionable, but the
overall information is quite valuable.
- Sexism Sells—But We’re Not Buying It (5:49)—This is an excellent clip demonstrating
mainstream media’s depiction of women in the news and politics.
- Sexism, Misogyny, Women’s History and Hilary Clinton (9:36)—This clip touches on
the sexism directed toward Senator Clinton during the presidential primary while also
addressing the complexities of race (racism) and gender (sexism) as they played out between
and among the two candidates.
- Sexism, Strength, and Dominance: Masculinity in Disney Films (6:52)—This is a
very good student project that shows how male and female gender roles play out in highly
sexist ways in Disney films. It is also a good example of how students can use current media
and technology to produce highly effective educational materials / class assignments.
- Eve Ensler: Finding Happiness in Body and Soul (21:12)—Eve Ensler, author of The
Vagina Monologues, is one of today’s foremost activists regarding violence against women. In
this video she quite candidly address sexism via representations of women and body image
issues through “vagina” monologues.