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Mariyam Muhidin
Flm 1070-018
Anita Davis
Mid Term Essay.
Miss Representation (2011)
The documentary Miss Representation 2011, by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, This is an
interesting documentary, it shows the awareness of what the media is playing on the
advancement of the women in our country. It gives very startling statistic about the affect the
media is having our children by misrepresenting women and how it is impacting every aspect of
our society. This film shows teenage girls give an inside look at the media, its message, and the
impact on Americans addressing women’s bodies and what women should look like, as well with
men.
Our world we live in where we have become more dependent on male leadership and inequality
has become a large topic on the rise increasingly over time, in the workplace, at home, and in
other aspects of living. Women have always been treated unequal to men in the business world,
and leadership.
A high school student, Devanshi Patel interview mentioned. "With the stakes rising higher in
virtually every aspect of our lives, coupled with a hyper-dramatized media that rewards catfights,
conflict, and maliciousness with airtime, female-to-female encouragement – what it looks like,
how it’s cultivated — faces a toxic counter-culture." (In the interviews I noticed that the music
came before the visual. The camera angles and lightening were used to force on the audience.)
It’s interesting to see that this doesn’t often happen with males. They often have more
companionship in the way they relate and interact with each other than women have. It’s
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important that women should support one another without underlying feelings of jealousy, and
lack of confidence.
The story focuses on resourceful output of information and how media impacts the social
dynamics of how women are viewed culturally. The film also highlights facts that illustrate the
evidence of women’s oppression and the effects of women not having the same equal
opportunities as men.
Ariella, A High School Student says "It’s all about the body, not about the brain."
Images of women’s body are everywhere such as magazines, articles, billboards, books etc. The
media shows what women should look like, so women end up suffering from eating disorder
comparing their own looks to those of airbrushed models. They have to learn to appreciate their
body for what it can do, not for what it looks like.
Academy Award-winning Actor and Activist, Jane Fonda says, "Media creates consciousness." I
agree with her completely, because confusion about accepting who you are starts very young.
Many times the youth are the ones getting affected the most. They grow up being insecure
because they don't fit the "crowd." What Activist Jane Fonda means by this is that women are not
fitting the crowd and because of that we are not making progress. I believe the media is
responsible for why women don’t have the power they can get. I also agree with the video that
women need to get their stories out there and really make a difference.
The camera focuses on each individual presented and each focus of the setting, to show clarity
and truth to the audience. There were many cast members, due to the documentary understanding
of individuals with important contribution to the issue in the media. Leadership characteristics
are present in every human, some are able to administer that characteristic and able to elevate it
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to high levels while others may not be as talented. Women have the ability to lead and they are
constantly overwhelmed by the negativity of the media.
The movie shows a great point through aggressively dissecting the main output of the
information, the highlighting unequal viewpoints "The Media". I was actually very surprised at
the fact that the information presented showed the actual effects of the media and how it relates
to the responses by the public realm and government entities that try and promote equal
opportunity movements. Example of this documentary argues, women are treated as second-class
citizens without a voice or a way to make effective change.
It is important that women write their own stories rather than having the media take control.
They should be pointed out as equal, many of us understand that a man is stronger, capable of
doing and handling more than a women, but in reality media has only shown us of what should
be among us not what can be.
This film is trying to show that all people should be equally represented in our media, that our
voices should be heard and that we should all be valued for our talents, and ability to give what’s
best for the American society and not let the "Media" influence us.
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Work Cited
85 min - Documentary
"Miss Representation." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1784538/>.http://www.missrepresentation.org/the-film/
"Miss Representation." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1784538/>.
Director: Jennifer Siebel Newsom
Writers: Jessica Congdon, Jennifer Siebel Newsom
Country:USA
Language:English
Filming Locations:Los Angeles, California, USA