TThe documentary, Miss Representation, attempts to demonstrate how the media persists
in misrepresenting the female gender and in doing so directly (negatively) affects women and
young girls in America. The title of this documentary clearly expresses the film’s theme of
“misrepresentation”, and at the same time, using the word “Miss,” the title implies specifically
that the female gender is what the documentary is focusing on. This documentary argues that the
media tends to overly represent a very specific female identity-type and implies that this type is
what is valued and should, therefore, be strived for. This identity tends to be in her twenties and
thirties, unachievably thin, hyper-feminine, overly-sexualized, and not particularly intelligent
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for she is valued and identified by her body alone. The media sends out this message that women should be valued on their bodies alone, and therefore, obtaining these truly unattainable beauty standards should be women’s main objective.
Miss Representation exposes the detrimentally powerful influences these messages
have on women, men and society as a whole. The narrator expresses how these messages directly
affect women and their actions, such as explaining how 65% of females have eating disorders
and how rates of depression among females have doubled between 2000 and 2010; how these
messages affect men and how they view and treat women, such as how 1 in 4 women are abused
by a partner in their lifetime or how 1 in 6 women are survivors of rape or attempted rape; and
how these messages end up also affecting and shaping American society and politics, such as
women making up 17% of Congress and 34 women, compared to 2319 men, ever having served
as Governors.
Media’s failure to truly represent the women of America and, instead, valuing women for
their bodies, truly leads those viewing from home forced to succumb to these standards. Instead
of valuing and representing female CEOs, politically powerful women, and female
humanitarians and philanthropists, the media exposes the masses to women as sex-toys,
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ditzy objects, catty bitches. The documentary introduces the quote: “You can’t be what you can’t see.” Not only does this statement apply to the fact that since the media only tends to show and value these certain type of caricatures, females get the message to, therefore, attempt to be what they “see,” this statement also demonstrates the lack of women in powerful positions (whether in politics, business, etc.) and, therefore, females may not even be aware that these occupations and identities are possible for them.
The documentary even states that “the U.S. is 90th in the world in
terms of women in national legislation.”
The combination of the media’s message that females our valued for their bodies, makes
these women feel powerless and, in turn, distracted with achieving unattainable beauty standards,
at the same time discouraged from striving for leadership positions, since they do not see
“themselves” represented in those fields. Even in terms of Hollywood and movies, women being
able to see themselves represented in these fields, at the very least in these fictional situations
fails them as well. Hollywood continues to value actresses who measure up to these beauty
standards and stick them in standard roles and typical cookie-cutter films that end up revolving
around men. As a commentator points out in the documentary, there were many more interesting
roles and characters for females to play back in the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s. He explains that they
allowed women to be filled with the contradicting traits and factors that make up a complex
human being: a combination of the femme fatale, the mother, the seductress, the saint. This
was accepted at the time, but now films tend to put women into boxes and they cannot be one or the other. We turn them into characters, cartoons and women are not allowed to be humans. The documentary shows a clip from the Sex and the City movie where Miranda points out that there are only two options for women’s Halloween costumes in a store: witch and sexy kitten. Carrie responds by saying she “really said a mouthful there.” Again, the documentary demonstrates how misrepresented women are in the media, for truly females are thrown into boxes and are only allowed to be the bitchy boss or the “sexy kitten.” These messages are incredibly harmful to women and girls, for this is not a true representation of the female gender and does not allow them to be viewed, and in turn, treated as human beings. Women being looked upon and treated as objects only further reinforces their minority footing in powerful and influential positions that they desperately need to fill for America to be truly democratic and, indeed, an accurate representation.
The documentary, “Miss Representation,” is a film about how women are perceived in the media. It is written, directed, and produced by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. She is an actress and a film maker who advocates for women. In the beginning of the documentary, Newsom discusses her struggles as a young woman surrounded by the pressures of looking a certain way. This film is targeting mainly women of all age that has experienced her struggles. Jennifer Siebel Newsom effectively convinces the audience of “Miss Representation” that the media has molded women in a negative way through statistics, celebrities’ and younger generation’s testimonies, and clips from the media.
Miss Representation, a documentary film produced by Jennifer Siebel Newsom released in 2011, presents a contemporary issue which is the misrepresentation of women’s portrayal in mass media. The media is powerful in shaping audience’s belief in how to be feminine. Women are expected to be beautiful, attractive, and even sexual on the media to attract audience’s attention. Also, the film points out the existence of social system in which men are considered more powerful and dominant than women. Finally, the film tries to increase the awareness of female real value including capability, educational achievement, and leadership. Consuming the media wisely to eliminate gendered stereotypes can help young women build their confidence and be successful.
contradicting roles the women play are used as ambiguous symbol for how women should act,
Todd, Janet. Women and Film. Vol. 4. New York, NY: Holmes and Meier Publishers, 1988.
Each play represents the issues faced by each gender during the time period in which it was written. However, many of the issues are similar in each time period, as well as throughout most of history. These issues will likely continue to affect both women and men for a long time in the future.
For readers who observe literature through a feminist lens, they will notice the depiction of female characters, and this makes a large statement on the author’s perception of feminism. Through portraying these women as specific female archetypes, the author creates sense of what roles women play in both their families and in society. In books such as The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the roles that the main female characters play are, in different instances, both comparable and dissimilar.
Feminist theory would be appropriate as the underlying foundation since this study is focused on the portrayal of women.
“Boys and Girls” describes a major turning point in a girl’s life, turning down a path towards womanhood. Her childhood fears of the dark and fears of being less than a perfect worker to her father and her control of her brother slowly dissolve. Her decision to free the terrified horse highlights her pivotal journey into adulthood. And her ability to cry with sensitivity over her decision of freedom, demonstrates the acute sensitivity of a woman.
Hence, their interviews could help audiences better understand the issue, and also elevate the seriousness of the issue of women’s oppression in foreign countries, which could raise the audience’s awareness towards the issue. However, the use of celebrities to narrate the film is ineffective in delivering the main message of the film. In the film, famous actresses or models like Eva Mendes play the role of narratives of the film and there are long parts in the film where the actresses are asked about their feelings towards the oppression. However, The actresses lacked background knowledge of the oppression in the countries. After seeing and hearing the stories from the girls, the actresses are shocked and they even shed tears. This may shift the audience’s focus from the girls who are oppressed to the actresses who sympathize with the girls. Besides, having the actresses narrate the film makes the film subjective as their personal feelings are
Noted in Yvonne Tasker’s Working Girls: Gender and Sexuality in Popular Cinema, Goldie Hawn says this about women's role in the film business “There are only thee ages for women in Hollywood: Babe, District Attorney and Driving Miss Daisy” (1998, p. 3). While Haw...
Is there a difference between a Carl’s Jr. Hamburger commercial featuring a scantily clad Paris Hilton and a Disney movie? Many would argue “Well, of course there is a difference!” Those looking through the lenses of feminism would see that both are highly sexualized and send a negative message to children. They teach young girls that they are only valued for what their beauty sells. In this age of technology, children are spending more and more time in front of their television. Whether it is an episode of an edgy situation comedy like Two and a Half Men or a serious, heart-to-heart episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, there is a very high chance that a child is learning about their gender role and what that entails. The trend of damaging stereotypical portrayal of women in animated films has not lessened and perpetuates poor role models for children.
“Women are two times more likely to develop depressive symptoms then men”(Psychosocial and Behavioral Factors in Women’s Health, 1990), and women who are among the child-bearing years tend to be more at risk. However this is not to say that men are not affected by depression. It is usually, because of negative social influences, such as economic instability, and/or the inability to handle stress in their lives.
Rape can happen to anyone. Women from different cultures, races, ages, and economic level are all vulnerable. It does not matter who you are or where you live, although women of lowest status are most vulnerable to rape, and so are Hispanic and African American women. (An...
The media, through its many outlets, has a lasting effect on the values and social structure evident in modern day society. Television, in particular, has the ability to influence the social structure of society with its subjective content. As Dwight E. Brooks and Lisa P. Hébert write in their article, “GENDER, RACE, AND MEDIA REPRESENTATION”, the basis of our accepted social identities is heavily controlled by the media we consume. One of the social identities that is heavily influenced is gender: Brooks and Hébert conclude, “While sex differences are rooted in biology, how we come to understand and perform gender is based on culture” (Brooks, Hébert 297). With gender being shaped so profusely by our culture, it is important to be aware of how social identities, such as gender, are being constructed in the media.
Thompson, John O., ‘Screen Acting and the Commutation Test’ in Gledhill, Christine (ed.), Stardom: Industry of Desire (London: Routledge, 1991), p.183-197