Today I want to talk about a documentary called Miss Representation. This afternoon I was flicking through Netflix trying to find something good to watch, which of recent I have found to be increasingly difficult, anyone else agree?, anyways Miss Representation caught my eye and so I watched it. This documentary, directed by Jennifer Siebel Newson, delves into the devastating effects of the media’s representation of woman and how this stunts woman empowerment and the individual women’s want to be a leader. It bluntly brings to light how the media puts the idea into a girls mind that their value lies in their appearance, sexuality and youth. I really felt like I gained a new perspective on what the media is portraying of women and I can now see how at every turn we women are being told that we have to be ‘pretty’ to do well in life. Also the women we know as empowered such as Madonna or Angelina Jolie have had to use their looks and physical appeal to be heard and other important women who are doing just as important work as they are, are completely under-represented as they aren’t viewed as ‘sexy’. I was shocked by how Hollywood has throughout generations generally kept women as minor characters or if they are starring in the film we see their motive revolves around getting the guy e.g. Chick flicks. We also see in movies such as Jurassic World the lead female character throughout the film looking unrealistically put together throughout the entire ordeal of being chased by dinosaurs not to mention she is wearing heels the ENTIRE time which is so far fetched and shows that in even family films the female is sexualised in some form.
Anyways Miss Representation is a good watch, can’t say as much for Jurassic World but that’s a whole other story.
If you want to find out more about Miss Representation and what Jennifer and her team is doing to try and combat inequality visit the project’s website: