On Our Must-See List: "Miss Representation"

We can't recommend it yet since we haven't seen it, but definitely on IHE's must-see list is the documentary Miss Representation. I've had so many people recommend it to me recently (even my husband!), that I had to check it out for myself, and thought it was definitely worth sharing here.

Miss Representation exposes and challenges mainstream media and culture's portrayal of women and girls. As the website says,

"In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader. While women have made great strides in leadership over the past few decades, the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, women hold only 3% of clout positions in mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls have disordered eating behaviors."

You can watch the extended trailer (about 9 min) here (Note: some of the imagery may not be safe for work):

Producers of the film also offer an accompanying education curriculum, but it's not free.

If you have cable TV, you can catch the national broadcast on OWN tomorrow (Thursday, October 20), or look for a screening near you.

This looks to be a powerful and important film, and something that humane educators could pair with films like The Bro Code, which looks at how media and culture encourage sexism and sexual violence from young men and how they portray narrow definitions of masculinity.

~ Marsha

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