Friday, January 20, 2012

Miss Representation

I had the privilege of going with a few friends to see a screening of the film Miss Representation, focusing on the demeaning and negative portrayals of women in media in American culture. It was astounding. I always knew that these images were being shown and consumed by young girls; I've felt the sting of insecurity of my femininity and the pressures of the media and society to be something that I'm not. But somehow it was all brought to my attention again in a new light, reminding me of the urgency to put an end to these damaging messages and portrayals of women. This was one of the best films I've seen in a while, and it's probably one of the most important films made in my lifetime. I think everyone - girl, boy, woman, man - needs to see this movie. I don't mean like "oh it's really good, you totally need to see it!"... I mean, we all need to see this film and understand the serious threat of the current attitude in the media. Please see it, seriously. Find a screening in your area by clicking here.

Turning a human being into a thing is almost always the first step toward justifying violence against that person.
- Jean Kilbourne, Wellesly Center for Women
as quoted in Miss Representation

1 comment:

amy said...

Ah! i forced my friend here to DVR it when it aired on the oprah network but have never gotten over there to watch it. I'm doing a project on community organizing around women's issues next week though, so I'll have to see it soon!!