Michael Murgo - Miss Representation

After watching this documentary by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, I was grateful that I no longer watch television. It solidified my belief that I will continue to not have cable into my old age, when I'm the head of a household. As was said in the film, the vast majority of media is owned by men, and thus media portrays the male perspective. We do not live in a world where media is democratic. Unfortunately, media is the most powerful source of culture and lessons for the American people, as it is all around us and we are constantly bombarded by it. Americans consume approximately 10 hours of media each day, essentially translating to indoctrination to money-hungry male perspective. Since sex sells, money-hungry typically means that the media will be filled with women displayed as body props for young male viewers, essentially creating wide spread acceptance of women as sexual objects. This exploitation sells products, but also de-values women and even changes the way that women view other women and themselves; the American Psychological Association has said that self-objectification has become a national epidemic.  Moreover, people tend to focus on women's looks rather than their substance due to this objectification of women. It When female politicians like Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, for example, appear in the media, their fashion choices and appearances are evaluated to a degree far exceeding that of male politicians. Media dis-empowers women and makes them think that they cannot have powerful leadership roles like these political figures. At this rate, it's going to take approximately 500 years until parity is reached in Congress - that is, until men and women have an equal number of seats. Feeling disempowered, women turn toward what they do have power over - their sexuality. Unfortunately, many women do not realize that you don't have to use sexuality as empowerment. Even when women are protagonists in films and are portrayed as empowered women who do not need men, they are typically still serving men by playing the "fighting fuck toy" role, where they are overly sexualized for their male audience. We are a nation of teenage boys.
Overall, I was disgusted by the content of the film, but at the same time, very grateful for having been educated in it. I particularly liked the data and statistics, and the fact that they included women and men of various age groups and ethnicities. Moreover, the documentary really made me grateful for having taken this class, where I can learn media literacy in terms of gender and sexuality. It's a shame that this opportunity is not at the disposal of every consumer, so I feel that as an advocate of social justice, I have a moral imperative and obligation to spread the lessons of this film. One time at my summer job last year, I was discussing politics with a coworker who is in her 60s. As a Republican, she asked me why I lean toward the Democratic party. I told her that I have a deep interest in equity and social issues. She asked for examples, I said women's rights, and she scoffed me. In her view, the feminist movement only made families dysfunctional because it encouraged women to work. "The children suffer." After watching Miss Representation, I have facts on file and statistics to give her the next time she inevitably brings up the topic again.  My only issue is that, given the overwhelming evidence provided in this documentary about the necessity of women's movements, I won't know where to start.