Ryan Scott
February 28th, 2012, 07:04 PM
http://www.missrepresentation.org/
I went to a screening today of MissRepresentation, a documentary about the portrayal of women in media and culture and its affect on society. There's not a lot here we don't already know, but coupled with testimony and statistics and gathered all in one place, it's quite overwhelming.
When people ask why I hold free-market ideas suspect, this is probably the best response. We live in an advertising world, where advertisers want people to watch, so they encourage tv and movies to show what people like - and what we like is rarely good for us.
The film talks about how the cultural objectification of women leads women to view themselves as objects, which in turn further a disconnection from society - women who self-objectify are less likely to stick up for themselves, vote or run for office.
It also talk about how women are characterized only on fleeting traits - youth, beauty, and sexuality - while avenues of actual empowerment (politics, business, education, the arts) are ignored.
They covered a lot of subtle differences (and some not so subtle ones) in the way men and women are addressed in the media - as well as the resulting problems for men. This is not just a one way street; a false impression of women leads to a false impression of men and eventually of humanity.
There is clearly some bias in the film - and critics will use it as a means of negating the very real, necessary message. Lots of the women appearing in the movie are on the liberal end of the spectrum, although politics is downplayed. There were also several moments when there were some clear complications in arguments that were glossed over.
Overall it was a powerful film, especially for someone expecting a daughter in the next few months. It's given me a lot to think about in terms of managing the cultural pressures placed on boys and girls by society.
I went to a screening today of MissRepresentation, a documentary about the portrayal of women in media and culture and its affect on society. There's not a lot here we don't already know, but coupled with testimony and statistics and gathered all in one place, it's quite overwhelming.
When people ask why I hold free-market ideas suspect, this is probably the best response. We live in an advertising world, where advertisers want people to watch, so they encourage tv and movies to show what people like - and what we like is rarely good for us.
The film talks about how the cultural objectification of women leads women to view themselves as objects, which in turn further a disconnection from society - women who self-objectify are less likely to stick up for themselves, vote or run for office.
It also talk about how women are characterized only on fleeting traits - youth, beauty, and sexuality - while avenues of actual empowerment (politics, business, education, the arts) are ignored.
They covered a lot of subtle differences (and some not so subtle ones) in the way men and women are addressed in the media - as well as the resulting problems for men. This is not just a one way street; a false impression of women leads to a false impression of men and eventually of humanity.
There is clearly some bias in the film - and critics will use it as a means of negating the very real, necessary message. Lots of the women appearing in the movie are on the liberal end of the spectrum, although politics is downplayed. There were also several moments when there were some clear complications in arguments that were glossed over.
Overall it was a powerful film, especially for someone expecting a daughter in the next few months. It's given me a lot to think about in terms of managing the cultural pressures placed on boys and girls by society.