An investigation into the representation of females in teen movies over time Using examples of films set in American high schools from the past three decades I will be exploring how females are represented. The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines representation as “The act of presenting somebody/something in a particular way;
The Netflix documentary Miss Representation by Jennifer Siebel Newsom explores how the media contributes to influence the young girls and boys in America. Every day in America we are showed this unrealistic look of what the so-called perfect image of women is supposed to be from the TV shows we watch, the movies we see, to the magazines we read, to the online social media outlets we visit. This documentary shows the negative effects it's having on teenage boys and girls in America, Miss Representation interweaves between the stories of teenage girls, telling their own experiences and how the media has portrayed the image of women to them. They share their stories from pressures they feel they have to live up too from how the media shows them
Miss Representation conveys that media is derogative to the most powerful women in the United States. People learn more from the media than any other source because it is the message and messenger. Americans devote about 10 hours and 39 minutes daily to consuming media (Howard). The media’s misrepresentation of women in movies, television shows, and advertisements negatively shapes politics, our national discourse, children’s inquisitive minds, and ultimately society. The danger behind these stereotyped images of women is that their effect is subconscious, meaning we slowly become accustomed to a sexist portrayal of women without even immediately realizing it. To cease our unrealistic, prejudiced expectations of women, a culture change is necessary.
Miss representation After viewing Miss Representation, I was filled with anger, frustration, and sorrow at the discriminating portrayal of women highlighted by popular media and culture. I find this topic very thought provoking and realize that this topic is always going to be controversial and highly disputed. Women are often characterized in the media in roles traditionally given by society, portrayed as submissive and passive, mothers or sexual objects. The film paints the impact of mass media on the idea of “Ideal Beauty” for women, through movies, magazines, television shows and video games. The media has greatly impacted the thoughts and opinions, which is seen as the norm by societies where gender equality is far from reality. Miss Representation discusses the aspect of the female roles in politics and leadership. Our society is governed by the immense power of the mass media and the media has the potential to reverse this concept as it has imposed it. The current message that our young men and women receive is that a “woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader.” The whole idea of "Ideal Beauty" has numerous harmful outcomes. The film debates about how women have made great advances in leadership in the last few decades. It remarks how the United States is still 90th in the world for women in terms of nationwide legislatures, women hold only 3% of positions in mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls are
The message of this trailer is to display the inequality of the sexes in our country. The trailer reveals how media, Hollywood, and pop-culture, in all, limit and degrade women before our eyes and as viewers we don’t pay attention to these signs. I agree with what the high school student, Ariella, stated in the trailer, “There is no appreciation for women intellectuals, It’s all about the body not about the brain” (2:09); women in today’s world are praised for their beauty and bodies not for their brains. The semiotic tool being used in the trailer is speech and visuals in the form of assorted videos. The visuals are evidence to back up what the language is stating which is that The message is being transmitted by using influential people, commercials, news, websites and data to attest to the fact that women are underrepresented. Although, the trailer portrays how women are underrepresented it also shows how men are expected to be powerful and better than women. Women are seen as not worthy of holding powerful positions and not as powerful as men, as inferior to men. Living in a world highly influenced by the media women get the message that their bodies are the most important asset to their life. In essence, the film Miss Representation addresses the negative media images of
Miss Representative is a film that everyone should see, it shows how the media downgrades and under represents women in the media. It shows many examples like pictures, newscast, elections and much more. Tamrat talked about how we believe everything we see in the media, its visual manipulation. This media influence is shaping the dominant political views, cultural views of what women should look like and should be and affecting young women in increasingly negative ways. Media is more popular and people use it everyday. People viewing things like this are going to make them become followers and have passive brain dimensions like Tamrat talked about. We need to change this media so people have critical brain dimensions, so they challenge the statues quo and have innovative thinking. Becoming a teacher I think it is important view movies like this, before watching Miss Representative I never realized how bad gender differences really were. Miss Representation opened my eyes to the extremes the media has reached. Young girls need positive reinforcement to realize how beautiful they are inside and out, no matter what the media is telling them. We may not immediately be able to change what we see at the movies, on television, or in advertisements, but we can be positive influences in each other’s lives. Just like in the classroom we can’t change all teachers but by learning about transformative education you can
Alice Walker once said, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” People dedicate 10+ hours a day towards their media use; the power is in the messages. When I watched Miss Representation I learned that the media plays a pivotal role
The film, Miss Representation, directed by Jennifer Siebel-Newsom, was not an extremely surprising film for me. I attended an all-girls high school in Cleveland, Ohio, where the inequalities that women face on a daily basis were presented to us throughout our educational experience. I actually viewed this film in high school where my teachers, and the film, helped solidify the fact that woman are not only objectified and sexualized, but we are also perceived as lesser than and less incompetent human beings to our male counterparts. I do not think that this film exaggerated by any means what women go through on a daily basis in this male driven world. Men are not cat called on the streets for their physical appearance, they are not made to look submissive in advertisements, and they are not constantly demeaned for looking or acting “bitchy” on the television.
Miss Representation Miss representation, a documentary film produced by Jennifer Siebel Newsom and based on sexism in American society and the media, is outlined to inform the audience about the problems women face in the media field. This documentary film paints an ungrateful appreciation towards women who give their time and devotion to the media industry. As the documentary film “Miss Representation” discusses various issues of gender inequality such as the lack of women in the political field which impacts women in the media drastically. The documentary “Miss Representation” elucidates how Jennifer Siebel Newsom the producer persuades the audience to surmise how
I am a girl. I was born and raised in the East. Under strict education and some strange traditions of my country, I always feel depressed and pity for his daughter. In some countries, gender discrimination still exists, and it happens very often and strongly. So what makes two sexes
Miss Representation was an overall good film in portraying how women are currently underrepresented in our current society. While some of the content in this film were not really new, it probably gave a good “heads-up” to people who may be ignorant of how women are being treated in our society. What most surprised me about the film was the fact that television shows and movies are made mostly toward male viewers. When I watch television shows on my free time, I generally do not even consider the audience it is for. It usually seems like it is normal for anyone to watch. It may be possible that the shows I watch are not part of that group as it is not possible for me to watch every single show that is available.
Women’s representation remains an ongoing issue that not only affects the lives of women, but the entire society. Females have been raised to believe that appearances will get them far in life instead of other factors such as intelligence and the ability to succeed without depending on their looks. Along
13th was a very interesting and thought-provoking movie that really opened my eyes to the reality of the history of black people in this nation, the justice system, and how politicians and people in power have systematically oppressed black people and people of color for hundreds of years. The movie, along with ISS 210 really allowed me really understand the circumstances that have led to the United States having 5% of the worlds populations, yet housing 25% of the worlds prisoners, of which a disproportional number are people of color.
Miss Representation (2011) criticizes the media conglomerate's portrayal of women in film and the disproportionate amount of women involved in the industry. Whether we accept it or not, media consumption heavily influences our daily behavior and societal norms. When Hollywood casts women in a monochromatic light, often sexualizing them