Miss Representation Analysis

The quality of American television has become a national disgrace. Young women in America who are displeased with their appearance more likely then not can trace those feelings directly back to images from the mass media on television. The unrealistic representations of women that the mass media bombards young women with indicates that the television has become a source for a distorted understanding of gender roles among adolescent women. These images warp young women’s views of their own gender identity. The mass media on television should in an attempt to provide more positive gender identities for adolescent women depict women on television in more realistic ways, should stop

Can you imagine what females could accomplish if they spent as much time volunteering to local charities as they did worrying about their physical appearance? So many dreams, goals, and aspirations are thrown away because of something as simple as low self-esteem. The film Miss Representation focuses on that exact social issue. Various people come together in this documentary to tackle the matter of gender stereotyping through the media. We will cover gender stereotypes, the role media plays in shaping them, and what can be done.

Miss Representation is an American documentary film of Girls’ Club Entertainment. The trailer starts with a famous quote from Alice Walker, one of the most celebrated writers, and a report regarding how American young people spend their time on media consumption. There is neither a narrator nor specific characters, but the appearance of well-known media industry professionals and high school students as interviewees makes the trailer compelling. Speaking clearly and straightforwardly with a little worry on their faces, they actually deliver their speech concerning the influence of media on teenagers with a lot a passion. Additionally, the messages and interviews always appear with a white background that leads

“We tend not to write women as human beings. It’s cartoons we’re making.” - Paul Haggis. This is a quote that was explored in Miss Representation that especially impacts me. The impact of media on women and men is immense. Media shapes the way the genders view each other and themselves and therefore has the power to dictate how humans act, how they feel, and tell them what they want. I feel that with the constant, unregulated bombardment of media demonstrating the unrealistic and unfair treatment of the women, it’s not crazy to think that young women are harming themselves to fit these roles. The media being uncensored leads to harmful consequences including women being discouraged from positions of power and changing their body.

Pop culture today, dictates the lives of many impressionable youth and unfortunately women are negatively spotlighted as we, as Americans, consume countless hours of media in any given day. In the film industry, for example, the striving for perfection that young girls so desperately chase can do more harm than good. Clark addresses this issue stating “feminists worry that the overabundance of people who are perfect physical specimens in TV, movies and advertisements can damage the self-esteem of young girls” (Clark). The lack of reality portrayed in movies tells these girls that they are not good enough for themselves, that they are not up to a “standard,” that the actors and actresses on the screen don’t even live up to. With a lot of expensive makeup, lighting,

In Miss Representation, many female actresses, news anchors, politicians, directors and producers talk about how females suffer a lot of social, political and economic inequalities in today’s society. There are double standards against women in magazines, on TV, in movies, the news, politics, and the workplace. The media is an influential part of modern culture. When women are portrayed as objects for men to use -- never as the protagonist or president -- and when female news anchors are objectified, this will cause girls of all ages to begin viewing themselves as objects. Girls grow up in a world where their voice does not count; where our culture does not embrace them in all of their diversities, where

The movie Miss Representation begins with the quote “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any” written by Alice Walker. They use this quote to speak to the audience because society today is so caught up in being what they see in magazine or on television. The media portrays women to be “skinny, beautiful, tan, flawless” when most of us know what is really behind the scenes. The women who model in magazines either starve themselves to live their dream of being a model or they allow the photographer to Photoshop their body into being fit so that’s what the world sees. Young girls who look through these magazine or watch the television such as the “Victoria’s Fashion Show” begin to develop

Miss Representation is a documentary that examines the impact that media have on society as a whole. Many people believe that as adults we have the most impact in the consistent pressure to be perfect, but actually children are expose it to at an early age. It difficult for mostly girls, since “girls get the message early in age that the most important thing is their looks and their values and worth depend on their looks”. For young boys that notice that media portrays women to be “perfect”, then they want their significant other to be perfect as well. Our society is an appearance driven society where it does not matter if a person is an intellectual.

It should not be a surprise to anyone who watches television, reads a magazine or spends time on the internet that the mass media representation of women are questionable at best. Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s documentary, “Miss Representation,” explores the abhorrent way women are depicted in the media and a refreshing take on an old-age issue. A central thesis that woman sexual objectification creates social consequences in the effect of materialization and disempowerment of women in our society and legislative process. Siebel creates an alluring narrative of herself, survivor of eating disorders and an acting career in hollywood. She uses her pregnancy to debate in hopes to improve her baby’s future by changing the state of mass media culture.

The media 's emphasis on appearance has contributed to low self-esteem in many teenage girls. Feminist believe young girls are becoming more

Miss Representation is a documentary that was recently found and recommended on Netflix for a crucial message the Author was displaying, about Media having a well built implementation towards today's society, therefore the powerful implementation is also conveying content that is altering our society, altering politics, altering National discourse and vigorously altering teens and younger adult's brains, lives and emotion.

This film has opened my eyes and helped me see the unrealistic and unfair standards that women and young girls are held to. In the film it states that 53% of 13 year old girls are unhappy with their bodies, yet that numbers jumps up to 78% by the age of 17. This is sad, but not surprising because the film states that many girls are exposed to these unrealistic standards at such a young age ;and many boys are taught to judge girls on their appearance's at such a young age due to the things they watch on t.v.

The media, which seems to endlessly show women as sexual objects, has the capability of limiting a woman’s potential and damaging their self worth. More often than not the media depicts the way people go about their daily life. People look at the media to determine how they should dress, act and in some cases even how they should perform sexually. There are the fashion magazines that focus on beauty, attracting and satisfying men, self-improvement, and (occasionally) work and politics. Examples are Vogue (emphasizing fashion and makeup), Cosmopolitan (emphasizing sexuality and relationships with men), and Self (emphasizing self-improvement and employment). Not only are most magazines directed at women, but the ones that are directed towards men are about work and politics, not about how to improve your looks or please your woman. The media along with other social institutions plays a large role in how women are viewed. A horrible example is being set for today’s youth, and men are taking the loss of self respect of women in the media to the extremes, thinking that they can degrade women in everyday life as well. With the constant representation of women being viewed as nothing more than sexual objects, women themselves are beginning to feel as though they have little or no potential, as well as no self

In the media, females are represented to be thin as bones, graceful beings that can only be girly and like pink. You can only wear a certain type of clothing, only have a certain type of hair texture and can only be a certain skin complexion to succeed. They teach children that you can only look like a plastic doll to be successful in this world and we believe them because plastic models and idols are everywhere that technology lingers. They are taught to aim for less when there is so much more. They are taught to be fragile and to never stand up for themselves. They are taught that leadership is a man’s job. They are taught that freedom and success is made only for men and any woman who tries to become more than a man, will fail. Video games, television shows, commercials all sexualize women but everyone gets upset when a woman embraces her true sexuality. This has sparked an increase of people who are against slut shaming. Men are now trying punishing normal females for not wanting to be as sexual as the women are on TV. An example of this can be found in the article “Are school dress codes unfair to girls” when Emily Connors stated “They just told us it was because of our bra straps and that it was inappropriate because some of the male teachers and male students found it distracting to them” (cbc.ca). Emily Connors is a 14 year old that got suspended because her bra straps were showing. Emily Connors obviously was not the problem in this situation; the problem is that

Today’s society is centered on media rather it be broadcasting media, print media, mass media, or social media. Media is the center of it all. The media is our way of staying up to date on the latest news, passing and receiving information, basically keeping our lives in motion. The media has the ability to create social norms. One social norm that rubbed writer/director of the documentary “Miss Representation” Jennifer Seibel Newsom the wrong way was the misrepresentation of women in the media. The main claim or argument behind “Miss Representation” is that woman now days are being judged only on their appearance rather then their knowledge, achievement, and or power.