Miss Representation

Miss Representation

            Going into this documentary, I was pretty skeptical, mainly because of my views on this type of feminism. I’ve always been very defensive of the media, and as a business, portraying things that are responded to well, especially females. However the opening parts when young girls are talking about what it is like to be a girl and one of the girls talked about her sister cutting herself because people make fun of her body was sad. One of the quotes that stuck out to me is that you can’t be what you can’t see. When you are deciding what you want to be when you grow up its true that girls don’t think of being political leaders or CEOs. However, the media shouldn’t be blamed as such a large influence. I mean look at me, as a man growing up, the media shows athletes, action heroes, firemen, etc. Does that automatically mean I want to grow up to be that? If so, is it truly the media’s fault? Furthermore, look at men in the media, every role model type man in the media has a square chin, expensive clothes, a nice car, and a six pack (one exception, the “sitcom” star who is usually overweight and funny, with a hot wife). Yet, I’m not complaining about how the media portrays men. I’m not blaming the media for my potential low self esteem.

            One of my favorite quotes in this film came from Michael Eisner, Disney’s CEO, who says: "We have no obligation to make art. We have no obligation to make history. We have no obligation to make a statement. We are here to make money."  Being in the media industry, I agree with this. Television, advertising, entertainment, is a business. Sex sells, attractiveness sells, and that’s what most people want. That’s why everyone will talk about a sex scene starring Brad Pitt instead of one starring Danny DeVito. At the end of the day, it’s a business, and that’s the motivation.

            On the female political note I found it disgusting what some of the talk show hosts and other media figures had to say, the quote about Hilary Clinton was only being a runner in the Democratic Party because her husband messed around. That is just ridiculous. She has contributed way more than that and then for her status to be dwindled done to nothing but that statement is completely invalid.

            Overall I thought that the documentary was better than I first anticipated, however I feel like the movement and arguments need to get more concise. They throw a lot of statistics out there about how women are so influenced in a negative way, such as how something like 75% of girls hate their body by their teenage years, yet the argument seems to be more about the fight for equality and rights as opposed to strictly image. I agree with this in the political and business aspect, but the appearance and sexualized aspect I have a harder time siding with.