Miss Representation (2011)

Please don't spend money on this.

An action-packed slog

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

"Miss Representation" makes some very good points, but the execution was a bit of a turnoff. That opening strings score while statistics are being thrown on to the screen borders on fear-mongering, and Jennifer Newsom cuts in throughout with a somber voice-over. The front end of this thing skews melodramatic. Eventually, the documentary settles into the material, and it makes a solid argument. The shocking double standard of judging (and prizing) women differently than men in the media, the teenagers who work overtime to fit a media ideal. It's an engaging piece. This is worth it if you can get beyond the clumsy opening. I have a child of my own, and I can empathize with Newsom in worrying about the world in which she'll grow up. It's just that the motherhood aspect was shoe-horned into the documentary.6/10

Miss representation offers a range of perspectives on the ever- changing relationship between the media (specifically American) and the social world. Director/producer Jennifer Siebel Newsom feeds us with information without making it feel substantial or overly informative. It is engaging, eye opening and allows each viewer to take away something new from the viewing experience. Rachel Maddow, Geena Davis and Katie Couric are among many of the recognizable faces featured. Who better to listen to concerning women and the media than real woman in the media (rhetorical Q)? Running for 85 minutes Miss Representation covers a range of topics such as women in politics. Comparing the political journey of both Clinton and Palin seems to be ironic and hypocritical since the message echoing throughout the documentary is not to compare powerful women in the media but admire them. This is likely due to their combined popularity in mainstream culture which is just as if not more relevant today (cough… 2017 American Presidential Election). Although the viewpoint is taken from an American stance, it is relevant on an international scale. The United States produce entertainment consumed worldwide which should in turn make the primary creators of the content more self reflective and aware of the power they hold. Miss Representation doesn't ask its audience to nod along willingly but simply to step back and reflect on the intentions of the media and the insidious effects on mental health and on social values. Despite what I had assumed beforehand, I learned that media is not simply a product of our environment, our environment may be a product of the media which is much more distressing....Overall, I truly enjoyed this documentary. After the American Presidential election, it seems that another piece by Newsom like Miss Representation would be vastly interesting concerning women in politics on a less broad scale. Wherever your political or social beliefs on the topic of women in the media lie, you will take something new away from this. The editing and soundtrack cleverly boosted the tone the whole way through so you don't get an opportunity to tune out. The cast and footage included was engaging and everything tied together. Would recommend worldwide to all genders!

'Miss Representation' is a film that has been created to bring about awareness of how women are negatively portrayed in the media; social media; television; news;newspaper; advertisement; politics. This film informs people that the media has a great impact on our society and the messages it sends. It impacts society by creating this illusion that woman's looks are what's most important instead of other achievements that have been accomplished. This is an highly dangerous message that the media is sending out to young people. Which in my opinion is contributing to street harassment and rape culture. 'Miss Representation' shows the importance it is to expose the media's stereotypical portrayal of women. I would recommend this film. I find it very interesting and educational.

I give this a 4 because it was professionally done, in terms of editing and photography, but in terms of content, it really is sub par. Basically this documentary tries to build the case that media is an insidious influence, whenever it is convenient to their case, but ignores any evidence that doesn't fit their theory. For instance if media were so influential, Americans would be thin and fit, but we all know that isn't true. But more to the point the issue with this documentary is that it is not concerned with looking at its arguments in any depth, instead a cheap slogan type of declaration or testimony is put out by some talking head and in a few minutes of selective media clips they try to cover the lack of depth by jumping from topic to topic flooding you with a barrage of clips and speakers. It reminds me more of a political campaign advertisement than a serious documentary really interested in honest examination of an issue.They make points claiming that other countries have had women leaders before us because we don't depict them in the media, but does that even pass quick inspection? Benazir Bhuto who was a female prime minister of Pakistan lead arguably one of the most sexist countries on earth. So how does that argument even pass muster before they put it in the documentary? It epitomizes the level of thinking in this film.Margaret Cho for example claims that sexism was the reason her sitcom failed, but is that really true? Maybe she just isn't funny. It doesn't matter to this film because all they do is throw these statements out there one after another. Statements claiming that shows like jersey shore are sexist because they show women in a bad light are made entirely ignoring the fact that the male cast in those shows are hardly considered respectable either. This type of poorly thought out argument is the basis for the entire film sadly, and because it is so paper thin, they cut from topic to topic in a hyperactive manner.TV networks like FX have even been known to do things like pass on hit shows like Breaking Bad because they rejected the show based on their quest to break into the lucrative female demographic. Apparently the middle aged white lead was enough for them to pass on the show. But such facts do not matter to this film, which assumes sexism is always the answer to every question in the most simplistic way.My problem with films like these is that they are more about employing techniques of propaganda with selective evidence and shallow one sided argument rather than encouraging critical thought about a subject. To promote this as a feminist film is really to give women no credit at all.If one is going to claim that media does women a disservice, I would suggest this film is the most harmful of all. To use the words of Erika Falk PhD from the documentary against herself and the film itself, women like her and this film paint themselves as "more fragile, emotional, and more gullible than men, therefore they are irrational and cannot be trusted in positions of power".