The past two weeks, one of our university classes has been viewing and reviewing Miss Representation - the feminist activist film written and directed by Jennifer Siebel. The film is highly effective in raising awareness (and ire) over the portrayal of women in popular culture and the media.
One criticism, however, was that it does not propose solutions - that the viewer is left feeling helpless and victimized. That may be a valid judgement, but on the other hand, sometimes you need to show the extremes to wake up complacent minds - this is not fiction, this is not an exaggeration, these are real examples of how women are constructed, viewed and treated in mainstream North American media.
So, IWW passed and you missed it? No worries - it's not a crime. But global violence against women is the biggest human rights issue, and it is criminal. We all need to do what we can, each day, with every decision we make. Make choices that support women and girls and speak up, write letters of complaint when you see abuses and degradation based on gender. We do recommend that you watch Miss Representation, and that you consider adding your pledge to end violence - get involved in some small way; in a way that is meaningful and manageable for you. Once you put on the glasses of awareness, you will begin to see the structures that oppress and hurt women, and you can begin to dismantle the masculinized hierarchies of control, abuse, marginalization and erasure of women, girls and all that is SHE.
http://www.missrepresentation.org/the-film/
