The documentary Miss
Representation really surprised me. My first reaction was outrage. I can’t
believe that I hadn’t noticed such obvious things that this documentary brought
to light about the media. Because we are constantly bombarded with images that
portray women as sex symbols and objects it becomes the norm for us. The media
can make girls and women feel unworthy, and as media becomes a bigger influence
this effect will only grow. I thought that I was self-conscious as a teenager
but I can’t imagine how much worse it must be for teenage girls today with the
overwhelming growth of media consumption.
The worst thing about the way that media portrays women is
that most people don’t even notice or think of it as a problem. We need to
recognize the way in which media is going to affect the development of the
younger generation and we need to make a change to it. Parents need to be very
aware of what their children are consuming and how it is affecting them. I
think the saddest part of this documentary was when the high school girls were
talking about how the media affects them and their friends. It is heartbreaking
that young girls have to grow up with the pressure to look perfect and with the
idea that their intelligence does not matter. I can totally understand the
narrator’s apprehensions about giving birth to a daughter in today’s society. The
way that the media portrays women sets us up to be enemies and to compete with
each other. In reality women need to come together to face this problem. We
need to be teaching girls from a young age that their voice does matter and
that they way they look does not determine their worth.
Before watching this documentary I was under the impression
that women were becoming more influential in politics in recent years and that
they had earned more respect. I could not believe the way that men were
speaking about women in politics on national TV. I can’t believe that they get
away with saying such derogatory things about some of the most influential
women in our country. It especially surprised me that some of the men speaking
on TV had the nerve to comment on the women’s looks and attractiveness. I wish somebody
would have turned a mirror on them and commented on their looks. It is
disgusting that there is such a double standard for women in today’s society.
I think the reason so many women don't see it as a problem is because they are brainwashed, in a way, by the media. As Katie Couric said, girls and women are conditioned to think and see themselves as how the media portrays them. It is as though we have become immune to the problem and dangers of their effects. It angers me, too and I can't help but think that the increase in technology usage is partially to blame as well as the media's involvement.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have noticed, is that there are younger people with access to media. When I was ten, I didn't have access to the internet, but many ten year olds today do. So the negative media reaches kids at an even younger age. I didn't like how so many of the videos were women fighting each other. We need to come together and lift each other up rather than fight.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that should have happened when those comments were made by men is have both their wife's and the women they were criticizing next to them. I don't mean to create conflict but maybe by having those people there they would have a little shame.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that also got me about the documentary was how women in politics are addressed in the media compared to men too. I was also surprised because I thought we came so far, but I guess we haven't come far enough. Something needs to be done on commenting on what the women wear in political office or the fact that there are so few women in politics compared to men.
ReplyDelete