The first thing that I thought while watching Miss Representation was that it seemed
to come across one sided and aggressive. I believe that the media often
portrays women in a negative image and young girls can easily be led to believe
that they should aspire to look a certain way. I am not convinced though that
this type of peer pressure is exclusive to females. I think to portray this is
unfair for young boys who also face similar pressures. It also seems that there
were several examples of statistics that may have been manipulated. For
example, the increase of female plastic surgery for teenage girls has tripled.
The problem is that it is never mentioned what the true numbers are. Did it go
from 1 to 3? Is this a real problem, and if so what is the scale? In another area it is mentioned that after a
woman turns 35, she is no longer able to star on a television show. I actually
watched a show yesterday that starred Betty White, she is 93 years old.
There are many good points that this documentary does make.
It is true that the media has a tremendous impact on society and that we should
not take that lightly. I think that this show is a great example of media’s
agenda and there is a clear agenda in this. It is also ironic that even though
this film essentially says that only attractive and thin women can excel in the
media, the show has an affiliation with Oprah Winfrey’s network. She is the
antithesis of the message that this documentary is selling.
I totally agree your last part! I think it's so ironic the host is Oprah Winfrey while they said only fit women can cap in the media.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that there are always people on all sides regardless of color, creed, or religion, I have to disagree and say that there must be strong voices in order to inact change. During the Civil Rights' movement there were plenty of poor, white Americans that were struggling for various reasons, but that did not detract from the issue that black Americans were struggling as well and needed to fight for what they believed in.
ReplyDeleteI agree — Diane Keaton, Meryl Strep, Helen Miren, Dame Judi Dench, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Betty White — just to name a few! The focus may have been overdone in the documentary, but then again, it is another form of media. And what sells media? Sensationalism of some sort, even with the best intentions.
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