On Wednesday, November 16th, the Universiy’s Department of Art hosted a screening and panel discussion of the documentary, Miss Representation. The documentary discusses how the media portrays the role of women, and one woman’s take on how this misrepresentation is affecting our society.
The filmmaker is actress Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and through interviews and examples, she explores how the media has misrepresented women in media, and how these misrepresentations will affect her unborn daughter. There are big names in the film, such as Jane Fonda, Nancy Pelosi, Rachel Madow, and Katie Couric.
Being a journalism major, I found the section about the role of women as newscaster most interesting. Women in news are more often than not beautiful and scantily dressed. In contrast, male figures in the news are older men, dressed properly and mostly attractive. This shows women in the news taking on the role of bimbos, who are not as credible a news source as the male figure. Women like Katie Couric, Rachel Madow, and Barbara Walters. Although these women do not take on the “bimbo” role, they are still discussed differently than a male news source is. Things like Internet blogs discussing the length of Katie Couric’s skirt, or news articles of the top 10 most attractive women newscasters. These standards are never seen with men newscasters.
The film discusses that women who are in positions of power and influence are often underrepresented, and the media doesn’t portray these women. Women who are in power are often seen as “bitches” and more manly than those depicted as sex symbols. The bottom line of the documentary is than change must start now with us, and that women need to be shown the same appreciation and same standard as men in the media.
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