I think, overall, this documentary was amazing and did a good job of making the viewer care about the issues females and males deal with every day due to gender. Although I found the film very touching and thought-provoking, there were some things that did not sit well with me. Every woman that was interviewed was a CEO, president, or very high up in a company. I think it is important to show that women are capable of having demanding jobs, but I felt as if women who have lower-level jobs were neglected. I think if jobs lower down on the food chain were displayed it would have brought more to the film.
I agree, I really liked Miss Representation. I thought the thesis of the film, that the media treats women terribly was apparent and shown throughout the film. The images and clips from the media were in the film really brought the attention how badly women are portrayed- sexually, mean, stupidly, below men, etc. These clips enhanced the thesis and brought the audience to a realization about it. The director clearly and brilliantly shows the problem through these images. I thought the women she interviewed as well as herself are all strong women who are capable in leading and well versed on the subject of women in the media. I think the director took their important moments of their interviews and showed them. Their voices are all prominent and support how bad women are portrayed in the media. These women are standing up for all women and men who think the media is terrible and degrading toward women. I learned a lot in this documentary and want to stop watching so much reality tv and talk to my brothers about the issue. I think we should promote positive change in the media that is constantly putting women down.
Your critique is very interesting Courtney! I never looked at it that way before. I always felt it was a positive thing that the women shown were all in high and powerful positions in their respective careers, but I think you make a valid point that women in a lower level in their careers have the same if not more to say about the struggle. It is important to consider that the film could only be so long and informative and I think it was more powerful to show women in powerful positions with the allotted time than to take away from that and replace it with women who are not as successful.
I also felt that the film relied on emotionally-loaded examples of women who faced discrimination. I do agree that there is some necessity to present troublesome information in an accurate manor. However, Miss Representation did seem to rely heavily on over-dramaticized examples that felt as if they were attempting to coerce me into getting revved up about certain issues. Furthermore, most of these emotional examples were nothing more than anecdotal evidence. Again, I understand that anecdotal points are inevitable when making documentaries, however I feel that Miss Representation relied too heavily on this kind of filming.