One critique people have about Miss Representation by Newsom (2011), is that her narration was in a monotone voice. People think this gives the film a more boring and less serious tone. I on the other hand think it makes the film more powerful. I believe Newsom took away her personal emotion so that the film was less about her emotion but rather about her story. Women are more likely to state a fact in a higher tone and finish the sentence almost as if they are asking a question. I think Newsom uses  monotone to state the fact. She avoids leaving it up to interpretation but rather states what is true.

In  the documentary “Soma Girls”, there were some shots of the statue of Goddess Kali. Goddess Kali is a figure of annihilation of evil forces that exist. I feel the context of Goddess Kali not only relates to the place the documentary is based on i.e. Kalighat but also  relates to how the girls are being educated,empowered and made independent so that they can raise their voices against prostitution and child marriage.These girls have been metaphorically represented as an example of courage and determination .

There’s another clip that shows the forming of clay.I feel this shot metaphorically represents how the Soma home is helping the girls to be empowered and independent.In a way, this home is shaping their  life by providing them shelter and education.

I was just beginning the season premier of Mad Men season 7 and the opening clip of the protagonist Don Draper, is a reference to the Graduate! They camera follows Draper on a moving walkway at an airport as people walk quickly by him, with a blank colored wall in the background. This character, similar to The Graduate‘s Benjamin, is somewhat lost, searching for what comes next in his life.

This is a reference to the opening scene of The Graduate as Ben stands on an automated walkway with people quickly walking past him in a hurry to get somewhere.

After watching both documentaries, Soma Girls and Born into Brothels, one can see how a director has so much power in portraying  what he or she wants the viewer to see and take away from a film. A perfect example is how in Soma Girls I saw how girls who have come from a tough upbringing are very determined to achieve their goals  for a better future for themselves. Instead of feeling sorry for the girls, I have feelings of admiration toward them for being so courages and strong. Meanwhile, in the few minutes I watched Born into Brothels, I just felt bad for the children. Therefore, it is amazing to see how similar topics can be so differently presented.

I was very intrigued by the camera shot in Born into Brothels. It was inserting that she had to shoot at such a low angle to make sure she would not get caught. It makes me wonder how the film would have had been if she could record normally and people would not run away or be frighten of the camera. Would she have been able to capture of moving scene? Would she be able to add crucial details that she wouldn’t have been able to before. I also wonder if the film would have still won an Oscar if it wasn’t  shot so secretively.

After watch Miss Representation I couldn’t help to think about all the commercials and ads that have been about self image and confidence in woman. One commercial that really stood out to me was the Akways #LikeAGirl Super Bowl commercial. It shows how people above the age of 8 and the young girls below the age of 8 interpret the term “run like a girl.” I found this commercial very moving showing that girls believe that they are strong, however, once they hit a certain age they think of themselves as weak because  thats what people tell them. I feel a large part of our culture has to do with young boys telling girls they are inferior to them and that they can’t do everything boys do.

Missrepresentation reminded me of  a recent nation wide movement made none other than Emma Watson. Her, like many others have seen the problems in the world that Missrepresentation  emphasized and so she reached out to UN Women and decided to do something about it. Her campaign movement entitled “He for She” urges men into supporting women looking to better themselves in the workforce and in leadership positions. The speech is phenomenal and its a great step in the right direction. Take some time to read!

http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2015/03/31/Film-TV-tax-breaks-a-huge-waste-of-money-some-believe/5191427823404/

In class we often discuss the money behind big Hollywood films. Professor Sikand made a comment a week or so ago that a majority of films are no longer produced in Hollywood but in other countries outside of the United States. This article discusses that idea the continuous migration of the film industry across seas.

My father is a visual effects supervisor and used to work for a company called Rhythm and Hues. He accepted an Oscar on the same night his company went bankrupt. This was a result of the company outsourcing to India and leaving no jobs for people in the  visual effects industry that lived in America. They outsourced to India because of tax breaks and subsidies. This is also discussed in the article I posted. 

In Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s Miss Representation, a man was interviewed discussing “family hour.” A chunk of time set aside for national television where profanity and inappropriate  material was banned so a family could sit down together and watch  a show appropriate for all ages. 

This concept seems very interesting to me. On one hand why should the media regulate violence and pornography when someone can just watch the news and get similar images that are accounted from real events.  Why should media be limited and regulated when other art forms are not. No on tells a painter his pieces are too provocative to be showcased. I can’t form a formal idea but I can see the other side of the argument that it would be appropriate to have a designated time for “PG” media only. Any thoughts?

Okay, so I was honestly a bit offended when someone said that the plaque that said it’s not hard to work twice as hard as a man was said to be man hating. That’s not the meaning of that, or the feminist movement at all. What was being said is that men can accomplish much progress by doing the bare minimum. For women to accomplish the same recognition they have to do twice as much work. For instance, relate this to grades: both a man and a woman wrote a paper that was graded an A but the man wrote a B worthy paper. He didn’t try as hard but accomplished the same feat. It’s like playing a video game on easy. It’s the same game but not as much effort is required to succeed. Becoming so hyper-offended at a humorous saying is also really disturbing. Of all the misogyny present in the world, are men really so insecure that they can’t take a well-mannered joke? There were at least 20 times more offensive things said towards women and this was the comment that we chose to get offended about. Because that would totally throw off the whole world order if a woman was somehow legitimately acknowledged for her accomplishments and was gratified in being smarter, or at least more hard working, than a man.