While watching Miss Representation, both the statistics and the stories of some women in which Newsom decided to include in her documentary definitely shocked me.  Not to mention, it seemed that every field of media, whether it be politics, music, film, etc. seemed to have its own way of somehow being slightly sexist or extremely sexist (depending on the situation.) I also thought how it was very interesting how Newsom was able to interview so many powerful and respected women in the world today, such as Condoleezza Rice, which I found to be very interesting.

However, there were some things about the film which I believed could have made it even more effective.  I believe the documentary could’ve been more effective if she showed more clips of music videos or from films.  In the documentary she did show a lot of clips from politics, however whenever there were clips from movies or music videos they would last for maybe half a second and then cut to another music video or film clip, not allowing the audience to fully see how certain movies could misrepresent women.  I also believed that while her own story was very sad, I feel as if she did not really explain how the media is affecting her daughter, she just said it has the possibility of affecting her daughter.  Newsom also explained her own story in a very monotone voice, which made her seem as if she was not very passionate about the material, which I found surprising for she made this entire, powerful documentary on the issue yet when she was telling her own story she seemed as if she was not passionate about it or was upset by the issue.

In Miss Representation, there is an emphasis on the medias ability to diminish the accomplishments of many political figures including Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. I was personally infuriated by the clips they put together showing how men would portray women as “bitches” or “ditzy” to make them seem like they weren’t capable of taking part in the decision making that goes into running a country. Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin are two very intelligent women with a better education than most politicians can say (Hillary Clinton attended Yale Law school). The fact that the media attempts to shut down these politicians because they are female and make it seem like they aren’t strong enough to run the country is just absurd.

Jennifer Siebel Newsom made the artistic choice to add personal narrative to her documentary Miss Representation. 

Newsom uses her personal narrative to introduce the sexist struggle women in America face. This narrative creates relatability and makes the documentary more credible. By expressing her personal connect to the topic at hand, hooks the viewer and enables Newsom to convey her message more effectively.