My name is Ben and I am a straight, white male from Catholic descent. Over the course of history, we have enslaved just about every sentient being possible, declared wars, financec wars we didn't have anything to do with, so we could plunder some country's natural resources and have been evil in ways I probably cannot fathom. I get it. I'm one of the bad guys, which makes it difficult sometimes for me to have a cause. Treatment of women in media is often not perceived as a ''cause'' per se, because it doesn't directly kill anything (animal, mineral or vegetal), but it's a sneaky problem. In that regard, documentary feature MISS REPRESENTATION fights the good fight. Unfortunately, the project makes an slightly underwhelming argument and fails at some of its objectives.
We live in a thoroughly sexist society. Turn on the television, look at the billboards on your way to work, it's kind of fucked up. We have the idea that empowered women wear skin-tight leather, booty shorts and stiletto heels for pleasure. Young girls look up to women who don't write their songs, don't choose what they were and are basically told what to do and how to act all day long *. There is an industry thriving on the illusion of progress and the instincts of males. Director and narrator of MISS REPRESENTATION Jennifer Siebel Newsom is exposing what this eschewed representation of women in contemporary media is doing to the development of young girls. She begins with her own story and opens up the Pandora box of mediated perception.
MISS REPRESENTATION failed to reach me on a basic principle. I'm not a ''let's dwell on the issue'' type of guy. I'm a ''what is the problem and what can we do about it?'' kind of dude. In that regard, MISS REPRESENTATION has serious issues. Jennifer Siebel Newsom goes to great lengths to expose her personal relationship with women misrepresentation and to point out the victims, but the only solutions she offers are wrapped up in some kind of Paulo Coelho-like candy wrapped, obvious conclusion. She spends about 20 seconds on powerful, female CEOs like Indra Nooyi and Ursula Burns. I would've loved to know these women better, through and interview or a portrait or something. Show the world what is a true empowered woman. I would've cut into Jennifer Siebel Newsom's backstory or soulful cut scenes to show a real portrait of empowered women and illustrate how media is projecting the wrong image of women.
Might seem strange, but Condoleeza Rice came off like a rock star.
I know I'm nit picky, but details assaulted me in MISS REPRESENTATION. Another thing that bugged me as high schoolers interviews. They keep coming back, like a running gag. I understand the importance of exposing their point of view once, but they keep appearing at random times, as if they were patching holes in the movie. Some of the interviews are moving, BUT...because there is a but...high schoolers are reputably not eloquent and past a certain number of interview, the exercise become painful to watch. I thought there were actually very few women interviewed who actually had to claw their way up in a man's world. Condoleeza Rice gave, to me, the most succinct, moving and powerful interview. Kudos to scholar Caroline Heldman too, who exposed the ridiculous fallacy of fiction characters such as Jennifer Garner's Elektra and Angelina Jolie's Lara Croft. It is one of the stupidest, most insidious misrepresentation of women empowerment.
Even with all its shortcomings, I would still recommend a viewing of MISS REPRESENTATION. It's directionless, moping and self-involved, but it fights the good fight. I'm also aware it's a little ironic for a straight, white male from Catholic descent to be so harsh on a feminist movie. The rhetoric of MISS REPRESENTATION failed to convince me, but its argument is entirely valid and I hope my review translated that. It's a case of right project-wrong person to lead, I believe. Nevertheless, you should still watch it for the interviews and for a couple of fascinating point about media and women (for example, its fascination with looks over discourse). I can't say I found a cause here, but maybe you will.
