I watched the film Miss Representation and found it to be extremely interesting. It focused on the image that women are portrayed in and how they are represented throughout the media and this impact on girls all over. One part that stuck out to me was when the film discussed the portrayal of girls in cartoons. Girl cartoon figures are represented in much more of the same way that women are seen in R rated movies. Characters such as Jasmine, Ariel, Tinkerbell, etc. are all wearing revealing outfits. At such a young age this sexy image is being portrayed to girls and teaching them that these outfits are acceptable and ideal for being wanted by a man. Even the body types that these G movies portray make people aware of what the “ideal” body type is.
Not only are girls basing what they should look life off of what they see in cartoons but throughout the rest of their lives in advertisements and commercials. All of these images of women are photoshoped and adjusted to create the perfect woman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17j5QzF3kqE this link is a video of a prime example of this ideal that has been created and is literally impossible for girls to achieve and be able to look like. It is videos like this that should be shown and shared so that girls understand that the images in advertisements and the media are fictional and to hold these to such a high standard is a bit ridiculous. Women are being miss represented in the media. Women are not being taken seriously in our society and are thought of as the lower race. The worst part about it all is that women everywhere are accepting this as their reality and their destiny. The majority of women play right into the hands of this image and this ideal of the perfect woman. When girls are young they have such high expectations for themselves and what they want to be when they grow up, but the media destroys these goals and replaces them with insecurities.
I remember watching this in class and I was surprised at how many things we as a society over look. One of the areas that I found most surprising is the media coverage on politicians. When male politicians are running for presidents or an important government position all the focus is on the policies they would improve or things they would do differently. On the other hand women politicians like Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin were not criticized on their policies but on what their outfits and bodies over all. One thinks that only women in Hollywood or in the film industry get objectified... in reality it is every single women, no matter what race or class they may belong to. Now that is wrong.
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