Miss Representation
Christina Ly
Miss Representation
What would you do if you found out you were being brainwashed? As humans we like to believe that we have free will. As an individual we like to have the freedom to choose our decisions and to freely form ideas on our own. In the end we do make our own decisions, but maybe something is subconsciously guiding us to making those choices. The media likes to take a big part in shaping what society believes are their wants and desires. People are constantly bombarded with images that allow them to believe that these ideas are true and obtainable. A cycle has started before a child is even born that there is specific look and that the baby needs to act a certain type of way. These ideologies have been so apparent in our society for centuries that we think that there is nothing wrong with the way we act and interact with others. Miss Representation demonstrates a behind the scenes view of the illusion the media likes to portray to society and how it affects us.
Women are constantly unrealistically portrayed; they are objectified and hyper sexualized in the media. The documentary features the difficulties women have to go through when their ideals are unobtainable and the pressure they feel when people want them to look a certain way. These images allow women to think that their body is the only voice they have, it’s the only tool to identify themselves and that this is their worth. Jean Kilbourne quoted beautifully, “Girls are being encouraged to achieve that ideal at younger and younger ages all the time. They end up measuring themselves against an impossible standard and feeling themselves wanting as a result of it.” Miss Representation showed ordinary high school students speaking about the issues they felt about the negative perceptions of women. We were able to understand the pain and pressure young women have to face everyday to conform to this ideology of beauty. It makes it difficult for teenagers because if they do not look
Miss Representation
What would you do if you found out you were being brainwashed? As humans we like to believe that we have free will. As an individual we like to have the freedom to choose our decisions and to freely form ideas on our own. In the end we do make our own decisions, but maybe something is subconsciously guiding us to making those choices. The media likes to take a big part in shaping what society believes are their wants and desires. People are constantly bombarded with images that allow them to believe that these ideas are true and obtainable. A cycle has started before a child is even born that there is specific look and that the baby needs to act a certain type of way. These ideologies have been so apparent in our society for centuries that we think that there is nothing wrong with the way we act and interact with others. Miss Representation demonstrates a behind the scenes view of the illusion the media likes to portray to society and how it affects us.
Women are constantly unrealistically portrayed; they are objectified and hyper sexualized in the media. The documentary features the difficulties women have to go through when their ideals are unobtainable and the pressure they feel when people want them to look a certain way. These images allow women to think that their body is the only voice they have, it’s the only tool to identify themselves and that this is their worth. Jean Kilbourne quoted beautifully, “Girls are being encouraged to achieve that ideal at younger and younger ages all the time. They end up measuring themselves against an impossible standard and feeling themselves wanting as a result of it.” Miss Representation showed ordinary high school students speaking about the issues they felt about the negative perceptions of women. We were able to understand the pain and pressure young women have to face everyday to conform to this ideology of beauty. It makes it difficult for teenagers because if they do not look