In this post I am going to be doing a review as I watch the documentary so everything you read will comment on things that have been said and it will be chronologically analysed. However, I encourage you to go and watch it and I will leave a link to the trailer at the end.
So the documentary starts off with a great quote:
"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any" -Alice Walker.
I think this is a great way to start the documentary because it outlines the reasons why you don't find women in places of high power. They have been raised believing that it can't get better and there is no point in trying to fix any problems they may have.
The documentary then gives the viewers some facts. Including:
- "American teenagers spend 31 hours a week watching TV; 17 hours a week listening to music; 3 hours a week watching movies; 4 hours a week reading magazines and 10 hours a week online"
This is basically highlighting how much of a teenager's life is revolving around media, where they will get fed the misrepresentation of women.
Within the introduction of the documentary they have already covered the basics of the debate they are about to put forward and therefore, I can already tell this is going to be a well-structured argument. I am looking forward to watching the rest.
After addressing the media and pointing out just how corrupt it is there is a short anecdote about a woman with terrible experiences in terms of self worth and how horrible she felt after a certain experience where a peer took advantage of her vulnerability.
She says "My experiences are unique, my struggle is all to common" which is true. A lot of women do go through what she has been through in terms of sexual abuse or general oppression or even just feeling crap about the way you look after flicking through the latest edition of the newest teen magazine that every little girl is reading.
I don't want to explain the entire documentary, because I feel as though you would get the most benefit from watching it yourself, but what I can say is my opinion on the media and how it portrays women.
As far as I am concerned things are most definitely looking worse for wear in the media department for women. We are targeted as the sex appeal to sell anything from cars to toilet roll. Don't believe me? Google it. For this reason young boys are being brought up in a world where looking at girls as sexual objects is considered natural. No. Stop.
A lot of men have put forward the point that women tend to sexualise the men they see in the media. For me that would be people like Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston and (don't hate me) Harry Styles. I find these men attractive, but I don't think they face the same problem women do. For one example, Scarlett Johansson, wonderfully talented actress, but she is always asked about her looks or the romance, never the fact that she can kick butt on the battlefield. Scarlett Johansson is very good at dealing with these questions though so good on her, but still. Tom Hiddleston is never asked about these sorts of things, nor is he every draped across a vehicle, half naked for a photo shoot. Why? Because he is male and therefore not objectified in the same way.
I also want to link you to a great Youtube channel called "FeministFrequency" who deals with media's "tropes". These are things the media has done to women in major film franchises and I strongly suggest watching them to open your eyes to what the media does. See if your favourite films can pass the Bechdel Test.
That's all for now and remember that you can leave a comment stating your opinion or ask me any questions you may or may not have.
Until next time,
Stephanie
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