Miss Representation is a documentary film from 2011 directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom and it deals with the representation of women in the society and about the expectations that are thrown upon them. These women are supposed to look and behave in a certain way prescribed by the society and they are not allowed to have the freedom of mind and are not entitled to self-expression. There are roles which are women are supposed to be seen in and this kind of order in the society is not supposed to be violated by free-thinking women, not to mention feminists.
This documentary provokes much thinking and makes people change their opinion on the way they look at women. The film is educational and is supposed to raise issues related to the establishment of women in the society. The film begins with the director’s pregnancy and the story about her life in which she suffered from discrimination. She wanted to be accepted in the society, began eating unhealthy, and when she wanted to become an actress she was scorned for her looks. All of this left trace on her, she became an insider and created this documentary.
People in modern society are influenced by the media includin televison, music popular magazines and other means of mass communication which promote a certain image of women. It is all a matter of generating profit and morality does not matter as long as the image is unaffected. This is all related to the politics as well because the women have a predestined role in the society. Women are supposed to be attractive in the mainstream sense and this is hurting their personalities and making them feel ashamed if they do not meet standards of beauty. Young girls understand one another and they cannot be of help because all of them feel the same and they feel helpless as well. This is all on the psychological level and this kind of a documentary should help women overcome the pressure which is impose by the society.
The Hunting Ground is a documentary directed by Kirby Dick released in 2015 and it is a social commenatry about the issue of rape which is affecting girls on college campuses all over America. The girls who are the victims share their stories about being raped as well as some boys. The colleges did nothing to help them and this documentary is supposed to raise public awareness about this issue which is immoral and uncivilized.
This became an issue during Obama’s government and rapes on campuses are treated specifically since 2014. At the moment most of the accusations are not taken seriously and this leads to discrimination. Moreover, men get away with committing such a heinous crime as a rape. This documentary uses realistic scenes and interviews with the victims and it surely raises attention towards this issue and asks for solution. Young women are happy to find out that they were accepted to enroll into a college, but afterwards they end up disappointed because of thinking they were safe in such an academic institution of high integrity. It turns out that men are allowed to perform all sorts of immoral actions on campus without being punished and girls suffer because of that. When women talk about the assaults they suffered, this raises many emotions which means that the movie uses pathos.
The point of these documentaries is to raise public awareness about the status of women of all ages in the modern society and about the fact that they are abused in silence without the assaulters ever being brought to justice. The public image of women needs to be changed because each woman is unique and her personality has to be respected.
Works Cited
Newsom, J. S. (Actor). (2011). Miss Representation [Motion picture]. United States: Girls' Club Entertainment.
Dick, K. (Director). (2015). The Hunting Ground [Motion picture]. United States: The Weinstein Company.
