Nan Bijlani

Psych-96-Review
Jessica Weiler
9/18/14

Review-Miss Representation

“Miss Representation” is an excellent piece of film in my opinion. There are several elements that make it a fabulous movie. First of all, I like its title, “Miss Representation”.  It has a pun, having two meanings and both appropriately used. Then I like the way it is scripted and edited. It would have been a boring documentary if it was told in a straight story style with facts and figures. The message and real stories are so nicely blended that your attention is gripped till the end, with the result though it is not a fiction, the film is captivating. It begins with a question, as a mother what would you feel if your daughter had to go through the circumstances like other school girls do. The facts and figures about them are highlighted from time to time, which is in a way a punch and conclusion of that issue. Then there are quick interviews of the High School girls, emotional revelations of the students, some of them funny, making you laugh and getting you out of rut, comments by experts, news being aired on television, thought provoking question marks for the viewers, how the issue is being discussed and handled at high level. We find involvement of Oprah Winfrey, top celebrities like Condoleezza Rice, Gloria Steinem, and Katie Couric telling their personal experiences. The movie has more than one message: The key point as quoted by Marie Wilson, President and Founder of The White House Project, “You can’t be what you can’t see.” Then, the role and impact of media on the modern society and culture, the biased role of media projecting women as only sex objects, preventing them from acquiring intellectual positions in the higher fields, only men having smartness, strength and power, whereas women possess no less potential than men. Another negative aspect of media is to hook all age viewers glued to attractive Ads and watch averagely 31 hours of TV in a week and pursue them to become role models like Barbie or Jane Fonda, training them not to be themselves. The TV watch also sets up skeptical ideas in the minds of youngsters. All these issues need to be taken some serious measures. As a holistic look the movie is enlightening and worth watching yet there are some flaws. The movie appears to have been made to make a definite impact, steering it a little far from reality, rather exaggerated, and slightly biased. Let us see some other aspects of it.

The movie throws light on today’s society and culture, especially teen and young guy’s way of life.