Miss Representation debuted in the documentary competition at the Sundance Film Festival where it caught the eye of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. It made its television premiere as part of the OWN documentary film club in October 2011, with over 1.3 million people tuning in to multiple airings. More than two years later over 40 countries have screened the film in corporations, non-profits, religious groups, government organizations and communities all over the world.
Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Miss Representation exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful.
There will be a local screening of Miss Representation on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 7-9 p.m. at Trackside Teen Center, 15 Station Road, sponsored by Wilton Youth Council (Parent Connection and C.O.D.E.S.), Wilton Youth Services, and the United Way of Coastal Fairfield County. After the screening, there will be optional small group discussions. Wilton Youth Services said that this is an important movie for boys and girls, men and women, and welcomes adults and high school students to attend.
Miss Representation includes stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics like Condoleezza Rice, Lisa Ling, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Rosario Dawson, Jackson Katz, Jean Kilbourne, and Gloria Steinem. The film offers startling facts and statistics that will leave audiences shaken and armed with a new perspective.
“We are thrilled to have so many outreach opportunities for Miss Representation. This film was made to be a change agent in our culture, to inspire both women and men to recognize women’s collective voice, leadership capacity and equal rights,” Newsom said.
According to a press release from Wilton Youth Council, “In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality–and not in her capacity as a leader. While women have made strides in leadership over the past few decades, the U.S. is 90th in the world in terms of women in national legislatures, women hold only 3-percent of clout positions in mainstream media, and 65-percent of women and girls have disordered eating.”
Miss Representation was selected from the Sundance lineup to be part of the OWN Documentary Film Club. “Through personal stories and provocative interviews, Jennifer crystalizes the relevance of the media and its portrayal of women in today’s society,” said Lisa Erspamer, Chief Creative Officer for OWN.
The distribution of the film Miss Representation has been the catalyst for a social action campaign led by MissRepresentation.org. The campaign seeks to empower women and girls and provide them with new opportunities to realize their full potential.
MissRepresentation.org is igniting a cross-generational movement to shift the cultural mindset of communities, interrupt and stop patterns of sexism, change the way women and girls are represented in the media and ensure a tipping point that will lead to gender parity in leadership throughout the United States. www.missrepresentation.org.
Contact Wilton Youth Services 203.834.6241 for more information.