Miss Representation

I thought that this documentary was very good and thought provoking. It brought up a lot of ideas that I hadn't really thought of before and based on the conversation after a lot of others hadn’t either. It talked about how romantic comedies and chick flicks are one of the only times that women are the protagonist and they are usually looking for a relationship. I hadn't even really thought about that before.

It also talked about how men aren't as interested in a female protagonist. This was seen as sexist but I can relate with it. I have seen plenty of movies that I really liked that had female leads but I do prefer a male protagonist. Its not sexist, men just relate better to men and its not that I can't get into a film with a female lead but its easier to do so with a film that has a male lead since I already have that in common with them.

I agreed with a lot of what the film had to say and it brought up a lot of good points about a important issue but there were a few things I didn't fully agree with.

One part of the film I really liked was when they talked about how men get pressure from the media too. The objectification of women is so often solely blamed on the men in our society but this film doesn't brush over the pressure that women put on each other and the media does as well. I liked that this film wasn't just an attack on men like I had thought it could be when I came into it. The part that talks about the pressure put on men was what really stood out to me. It talked about how men are taught to keep their emotions inside and that they need to me manly and do manly stuff. They talked about how this is part of the problem. You see adults acting this way and when you grow up you think thats how to act. Its how men learn to objectify and its how women learn to accept objectification.

 This film did a good job talking about the issue and how we need to fix it instead of just blaming men for it happening. That made it possible for me as a man to watch the film and walk away thinking about it and discussing it instead of just dismissing it and feeling attacked. It was very well done.