Tag Archives: Film

Shocking Gender Inequality in Film

In light of the record-breaking opening of the female-led action film Hunger Games: Catching Fire this past weekend, the New York Film Academy decided to take a closer look at women in film and what, if any, advancements women are making. After reviewing the data, it is clear that Hollywood remains stuck in its gender bias.
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via the New York Film Academy

Calling Films out on their Gender Bias

Heard of the Bechdel Test? It requires two things in a film:

  1. For the film to have two or more women
  2. For the two women in the film to talk to each other about something besides a man

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/

Seems simple enough, but try applying it to a range of your favorite films and you'll see that far too many films fail to pass. (Note: The Hunger Games passes - YAY!)

So now Sweden's applying this to their movies - Seems like a good idea to me! Let's call out the gender-bias that exists in our society. This is one test more of society should be taking!

http://www.salon.com/2013/11/07/sweden_introduces_a_gender_rating_system_for_films/

Film screening: “Miss Representation”

Hey Hoochies; mark your calendars. A screening of the film Miss Representation is being sponsored by The ManKind Project of New England on November 14, 2013, at 7 pm at  Kendall Square Cinema, One Kendall Square (at 355 Binney Street) in Cambridge. However:

A minimum of 122 tickets need to be sold in order for this event to happen! Please buy yours now and also help spread the word.

The film, written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, 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 herself.

Tickets are available at: https://www.tugg.com/go/vcjy0d for $15.00. There will be an opportunity to gather to meet and discuss the film immediately after the show. Tickets will go on sale a midnight, October 11th.

You can view the Official Trailer at YouTube or below.

More about the film:

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 premier 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 are happening every day all over the world.

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.

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 % of clout positions in mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls have disordered eating.

Miss Representation was selected from the Sundance line-up to be part of the OWN Documentary Film Club. “Through personal stories and provocative interviews, Jennifer crystallizes the relevance of the media and its portrayal of women in today’s society,” said Lisa Erspamer, Chief Creative Officer for OWN. In addition, ro*co films will distribute Miss Representation to educational institutions (K-12 institutions, universities and libraries) located in the United States and Canada.

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. Join the campaign at www.missrepresentation.org.

Please feel free to direct questions to MissRep.mlh@gmail.com