October 25, 2014

 

Contacts:

Carmen Price, University Relations, 657-2269
Jen Lynn, History Department, 657-2922

 

Free and open to the public, the documentary film screening will be held in the Liberal Arts building, room 205, beginning at 6 p.m. The panel will immediately follow the film presentation.  

 

"" Watch the "Miss Representation" film trailer

 

Montana State University Billings Women’s and Gender Studies program will host a “Miss Representation” film screening and panel on Oct. 20. Miss poster image

 

The 2011 American documentary film written, directed and produced by Jennifer Siebel Newsom explores how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in influential positions by circulating limited and often marginalizing portrayals of women. The film premiered in the documentary competition at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

 

MSUB Assistant Professor Dr. Jennifer Lynn, who teaches several women’s and gender history courses, said the film speaks to a host of high–profile issues spinning in today’s headlines, such as equal pay for equal work, sexual assaults on university campuses and high school dress codes for girls.

 

“The media has a tremendous influence over the way we perceive gender and gender roles,” Lynn said. “The screening will be a great opportunity to have a conversation about how gender is represented in media and to challenge stereotypes that are harmful for young people.”

 

Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics—including Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Lisa Ling, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem—build momentum as “Miss Representation” accumulates startling facts and statistics.

 

“Women make up 51 percent of the U.S. population, yet comprise only 17 percent of Congress,” the film states, pointing to the hyperfocus on the spectacle of women—their clothes, hair, bodies, signs of aging—for the lack of substance portraying women’s accomplishments.

 

While the overarching message may seem to be directed toward women, it's not just a women's issue, Lynn says. It's a topic that resonates and affects everyone.

 

“The conversation is about how a wider population is affected by these issues and how we can educate and discuss in a production way that leads to real change,” Lynn said.

 

The film illustrates the pressures of masculinity and men’s roles in preventing gender violence through Jackson Katz, a noted expert on the subject who has his own documentary titled “Tough Guise: Violence, Media, and the Crisis in Masculinity,” as well as several books and publications framing gender violence prevention as a men’s issue.


Newark Mayor Cory Booker also contributes to this point.

 

Newsom’s second film, “The Mask You Live In,” is set to debut in 2015 to explore how the narrow definition of masculinity is harming boys, men and society.  She also was executive producer of the Academy Award-nomination documentary “The Invisible War” and is an executive producer on an upcoming documentary “Campus Assaults.”

 

The “Miss Representation” screening will be held in the Liberal Arts building, room 205, at 6 p.m.

 

The screening will be followed by a panel featuring MSUB faculty members Dr. Emily Arendt, of the history department, Dr. Melissa Boehm, communications, Dr. Ana Diaz, of the philosophy department and Dr. Jennifer Scroggins, of the social sciences and cultural studies department.

 

The public is invited to attend the free event. For more information, Jennifer Lynn at 657-2922 or jennifer.lynn1@msubillings.edu.

 

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