Miss Representation
How Media Influences Self-Image and the Gender Gap
2011 | Running Time: 85 minutes | Rating: NR
MISS REPRESENTATION exposes how mainstream media and culture contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film draws back a curtain to reveal a glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see – how the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls makes it difficult for women to feel powerful and achieve leadership positions. Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics, like Katie Couric, Rosario Dawson, Gloria Steinem, Margaret Cho, Condoleezza Rice, Rachel Maddow and Nancy Pelosi, build momentum as MISS REPRESENTATION accumulates startling facts and statistics that will leave the audience shaken, but armed with a new perspective. The film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Director/Producer/Writer: Jennifer Siebel Newsom; Co-Writer/Editor: Jessica Congdon; Executive Producers: Geralyn White Dreyfous, Sarah E. Johnson, Regina K. Scully
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Director, Producer, Writer
Jennifer Siebel Newsom is a filmmaker, CEO, advocate and thought leader. After deciding to have a child, Newsom looked at the world into which she would be bringing her daughter – one with all-encompassing misrepresentations of women – and she was compelled her to create MISS REPRESENTATION (2011). Inspired by the impact of MISS REPRESENTATION, she launched The Representation Project, a nonprofit organization using film and media as a catalyst for cultural transformation. She also directed, THE MASK YOU LIVE IN (2015), exploring how America’s narrow definition of masculinity is harming boys, men, and society at large.
Jessica Congdon, Writer, Editor
Jessica Congdon has been a filmmaker for nearly 20 years. She also collaborated with Jennifer Siebel Newsom on THE MASK YOU LIVE IN (2015) as a producer, writer, and editor. Her documentary credits include directing EMPIRE ON MAIN STREET (2017), editing DOLORES (2017), and co-directing and editing RACE TO NOWHERE (2010). Other editing work includes the Sundance award-winner DOPAMINE (2003).
Sundance Film Festival 2011: Grand Jury Prize – Documentary (nomination)
Women Film Critics Circle Awards 2011: Best Theatrically unreleased Movie by or About Women
“Exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence.”
NPR
Tags: Documentary, Feature, Gender