Don't Miss This Award-Winning Documentary: Miss Representation

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 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 November 12, 2013, at Trackside Teen Center, 15 Station Rd in Wilton from 7:00p.m. to 9:00p.m.

Contact Wilton Youth Services 203-834-6241 for more information.  After the screening, there will be optional small group discussions.

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,” says Newsom.

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 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.

Miss Representation is the award-winning documentary film by Jennifer Siebel Newsom that exposes how mainstream media contributes to the underrepresentation 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 or girl to feel powerful herself.  For more information, www.missrepresentation.org.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

• Adults and high school students are welcome to attend.  This is an important movie for boys and girls, men and women.

WHEN and WHERE?

• Tuesday, November 12, 2013 from 7:00pm-9:00pm

• Optional group discussion following movie at 8:30pm

• Trackside Teen Center, 15 Station Road, Wilton

• Admission is free and open to the public