WATCH: Miss Representation a must-see for men and women

Miss Representation isn't subtle or smoothly crafted, and it sometimes falls into oversimplification. But is it something I want my 13-year-old daughter to see? Yes. Absolutely yes.

—Alison Gillmor, CBC Reviewer

This year you can mark International Women's Day by getting riled up - and fired up -- at a showing of Miss Representation.

The 2011 documentary has been rolling out across North America through community-based screenings. Sponsored in Winnipeg by the Ecole Riverview School's Parent Advisory Council. Miss Representation will screen at the Park Theatre tonight at 8:00 p.m. Audience members will include Manitoba high school students who worked on the music video "unbreakable," about the empowerment of women and girls.

From filmmaker Jennifer Seibel Newsom, who's worked in the Hollywood trenches as an actor, Miss Representation is an angry, urgent outcry against the misrepresentation of women in mass media.

Motivated to make this film by the birth of her daughter, Seibel Newsom aims the film primarily at young women. As the movie points out, they are now exposed to more media than ever before, most of them spending more time online and in front of the TV than they do with their parents.



Immersed in pop culture, they are subjected to a slurry of nasty images, from Toddlers and Tiaras to misogynistic music videos to highly sexualized, attention-getting ads. This barrage can affect their feelings of self-worth, skewing their body image and constricting their ideas and ambitions. 

Siebel Newsom also suggests that negative ways of viewing women have bled into areas such as political life. Drawing on news clips, she shows how women politicians and leaders are routinely denigrated and dismissed --if they show softness they're seen as "too emotional," if they show hardness, they're denounced as "shrill." They are also subjected to constant scrutiny about how they look and what they wear.  

The clips are backed up by interviews with Katie Couric, Condaleeza Rice, Gloria Steinem, as well as academics and activists.

Miss Representation isn't subtle or smoothly crafted, and it sometimes falls into oversimplification.

But is it something I want my 13-year-old daughter to see? Yes. Absolutely yes. This is a passionate and important corrective to the power of the mass media, and a great way to jumpstart discussions about women, media and self-esteem. (One note: The film is probably best suited for kids over 13 because of the ideas and the images involved.)

Listen to this music video, produced by the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation, about the importance of the empowerment of women and girls. Two members of their staff will join Dani Chalus, one of the student performers from the video, at tonight's Miss Representation screening.