Recently I had the privilege of watching “Miss Representation” on iTunes. You can get it for a one day rental if you don’t want to pay the full price (or you can buy it, which is just as good.) I get worried about downloading from illegal sites the way everyone else does because a) what if someone catches me and b) what if it’s glitchy and doesn’t work. First world problems at their finest.
Miss Representation in itself is a wonderful movie, not just for people who already believe in equal rights but for people like straight white guys who don’t know anything about the media’s impact on women. I really like how they went behind WHY the media has gotten worse in terms of messages it brings out about women. Yes, the media has always been degrading but as Jean Kilbourne, creator of “Killing Us Softly,” said: it’s getting worse. The film goes into why–which, in a short summary, is because of the government’s regulation on the media and what can be released. Right now there are almost no laws restricting what people can and can’t put out as part of their advertising the way there used to be. And because the internet is unrestricted, it only creates a worse problem. I’d highly recommend watching the trailer, which in itself is an eye opener.
I found this video after seeing a gif of it on Tumblr and it’s basically saying what needs to be said about EVERYTHING. Not just abortion and women’s health (though that is the main message) but also sex and lgbtq issues. The women in this video are absolutely badass. They aren’t nice. This isn’t some kind petition to say “hey, please stop trying to police what I do with myself, thanks.” This is “if you can’t keep your morals out of other people’s lives then they aren’t morals and don’t act like they are by trying to justify what you’re doing with what is obviously sexist bullshit.” This is the truth. Yes, it may seem over dramatic and out of place, but when you consider how the US is pretty much raging a war on women in terms of reproductive rights and general health (anorexia, breast cancer screenings, etc.) you start to realize that it’s got a point.
Arabelle‘s blog is amazing and so is her Tumblr. She is currently a university student in New Jersey and made this video (Eff this noise, which is number seven in the playlist–couldn’t get it on here without the other ones first, apologies!) in her dorm room when Rick Santorum hadn’t dropped out of the race (i.e., a time just as dark as now.) While it’s a bit questionable where they’re getting some of their sources (I just figure you should cite them,) this is the same as the video above–no bullshit, straight-up, justified anger. We should get angry. We need to get angry. If we don’t, these things will continue to happen and Arabelle and her room mate are totally in realization of it. Keep up the good work.
Lovely, Dark, and Deep 