Political Science 2270E: Women and Politics

Summer 2021

Mid-Term Assignment: Film Response 30%

Due Date: Friday July 23^rd 2021 at 11pm EST

Student Name: ­­­­­­____________________

Please read the instructions below, including each question, carefully before starting the assignment.

Instructions:

To view the film click on the following link: MissRepresentation (2012)

After viewing the film, write your responses to the three questions listed below. Please write in full sentences, use proper paragraph form and cite any course readings consulted in formulating your answers using the author’s last name and page number (please do not use outside sources). All responses should be written in your own words. Direct quotes should only be used sparingly (if at all) as supporting evidence and not as a substitute for your own voice.

Film:

the film exposes how mainstream media contributes 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 herself.

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. 

makes the case that the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls in the media is not only at the root of such rising epidemics as eating disorders, self-mutilation, and depression in teenage girls, but is largely responsible for the glaring under-representation of women in all positions of power and influence in America

overviewà http://www.feminisms.org/3922/miss-representation-a-critical-review/index.html

 (can look for other ones) (just to give you an understanding)

Questions

***Please include a word count at the end of each of your responses

1. According to the film, what factor best explains women’s underrepresentation in formal politics? (__/5) 250 words max

• Refer to movie notes

• What strand(s) of feminist theory best characterizes/describes the analysis of women’s political underrepresentation articulated in the film? Be sure to draw on course materials and provide evidence (from both the film, readings, and lectures) to support your claim. (___/15) 600-800 words max

Liberal feminism and socialist feminism (refer to theories chart attached)

• (Use the readings attached to back your arguments)
  • The two theories above have subsections in reading
  •  
• use lesson 12^th  and 13^th  attached for quotes and further help.
• Film notes canalso be used for quotes or stats

• What important insights might another theoretical perspective (covered in this course) provide that may have been overlooked in the film (Be sure to draw on course readings and lectures to support your position)? (___/10) 500 words max

• Anti-Racist Feminism
• indigenous feminism

Key Reading