A screening and panel discussion of the Sundance Film Festival documentary Miss Representation is coming to Fairfield on Saturday, April 28, at 1:00 pm, at Fairfield Country Day School, 2970 Bronson Road, Fairfield, CT. Miss Representation exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. Participating as panelists are: Dana Tyler, Anchor, WCBS-TV News; Elizabeth Smith Mao, Chairman, Darien Board of Finance, Retired Vice President, Investor Relations and Shareholder Services, Texaco; Leanne Shear, Freelance Writer and Co-Founder, Uplift Studios; Patricia Spoor, Educator in Women’s Studies, Artist, former Lay Pastor. The moderator is Debbie Fay, Founder and President, bespeak presentation solutions.
The event is hosted by Chapter AB of P.E.O. International, with proceeds supporting the P.E.O. Chapter AB Scholarship Fund, providing higher education scholarships to women from CT. P.E.O. International is a philanthropic organization celebrating and supporting the advancement and education of women; educating women through scholarships, grants, awards, loans, and stewardship of Cottey College; and motivating women to achieve their highest aspirations. Tickets for the screening are $12.00 and available online at: peomissrep.eventbrite.com.
The film challenges the media's limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls. Miss Representation first premiered in the documentary competition at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, was selected for the Oprah Winfrey Network documentary series, and is rated TV14.
Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Miss Representation includes stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics like Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem. The film offers startling facts and statistics that will leave audiences informed with a new perspective on the media’s portrayal of women. Newsom explains, “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.”
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.
For more information please e-mail Jessica Kosanovich at peomissrep@gmail.com.
