Miss Representation

Over the weekend I was lucky enough to catch a Documentary called Miss Representation. My initial reaction to the first few scenes (Oh no, another feminist flick) stands to validates the ultimate point that the movie sets out to prove: "There is a glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see". And that is: Main Stream Media and the advertisers funding it are affecting our society in ways we can no longer ignore. 

The film begins by stating the obvious: The Media has become a sensationalized, hypersexual carnival. We are all slightly aware of this but very rarely do we stop to think about the actual CONSEQUENCES of this phenomenon. People like myself, like to believe that because we take small, deliberate acts of defiance (I chose at 16 to not purchase or even open anymore women's magazines- even if I did have to wait half an hour to see my Dentist) that we are not affected by these covert, mysogynistic messages. The film does a great job at putting into perspective how much Media affects our daily lives and even scarier, how destructive and far reaching the consequences of this new "normal" have influenced not only the psyches of our men , women & children and our cultural identity - but ultimately our political landscape and entire society. I encourage you to watch the extended trailer I have provided here but I will summarize what I understood to be the important points made:

“The Media is delivering content that shapes society: It shapes our politics, our natl discourse, [our] lives and emotions” - Jim Styer 

• Between TV, Music, Magazines and Internet, American teenagers avg 10hrs & 45 min/day
• “People learn more from media than any other source of information; So, if we want to understand what is going on in our society in the 21^st Century, you have to understand media”  
• The Platforms today are more diverse and have less & less legal restrictions.

"From a very early age, the Message is clear..."

• The Message for girls: whats is most important is looks; your value & your worth depend on it 
• The Message for boys:  this is what is important about girls, despite her achievements. 
• ^For example: Hillary Clinton/Nancy Pelosi/Condi Rice
• There is very little to no appreciation for women intellectuals in society today

Derogatory portrayal of women in Media creates widespread biases

• Critics are all too quick to pin weaknesses on "PMS & Mood Swings" - this is offensive
• By portraying Women in Media/News in extremely derogatory fashion we create biases (among men AND women alike- I am guilty of this) that women are "not fit".
• This leads to very few women in high up positions; less than 3% of Women with clout positions in Telecom in the US and as we'll see later, gross underrepresentation in government. 

There is a political economy within the Media 

• The Media gets revenue from Advertising and….SEX SELLS a lot of stuff!  For men, Women and children.
• “This is all about capitalism. Exploitation of women’s bodies to sell products, magazines, etc."-Lindy Devokan, former exec vp of NBC
• “The argument that media outlets are “just giving people what the public wants” is false. It is 100% controlled by the advertisers. They give it to you and make you believe it is what you want

The effects of advertising are largely subconscious and very harmful

• Advertisements are intended to produce anxiety, insecurity to sell products.  This is most evident in school aged girls and adult women of all ages.
• In an attempt to "one-up" each other, advertisers must be more shocking with less words: more & more demeaning, shocking & violent images.
• We are socializing boys by presenting them with what is “manly”; they are bombarded by unnaturally hyper-masculine & misogynistic images earlier and earlier
• This translates into decline in female youth ambitions: statistics of # of girls & boys who "want to be president" is 50/50 in school age children but steadily declines with age

This results in a lack women’s voice in public forum

• Women comprise 51% of US population but only 17% of Congress
• The US is behind Cuba and China, Iraq and Afghanistan in women in government
• US is 90^th in the world in terms of women in national legislatures
• Our National Leadership is representative of only 6 % of the country: White, Married, Male,  Over 35 & College Educated

The effects are REAL and do merit further review. But all is not bleak; the movie does an okay job of picking you back up off the floor by asking the question: How can this change? They advise us to allow equal opportunity on screen to "See, Show and Appreciate Women Leadership" or at least announce the possibility (in movies, TV, News)!!! Geena Davis shares how inspirational the film ‘A League of Their Own’ was to young girls who reached out to her, sharing that the movie inspired them to fulfill their passion and purse sport. We also need to elect positive female leaders and paint a more realistic picture of society for our kids. 

As far as I am concerned, the most important way to change this is to stay grounded in my true-self that tells me 'I AM ENOUGH' and never play into the hedonistic treadmill of materialistic consumption or self-esteem bashers I see and hear on TV. Oh, and run for office someday!!!!  :)  Thats enough for today, Im out y'all!

Operation Freedom Paws

Wow. Once again, CNN's 2012 Heroes special leaves me BURSTING at the seams with emotion. This annual special televises the stories of ten extraordinary individuals who are making huge strides for social change. The stories told range from that of Raiza Jan, a fierce fighter for young girls and their right to a competent and compassionate education in the remotest of villages in Afghanistan to the story of Wanda Butts, a passionate mother who rose from the despair of losing her 16 year old son after he tragically drowned and is now teaching, what she says is a basic life skill often ignored, to over 1,000 children in her home state of Ohio through the Josh Project- a life saving nonprofit she named after her son. These heroes come from as far as the majestic peaks of Kathmandu in Nepal, the once poverty stricken slums of South Africa, not too far in states like Ohio and even the classrooms of my home state of Florida. This specials serves to shred any possible doubts one may hold that one person can make a difference. The winner of the 2012 Hero of the year was Pushpa Basnet, a humble 28 year old young woman who houses, feeds, clothes, educates and truly loves nearly 150 children of incarcerated women; women who, left with no caregivers for their children, must serve their jail sentence with the child in the prison. The kiddies lovingly refer to her as "Mamu", or mother. She has clearly done more than save them from a miserable life behind bars, she has gifted them with freedom and motherly love.

I challenge anyone to watch this program and not be moved; it's next to impossible. What's more, this year CNN added a few stories highlighting children, some of who have, unfortunately passed on very recently but are as young as 7 years old and have already changed their communities forever by calling upon their wee-peers to selflessly serve the less fortunate. They are each reminders of how powerful we can be should we take a page from their book and preserve innocence in our judgments, naivete to our limitations and dedication to a cause. I have no doubt these kids will be invaluable leaders one day.  

I want to narrow my focus on one "hero" in particular so unfortunately I won't cover all of the men & women featured in the program but I urge you to check them out on the CNN HEROES homepage. You can hear more about their stories, their missions and even how you can get involved should you feel the calling. These are truly amazing people and before I continue I just want to point out more thing: the notion of resilience. Yes, some of these individuals are doing amazing work- true expressions of empathy & service, but not before having suffered devastating, personal tragedies. As I hope to go on and share Mary Cortani's story and her important work with war veterans, I will mention Post Traumatic Stress Disorder commonly known as PTSD but also introduce a lesser known consequence- Post Traumatic Growth. But first let's watch Mary's story ...

Now, let me begin by saying that, there is no way I can see this clip and not feel compelled to act on it. Wheels are already in motion in my brain and contacts & resources being pulled from the dusty file cabinet that is My Memory to bring Operation Freedom Paws to South Florida. What better way to kill 2, 3, 4? birds with one proverbial stone by engaging canines idly waiting for a loving home and master, truly desperate combat veterans in need of innovative coping strategies and lastly, other veterans looking to get involved and can help their fellow soldiers by volunteering to serve as trainers once they have completed training themselves??? This idea excites me, to my core. And I think it's doable- with help from various community members here in Miami.

Specializing in Behavioral Neuroscience, PTSD in returning soldiers is a huge concern of mine. Having straddled the, oftentimes, shady line between the isolated laboratory research & development of psychiatric medicines and the frustrating reality of their effectiveness (or lack thereof) in the clinical setting I can tell you that psychiatry will be forced to face an inevitable paradigm shift. I am talking about the need to supplement existing pharmacological treatments with autonomously motivated, cognitive behavioral exercises like the ones Mary attempts to offer these patients by engaging them  in their own recovery process. If we fail to value the significant, long-term, fundamental healing that takes place when we empower people to understand, accept and work through the psychiatric pains that ail them we will surely be committing a huge disservice to this sub-population 

I've written too much so I will touch on Post Traumatic Growth and the science behind it in another post very soon; scientists have quantified significant changes in psychological growth in a variety of subjects following traumatic events and these findings are worthy of mention. So, another day :]
Feel free to share your comments, suggestions or feedback and I look forward to updating you on the progress of said project.  

Salud!
Arielle KT