Had you ever heard of the documentary Miss Representation? I hadn’t. And yet, it seems to encapsulate in one fell swoop almost all of the social concerns I have for the next century. The American documentary, premiered in 2011 at the Sundance Film Festival, it explores how (American) mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in influential positions by circulating limited and often disparaging portrayals of women. For a prime (and frankly, shocking) example, pay close attention to the video below around the 2.45 mark.

Although the film is indeed very America-centric, this is still relevant to us across the Atlantic, given how much of the pop culture media we consume is American. Some of the statistics are quite stunning – America is actually regressing in its journey towards gender equality. This comes as less of a surprise once we consider such TV programmes as ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians‘, ‘Gossip Girl‘ and the late ‘The Hills‘. America is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an anomaly – there are only two countries with 50% or more women in parliament – Andorra and Rwanda. After that, the numbers fall dramatically.

Although we studied it at university, I have yet to see such a compelling distress signal regarding the deeply harmful effects that the misogynistic portrayal of women in the media might have on society as this film. Western nations love to pat themselves on the back for treating women equally, quick to compare themselves favourably against such backward nations as Iran where women are subjugated by the rules of Sharia law. However, the case against the Western (or at least, the American) media is strong and as the movie points out, it is only growing stronger,

It is my wont to swiftly draw comparisons between America and Europe. On Sunday the 15th of January, French journalist Anne-Sophie Lapix welcomed the far-right leader of the Front Nationale party Marine Le Pen onto her Sunday night current affairs show Dimanche +. In the space of about ten minutes, Lapix, probably as well-known for her looks than her journalism up to that point, calmly and efficiently destroyed Le Pen’s economic policies in a battle of the titans that is now all over the French press. If for no other reason, and even though the entire conversation is in French, it is worth a watch just for the pure spectacle – the meaning of what they are saying can probably be inferred simply through their body language.

What I found interesting about the segment was the way in which these women were being portrayed. Sophisticated, intelligent, and calm – they seemed to embody the exact opposite of the stereotypes referred to in ‘Miss Representation‘ of women as hysterical bimbos probably suffering from PMS. The more disappointing facet to this is the fact that France isn’t even a bastion of gender equality (although progress is slowly being made). I can’t even grin smugly and say ‘at least somebody’s doing it right – vive la différence!’.

How are we ever expected to achieve the dream of universal equality when we so readily ignore this derogatory treatment of women in a media we consume so voraciously? What does it say about our progress or indeed even our desire for progress? As the older brother of an eighteen year-old girl, the statistics and the evidence are hardly comforting. I don’t know what she wants to do with her life, I’m sure she doesn’t either, not just yet. No doubt her plans are ambitious. Looking at the trailer for this movie really makes me wonder what I’m supposed to say to her, other than ‘well, do your best’.

Last October, I blogged these photos of famous women whose photographs had been altered using the Adobe graphics editing software Photoshop.

Here, a bunch of laugh merchants go to town on the way the program is often used and abused:

And my favourite Christmas poem:

I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

It simply promises the wearer that the new Hema push-up bra will augment breast size by two categories, no matter how small the wearer’s breasts are.

And then there are a couple of very conservative pictures of the model…

…whose name is Andrej Pejic, was voted in FHM’s list of World’s 100 Sexiest Women – and is a man.

Didn’t see that one coming did you?

However, this version has been doctored with the music (originally Slow Moving Millie’s cover of Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want) now playing the theme from The Shining. The whole meaning is changed dramatically.

And this parody by Bourgeois & Maurice is fantastic:

Methamphetamine (aka crystal meth) is a drug which increases alertness, concentration, energy, and in high doses, may induce euphoria, enhance self-esteem and increase libido. Meth has high potential for abuse and addiction, activating the psychological reward system by triggering a cascading release of dopamine in the brain. The psychological harm caused by meth abuse is colossal, with a fifth of addicts experiencing psychosis resembling schizophrenia for longer than six months (which is medical speak for permanent). This doesn’t take into account those who experience psychosis for a shorter period of time and indeed all the other mental illnesses experienced by addicts.

It is fitting that Aronofsky was asked to direct four short ads for an American meth awareness campaign. They are dark, much like his films, and all are deeply shocking.

There have been complaints from some parent groups that the adverts are too graphic and inappropriate for young teenagers. This is folly. There is little more graphic or offensive than young people addicted to drugs like methamphetamine. Indeed, addiction to any substance, especially when it concerns the youth, is offensive. This was the view taken by French advertising authorities last year, when dealing with anti-smoking ads which directly related nicotine addiction to the powerlessness of sexual slavery. The case was dismissed and the ad campaign went ahead.

The tag line reads ‘To smoke is to be a slave to tobacco’.

Offensive they may be, but really now – would you want to light up anywhere near a billboard with that picture on it? The more offensive, the more effective, the better.

It really is no surprise, therefore, that Ogilvie has made a short film, called I Am Not Moving, of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

1. Japanese man playing a violin to Super Mario.

2. Brazilian police crashing their squad car into a plane.

This snippet, showing Antarctic male penguins building their nests is a classic.