No wonder women are angry. . . .
They are barred from testifying before Congress on legislation vital to their interests, they still are seen as sex symbols and generally as second-class citizens, as pointed out strongly in "Miss Representation," a documentary that runs tonight as part of the Webster University Film Series.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom writes and directs the movie, which features many prominent women in fields like entertainment and the media, all attacking the American media establishment for giving them less credit than they are due. Women like Rachel Maddow and Katie Couric, media stars in their own right, join entertainers like Geena Davis and Margaret Cho, Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, N.J. and Paul Haggis, the director of "Crash," and activist Jane Fonda. The list is very long.
Newsom's well-written, forceful statement, reaching close to diatribe at times, does not mention, however, that she obviously has benefited from financial and political help from her husband, Gavin Newsom, multi-millionaire businessman and former mayor of San Francisco, now lieutenant governor of California. There's a lot of truth in her movie, but it could be brought out just as well with a tone that was less harsh.
Miss Representation plays today at 7:30 p.m. at the Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster University campus
— Joe