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Community Corner

South Pasadena Community Special Event - Miss Representation Screening and Community Discussion

The 90-minute film will be screened from 5:30pm-7pm followed by a dynamic discussion from 7pm-8pm facilitated by Cissy Brady-Rogers, LMFT, featuring expert guests Mayor of South Pasadena Dr. Marina Khubesrian; SPHS Feminists Unite Club members Charlotte Foley, Mia Forman, Paige Valentine, Paige Forman, and Suki Sekula; Katherine Wong (Common Sense Media); Pasadena City College Board Trustee Linda Wah; Oliver Middelstaedt (USC student and featured in the film); and Shaunelle Curry (Media Done Responsibly). The event is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are required. Space is limited. Refreshments and snacks will be provided.  While attendance of the screening is encouraged, it is not necessary for participation in the community discussion.

Hailed by the Hollywood Reporter as "A relevant and important doc[umentary] that deconstructs the insidious role of visual media in the widespread, unbalanced depiction of women and girls," Miss Representation exposes how mainstream media contributes to the under- and mis- 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 makes 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. While women have made great strides in leadership over the past few decades, the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, women hold only 3% of clout positions in mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls have disordered eating behaviors.

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“How we think about ourselves helps to determine our sense of self-worth.  Well-being is not just the absence of disease or illness. It is a complex combination of a person's physical, mental, emotional and social health factors. Well-being is linked to how you feel about yourself and your life. We need to be increasingly mindful about the demeaning and sexualized images of women and girls that popular media promotes. This event will bring awareness to the source of these negative messages and jumpstart a much needed conversation in our community about self-esteem and political empowerment.” Marina Khubesrian, MD, FAAFP

What: Screening of Miss Representation and Community Discussion

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When: Monday, February 24, 2014

Screening - 5:30pm-7pm

Community Discussion - 7pm-8pm

Where: South Pasadena Public Library, 1100 Oxley St, South Pasadena

Cost: Free

Film Rating: Appropriate for ages 13 and up (CommonSense Media)

Where to get the film: Videotheque, Vimeo on Demand, Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, Virgil Films

Who should see this: Anyone who has a mother, daughter, sister, girlfriend, wife or any other female in their lives that they want to be empowered!

The event is sponsored by Healthy South Pasadena Community Coalition (South Pasadena High School PTSA, Mayor of South Pasadena Dr. Marina Khubesrian, Pasadena City College Board Trustee Linda Wah, Patti Winkel of KnowsyMoms, Day One, and Peace Over Violence) in partnership with the Association of American University of Women, League of Women’s Voters, South Pasadena High School ASB and Feminists Unite Group, Starbucks, and WISPAA. Special thanks to the South Pasadena Library. For more information, please go to HealthySouthPasadena.org, facebook.com/HealthySouthPasadena, or visit missrepresentation.org.

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