Videos on Women's and Gender Studies

The beauty academy of Kabul c2006

A group of Western hairstylists open a beauty academy for Afghani women in post-Taliban Kabul. 1 videodisc (74 min.)

MEDIA 10-4506

 

Beauty before age 1997

Johnny Symons

Explores the power of youth and beauty in the gay community. A diverse group of man, ages 19 to 77, navigate their fears of becoming old, undesirable, and alone. This film also offers a male perspective on a historical female issue, and illuminates the larger societal obsession with physical appearance. 1 videocassette (22 min.)

MEDIA 10-3724          2-5295

 

Beauty in the eyes of the beheld 2009

Liza Figueroa Kravinsky, Mike Kravinsky, and Art Palette Productions

"Society tells us that beautiful women have it all. But beauty can be as much a curse as it is a blessing. In this sensitively filmed program, eight women labeled as beautiful--two pageant winners, an exotic dancer, a former pop musician, a college student, an assistant paralegal, a physician, and an entrepreneur--explore body image issues through their frank stories of how concepts and realities of physical beauty have molded their lives for both better and worse. Objectification, negative stereotyping, insecurity and vulnerability are recurring themes, as are opportunity and preferential treatment"--Container. 1 videodisc (55 min.)

MEDIA 10-2037

 

Beauty mark c2009

Carla Precht, Diane Israel, Kathleen Man, Edgar Boyles, Jamie Smith, SheArt Productions, Salmon Pictures, and Media Education Foundation

"[Diane] Israel, a Boulder-based psychotherapist and former champion triathlete, talks candidly about her long and agonizing personal struggle with eating disorders and obsessive exercising, fearlessly confronting her own painful past as she attempt to come to terms with American culture's unhealthy fixation on self-destructive ideals of beauty and competitiveness. The film lends context to Israel's personal odyssey with fascinating insights from athletes, bodybuilders, fashion models, and inner-city teens, as well as prominent cultural critics and authors"--Container. 1 videodisc (53 min.)

MEDIA 10-2213

 

The blonde mystique c2007

Sally Aitken, James Dunnison, Aubrey Arnason, Angela Case, Karen Holness, W Network, Paperny Films (Firm), Blonde Productions, and National Film Board of Canada

Two brunettes and one blonde woman set out to discover the blonde mystique. 1 videodisc (52 min.)

MEDIA 10-2134

 

Body typed 3 short films on media and physical perfection 2009?

Jesse Erica Epstein and New Day Films

Wet dreams and false images: "Exposes the art of digital photo-retouching. How do images of perfect female beauty influence men's perceptions of real women? And, how we see ourselves?". The guarantee: "Teasing, self-perception, cultural identity, and plastic surgery. How would changing our bodies to try to fit an image alter the way we see ourselves? -- Or even who we are?". 34 x 25 x 36: "A look at mannequins, religion and perfection. Enter the inner workings of the Patina V Mannequin Factory and see what goes into making 'the ideal woman of the moment' -- in plastic.". 1 videodisc (ca. 31 min.)

MEDIA 10-2055

 

Chinese foot binding the vanishing lotus 2004

Wing Chuen Fung, Joani Tang, Grant Thatcher, Discover China Production, Zhongguo dian ying he zuo zhi pian gong si, Beijing Taiga Film & TV Co. Ltd, Tsui Siu Ming Productions Ltd, and Filmakers Library, inc

Witnesses the experiences of Chinese women who willingly underwent years of suffering to contort their feet into an erotic symbol of beauty and eligibility, a pair of small feet -- three-inch golden lilies. Some of these women tell of the event that branded their lives, confronting the viewer with a custom that subjugated women to a brutal beauty myth. 1 videodisc (52 min.)

MEDIA 10-1680

 

The codes of gender identity + performance in pop culture c2009

Sut Jhally and Media Education Foundation

"Communication scholar Sut Jhally applies the late sociologist Erving Goffman's groundbreaking analysis of advertising to the contemporary commercial landscape in this provocative new film about gender as a ritualized commercial performance.  Uncovering a remarkable pattern of gender-specific poses, Jhally explores Goffman's central claim that the way the body is displayed in advertising communicates normative ideas about masculinity and femininity.  The film looks beyond advertising as a medium that simply sells products, and beyond analyses of gender that focus on biological difference or issues of surface objectification and beauty, taking us into the two-tiered terrain of identity and power relations"--Container. 1 videodisc (73 min.)

MEDIA 10-1580

 

La corona The crown c2008

Amanda Micheli, Isabel Vega, Runaway Films , Vega Films, HBO Documentary Films, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and Cinema Guild

The contestants are hired killers, guerillas, and thieves. The runner-up will cry when she doesn't get the tiara, wiping here tears with a tattooed hand. The beaming winner, resplendent in an evening gown and glittering jewels, will be crowned by the previous year's queen. But she won't be invited on a press tour as a role model for young girls; instead, she'll be escorted back to her jail cell. This is a beauty pageant like no other, and it happens every year in the women's penitentiary in Bogota, Colombia. 1 videodisc (40 min.)

MEDIA 10-4164

 

Cover girl culture awakening the media generation 2009

In this documentary, former Elite International fashion model, Nicole Clark, calls for a necessary change, integrity and responsible media for our youth. This is an examination of how advertising and the cult of celebrity have deeply and negatively impacted teens and young women. The film juxtaposes ads and interviews with editors from top fashion magazines with revealing interviews of parents, teachers, psychologists, body image experts, and the girls themselves. 1 videodisc (84 min.)

MEDIA 10-4483

 

The fat body (in)visible 2011?

"What happens when women decide to love their bodies no matter what size? This documentary short by fat acceptance activist Margitte Kristjansson features two of her fellow fat acceptance activists, Keena and Jessica, who share their experiences of being judged by society for their decision to not bow to how women are expected to look--including being harassed and discriminated against because of their size. Undeterred, they talk about how the fat acceptance movement has allowed them to become empowered through fashion, explore the intersection of race and fatness, and how they found community support through social media and blogs"--Container. 1 videodisc (25 min.)

MEDIA 10-5460

 

Fat chance c2007

Yuka Sekiguchi, Film Finance Corporation Australia, Fat Productions, and Icarus Films

"When single mom and filmmaker Yuka Sekiguchi, overweight at nearly 200 pounds and fast approaching fifty, determines to lose weight in hopes of becoming healthier and happier, she decides to film her struggle, figuring that public humiliation will be a strong incentive to succeed. FAT CHANCE, by turns serious and humorous, chronicles her six-month effort, involving experiments with fad diets, machines that claim to break down body fat, exercise programs, diet shakes, and consultations with an obesity expert, a psychiatrist, and a plastic surgeon"--Container. 1 videodisc (52 min.)

MEDIA 10-1969

 

Generation M misogyny in media & culture c2008

Thomas Keith, Vox Populi Productions, and Media Education Foundation

Thomas Keith, Professor of Philosophy at California State University, Long Beach, looks at misogyny and sexism in mainstream American media, exploring how negative definitions of femininity and attitudes toward women get constructed and perpetuated at the heart of popular culture. The film tracks the dynamics of misogyny across a broad range of media phenomena: including the hyper-sexualization of commercial products aimed at girls, the explosion of violence in video games aimed at boys, the language of hip-hop artists and talk radio shock jocks, and caricatures of femininity and feminism found in the American popular culture mainstream. The case is made that the devaluation of women based on gender can harm boys and men as well as women and girls. (Container). 1 videodisc (60 min.)

MEDIA 10-1425

 

Girl model 2012

Follows an American modeling scout as she seeks new talent in Siberia and attempts to find work for 13-year-old Nadya Vall in Tokyo's modeling industry, which favors young girls.  1 videodisc (77 min.)

MEDIA 10-4209

 

Killing us softly 3 advertising's image of women 2000

Sut Jhally and Jean Kilbourne

Discusses the manner in which women continue to be portrayed by advertising and the effects this has on their images of themselves. 1 videocassette (34 min.)

MEDIA. MEDIA  MEDIA  DANA 2-5034    2-5972     10-114     32

 

Killing us softly 4 advertising's image of women c2010

Sut Jhally, Jean Kilbourne, and Media Education Foundation

"In this new, highly anticipated update of her pioneering Killing us softly series, the first in more than a decade, Jean Kilbourne takes a fresh look at how advertising traffics in distorted and destructive ideals of femininity. The film marshals a range of new print and television advertisements to lay bare a stunning pattern of damaging gender stereotypes--images and messages that too often reinforce unrealistic, and unhealthy, perceptions of beauty, perfection, and sexuality. By bringing Kilbourne's groundbreaking analysis up to date, Killing us softly 4 stands to challenge a new generation of students to take advertising seriously, and to think critically about popular culture and its relationship to sexism, eating disorders, and gender violence"--Container. 1 videodisc (45 min.)

MEDIA 10-2201

 

Mirror, mirror 2005

Jan Krawitz and Women Make Movies (Firm)

Explores the relationship between a woman's body image and the quest for an idealized female form. 1 videodisc (17 min.)

MEDIA 10-1182

 

Miss Navajo 2007

Billy Luther, Mike Rysavy, David Benjamin Steinberg, Independent Television Service, and Public Broadcasting Service (U.S.)

The film follows the path of 21-year-old Crystal Frazier, a not-so-fluent Navajo speaker and self-professed introvert, as she undertakes the challenges of the pageant. It is through Crystal's quiet perseverance that we see the strength and power of Navajo womanhood revealed. No matter who takes the crown, this is a journey that will change her life. Interspersed with pageant activities are interviews with former Miss Navajos, whose cheerful recollections of past pageants break the tension the current contestants are undergoing. 1 videodisc (60 min.)

MEDIA 10-1976

 

Neverperfect 2007

Regina Miyoung Park,  Edward Robinson, and Cinema Guild

Most Asian women experience particular cultural and social pressure to strive for extremely high standards of achievement and flawlessness. Among ethnic patients, the number of Asian-Americans seeking plastic and cosmetic surgery has risen 55% from 2004 to 2006. Along with other Asian American women seeking plastic surgery, this film follows the complex journey of one young Vietnamese-American woman's struggle with popular perceptions of beauty and body image in her decision to undergo cosmetic surgery. Traversing historical and contemporary notions of beauty, stereotypes and iconography within Asian and popular cultures, this film incorporates a rich selection of archival footage and commentary from numerous voices which ignites lively debate on the phenomena as they pertain to race and gender identity. 1 videodisc (65 min.)

MEDIA 10-1266

 

Slim hopes advertising and the obsession with thinness 2002

Jean Kilbourne, Sut Jhally, and Media Education Foundation

Slim Hopes -- a lively and engaging program suitable for a wide range of audiences -- offers an in-depth analysis of how female bodies are depicted in advertising images and the devastating effects of those images on women's health. Addressing the relationship between these images and the obsession of girls and women with dieting and thinness, the film offers a new way to think about life-threatening eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, and a well-documented critical perspective on the social impact of advertising. 1 videodisc (31 min.) :

MEDIA 10-3223

 

Vulva 3.0 between taboo and fine-tuning c2014

"With their comprehensive and unflustered research into the history of this particular aspect of the female anatomy in the 21st century, the directors shed light on every facet of the matter in hand, from sex education to censorship, from the airbrushing of "misshapen" labia in pornographic images to the work of activists against female genital mutilation--and in doing so celebrate the diversity of the female body."--Container. 1 videodisc (52 min.)

MEDIA 10-5627

 

Woman being 2010?, c1997

Wen-jie Qin and Women Make Movies (Firm)

Examines the changing concepts of beauty and sexuality for women in modern China and shows how Western pop culture is affecting their expectations and self-worth.  Explores the rise of a new super-feminine, highly sexualized ideal. 1 videodisc (ca. 20 min.) :

MEDIA 10-2273

Beauty before age 1997

Johnny Symons

Explores the power of youth and beauty in the gay community. A diverse group of man, ages 19 to 77, navigate their fears of becoming old, undesirable, and alone. This film also offers a male perspective on a historical female issue, and illuminates the larger societal obsession with physical appearance. 1 videocassette (22 min.) :

MEDIA 2-5295

 

Beyond killing us softly the strength to resist : impact of media images on women and girls 2000

Margaret Lazarus and  Renner Wunderlich

A documentary about the fight against the toxic and degrading messages to women and girls that dominate the media. 1 videocassettee (33 min., 54 sec.) :

DANA. MEDIA 1756      2-5553

 

Blutclip 1993

Pipilotti Rist, Dig-It Audio, and Electronic Arts Intermix (Organization)

This video clip, performed by Pipliotti Rist, is a celebration of the female body and its reproductive function. 1 videocassette (ca. 3 min.)

MEDIA 2-7742

 

The Body beautiful 1991, 1990

Ngozi A Onwurah, Madge Onwurah, Rosie Rowell, Brian Bovell, and Siam Martin

Film situated in England examines the relationship between a Caucasian mother and her bi-racial Caucasian/Nigerian daughter and how they coped with the mother's breast cancer and subsquent sicknesses and how they examined the definition of beauty and body image. 1 videocassette (24 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3385

 

Body image for boys c2002

Laura Ling, Derrick Shore, and Cambridge Educational (Firm)

This program explores some of the issues facing young men today as they struggle to define themselves amidst the flood of media-generated images of male physical perfection. Experts include Divya Kakaiya, Leigh Cohn, and UCLA Healthcare sports medicine physician Gary Green. 1 videocassette (18 min.)

MEDIA 2-6771

 

Body politics 1997

Anne Henderson and Susan Sarandon

This program takes a provocative look at women's efforts to change societal attitudes about the ideal female form. 1 videocassette (48 min.) :

DANA.      MEDIA 1758            2-881

 

Breasts 200-?

Thom Powers, Meema Spadola, Cinemax Reel Life (Firm), Elevator Pictures (Firm), and First Run/Icarus Films

22 women speak candidly about their attitudes toward breasts. 1 videocassette (50 min.)

MEDIA 2-6857

 

Busting out 2004

Francine Strickwerda, Laurel Spellman Smith, Stir It Up (Firm), and Bullfrog Films, inc

A disarmingly honest and intimate exploration of our society's fascination with women's breasts. 1 videocassette (57 min.)

MEDIA 2-7326

 

Chinese foot binding the vanishing lotus 2004

Wing Chuen Fung, Joani Tang, Grant Thatcher, Discover China Production, Zhongguo dian ying he zuo zhi pian gong si, Beijing Taiga Film & TV Co. Ltd, Tsui Siu Ming Productions Ltd, and Filmakers Library, inc

Witnesses the experiences of Chinese women who willingly underwent years of suffering to contort their feet into an erotic symbol of beauty and eligibility, a pair of small feet -- three-inch golden lilies. Some of these women tell of the event that branded their lives, confronting the viewer with a custom that subjugated women to a brutal beauty myth. 1 videodisc (52 min.) :

MEDIA 10-1680

 

The codes of gender identity + performance in pop culture c2009

Sut Jhally and Media Education Foundation

"Communication scholar Sut Jhally applies the late sociologist Erving Goffman's groundbreaking analysis of advertising to the contemporary commercial landscape in this provocative new film about gender as a ritualized commercial performance.  Uncovering a remarkable pattern of gender-specific poses, Jhally explores Goffman's central claim that the way the body is displayed in advertising communicates normative ideas about masculinity and femininity.  The film looks beyond advertising as a medium that simply sells products, and beyond analyses of gender that focus on biological difference or issues of surface objectification and beauty, taking us into the two-tiered terrain of identity and power relations"--Container. 1 videodisc (73 min.) :

MEDIA 10-1580

 

The Famine within 1993

Rebecca Jenkins and Katherine Gilday

Discusses the current obsession with body image in North American women, and the influence of the mass media upon ideas about weight control.  Psychologists describe the ideal of women in the United States, how women are oppressed by this ideal, and the psychological problems this ideal creates. 1 videocassette (55 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2104

 

Fit episodes in the history of the body 1991

Laurie Block and Linda Hunt

Combines archival images and research to chart the development of American attitudes towards, and definitions of, physical fitness and the human body. 1 videocassette (74 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2107

 

Generation M misogyny in media & culture c2008

Thomas Keith, Vox Populi Productions, and Media Education Foundation

Thomas Keith, Professor of Philosophy at California State University, Long Beach, looks at misogyny and sexism in mainstream American media, exploring how negative definitions of femininity and attitudes toward women get constructed and perpetuated at the heart of popular culture. The film tracks the dynamics of misogyny across a broad range of media phenomena: including the hyper-sexualization of commercial products aimed at girls, the explosion of violence in video games aimed at boys, the language of hip-hop artists and talk radio shock jocks, and caricatures of femininity and feminism found in the American popular culture mainstream. The case is made that the devaluation of women based on gender can harm boys and men as well as women and girls. (Container). 1 videodisc (60 min.) :

MEDIA 10-1425

 

Gorgeous starring Hermoine the modern girl 1994

Kaz Cooke, Sharon Connolly, and Maurice Giacomini

Undermined by her evil inner voice, Hermoine the modern girl tries exercise, plastic surgery, beauty therapy and bulimia to look gorgeous for a job interview. Eventually, she rebels against her inner voice and her obsession with beauty. 1 videocassette (11 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3077

 

Human sexuality & nursing practice: Illness, disability, and sexuality c1999

Cindy Bright and Concept Media, inc

Pt. 1. Describes the sexual response cycle and the body systems necessary for optimal sexual functioning. Discusses body image and self-esteem, describes patient limitations and illustrates helpful techniques. Pt. 2. Describes age-related changes in sexual functioning and discusses modifications in routines that may be helpful. Examines attitudes, medical problems and medications that may have a negative affect. 2 videocassetes (63 min.)

DANA 2161 cassette 1 & 2

 

Killing us softly 3 advertising's image of women 2000

Sut Jhally and Jean Kilbourne

Discusses the manner in which women continue to be portrayed by advertising and the effects this has on their images of themselves. 1 videocassette (34 min.) :

MEDIA. MEDIA  MEDIA  DANA 2-5034    2-5972     10-114     32

 

The life and times of Sara Baartman "The Hottentot Venus" 1998

Zola Maseko, Philip Brooks, Harriet Gavshon, Phillip V Tobias, François-Xavier Fauvelle, Yvette Abrahams, Steve Martin, and Brian Daubney

A documentary film on the life of a Khoi Khoi woman who was taken from South Africa in 1810 and exhibited as a freak across Britain. The image and ideas for "The Hottentot Venus" (particularly the interest in her sexual anatomy) swept through British popular culture. A court battle waged by abolitionists to free her from her exhibitors failed. In 1814, a year before her death, she was taken to France and became the object of scientific research that formed the bedrock of European ideas about black female sexuality. 1 videocassette (52 min.) :

MEDIA 2-5019

 

Mirror, mirror 2005

Jan Krawitz and Women Make Movies (Firm)

Explores the relationship between a woman's body image and the quest for an idealized female form. 1 videodisc (17 min.) :

MEDIA 10-1182

 

Miss India Georgia 1997

Daniel Friedman and Sharon Grimberg

This documentary video follows four contestants in the Miss India Georgia pagent.  It tells the story of their experiences as first generation Americans.  These young women disclose the complexity of their feelings about growing up in the U.S. as children of immigrant parents. 1 videocassette (56 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3387

 

Neverperfect 2007

Regina Miyoung Park,  Edward Robinson, and Cinema Guild

Most Asian women experience particular cultural and social pressure to strive for extremely high standards of achievement and flawlessness. Among ethnic patients, the number of Asian-Americans seeking plastic and cosmetic surgery has risen 55% from 2004 to 2006. Along with other Asian American women seeking plastic surgery, this film follows the complex journey of one young Vietnamese-American woman's struggle with popular perceptions of beauty and body image in her decision to undergo cosmetic surgery. Traversing historical and contemporary notions of beauty, stereotypes and iconography within Asian and popular cultures, this film incorporates a rich selection of archival footage and commentary from numerous voices which ignites lively debate on the phenomena as they pertain to race and gender identity. 1 videodisc (65 min.) :

MEDIA 10-1266

 

A Question of color  color consciousness in Black America 1992

Kathe Sandler

Examines the issue of color consciousness within the black community.  This film explores a caste system based on how closely skin color, hair texture and facial features conform to a European ideal.  A variety of African Americans give their experiences and attitudes towards the question of color. 1 videocassette (58 min.) :

MEDIA  DANA 2-2621  379

 

Run like a girl 1999

Carol Cassidy

Teenage girls from a variety of backgrounds discuss their search for identity and self-esteem and other social concerns. 1 videocassette (57 min.) :

MEDIA 2-5299

 

Slim hopes advertising and the obsession  with thinness 1995

Jean Kilbourne and Sut Jhally

Explores the manner in which women are portrayed by advertising with the focus on thinness. Discusses the impact this portrayal has on the self images of women and girls. 1 videocassette (30 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2626

 

Smile pretty 1999

Carol Cassidy

Teenage girls from a cross-section of ethnic backgrounds discuss life as a beauty queen, the pressure to fulfill a societal ideal, the allure of celebrity, and the artificiality of the modelling trade. In addition, they share incidents of heroism and sacrifice, feelings about their struggle for personal identity, and insights into the mother/daughter relationship. 1 videocassettte (57 min.) :

MEDIA 2-5301

 

Ways of seeing:  Painting, nudes and women 198-?, 1974

John Berger and Michael Dibb

The second in a series of four programs. Examines the difference between nakedness and nudity in painting. Discusses perceptions of women as reflected in painting and advertizing from the point of view of the sex of the viewer and what impact this has on the way women perceive themselves. 1 videocassette (30 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2552

 

Western eyes 2000

Gerry Flahive and Ann Shin

Examines the search for beauty and self-acceptance through the experiences of a young Filipina and Korean woman living in Canada who both believe their appearance, specifically their eyes, affect the way they are perceived. Both feel unsettled in Western society and are contemplating cosmetic surgery on their eyes. Layering interviews with references to super models and other pop-culture icons of beauty, the filmmaker captures the pain that almost always lies behind the desire for plastic surgery. 1 videocassette (40 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2384