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PARK CITY -- One of the Sundance films in the U.S. documentary competition attracted attention even before Saturday's premiere.
"Miss Representation" focuses on how the mainstream American media objectifies women focusing on youth and beauty. The filmmaker spoke with high-profile women about how they rose above it.
During a panel discussion Saturday afternoon -- which included filmmaker Jennifer Newsom and activist Gloria Steinem -- the group said it's time to do something.
One of the panel members, actress Geena Davis, has an institute that she says has done the most research on this issue. As a mother, she says she cares about the messages her children receive.
"The female characters that are there are usually portrayed as eye candy, hyper-sexualized, highly-stereotyped and this is very true in the media that's made for kids, like G-rated movies, PG and children's television programs," she said.
Davis says female characters in children's programming often have as many negatives in terms of stereotypes as adult TV shows and films.
The film "Miss Representation" has several more screenings at Sundance through next Saturday.
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com
