Whether it's billboards, advertisements, magazine covers, or TV images, Americans are bombarded with a highly idealized—and sexualized—vision of a woman's body. Filmmaker Carol Tizzano's thoughtful documentary PicturePerfect takes a hard look at how this affects the emotional, psychological, and physical well-being and development of females, featuring interviews with a wide variety of adult women and young girls. Many of the usual criticisms are leveled here, revolving around the fact that women now live in a social/media-created hyper-sexualized culture suffering from an unhealthy preoccupation with unattainable physical perfection. However, the film does venture beyond these observations to also address the inner conflicts many women deal with: several of the interviewees not only “know” that the messages they are being fed are lies, but also see themselves as healthy individuals, yet they still struggle with body image, feelings of inadequacy, insecurity in relationships, and a tendency to set unrealistic goals (even ‘tween-aged interviewees admit to hating their bodies, or say “it's easier to be a boy”). A few topics touched upon—the virgin/whore dichotomy, the “princess syndrome,” and portrayals of sexual activity without responsibility—could have been addressed in greater detail; however, this is a fine discussion starter overall, which offers important encouragement towards greater media literacy. Recommended. Aud: J, H, P. (E. Gieschen)
PicturePerfect
(2007) 40 min. DVD: $229, VHS: $199. Fanlight Productions. PPR. ISBN: 1-57295-896-0 (dvd), 1-57295-470-1 (vhs). Volume 23, Issue 2
PicturePerfect
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