Miss Representation

Every image is produced to convey a message. However, the same message can be interpreted in many different ways by people with different contexts. This is evident in image 5 and visual text Miss Representation by Jennifer Siebel Wilson.

In Image 5, the first impression that comes into the viewer's mind is a woman taking a child to a quest. The main actress, Sarah is looking over her back, throwing a cautious gaze towards the camera. From this, it sends a clear message to the audience that the main actress, Sarah is likely to be threatened. Yet she seems calm and unafraid. She grips the weapon tightly and holds it close to her chest. Viewers are able to infer that the weapon is important to her and she relies on it for survival. Sarah is wearing a sleeveless khaki shirt with a gruesome backpack strap onto her back. Through the body language and the props of the woman, we are able to see that she is about to go for a dangerous quest. The fine print "her son our future" shows that women's children plays an important role in our future. Without the application of context, the meaning of this message stays as primitive as mentioned, but with context, I am able to see this image at a different angle. This much I know: women are not being treated equally in our society. Their failures are being scrutinized by the society while their contributions are being neglected by the crowd. We can see that there are only a handful of women holding high and powerful positions in this society. This is because the society sees women as of less importance and capable. Furthermore, from a scientific point of view, the muscle structure and body frame of women makes them less tolerant towards physical labor. The nature build of women partially contributes to the fact that in most movies or media entertainment, the protagonists (saver of the day) are men. In most families, women are the one that spend time and effort, invested blood and sweat in raising their children. They are willing to do anything to protect their children from harm. I frequently read stories and articles that sacrifice their comfort and even their lives for their children. With this context in mind, I am able to infer that this image is challenging the dominant ideology of the patriarchal society where men are those who are in power and women have less contribution towards the society. The fine print now sends me a message to me that women plays an important role in raising children that are going to be the pillars of our future. This is a job that is as important as or more important than the job of any successful men on the surface of Earth. This is because most of these men can be successful partially because their mothers raise them well. The posture of the main actress seems to be protecting her child from any potential source of danger. This makes me view that women can be as courageous and fearless as men. Despite having weaker physical strength, they still put themselves on the frontline. With the aid of my context, I am able to infer the depth meaning of the poster instead of only getting the tip of the iceberg. My context has heavily influenced my view and understanding towards the visual text.

We are able to see the influence of context on one's understanding of a visual text once again in the documentary "Miss Representation" by Jennifer Wilson. She attempts to challenge the society's expectation of women in the United States. The documentary shows that women are highly sexualized and most men view the capability of women based on their appearances solely. Most women who attain high, powerful positions are being isolated. The film includes montage of pictures presenting female in a sexually appealing way. Their postures are sexually appealing and they wear revealing clothes. Without context, I will just think the documentary is just one fact after the other, bombarding its audience with statistics. However, I know that women are viewed as sexual objects in this society. From childhood cartoons to the movie posters, we are constantly exposed to women