WUNRN
Women Make Movies
Film Segment
GIRL POWER: ALL DOLLED UP
A
film by Sarah
Blout Rosenberg
2011,
24 minutes, Color, DVD
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This thought-provoking short film examines the notion that
“girl power” has been co opted by commerce to create a feminist construct that
is ultimately damaging to girls’ identity and development. In a range of
diverse, revealing interviews with girls as young as seven, we witness the
power of the popular media in developing brand loyalty and image
self-consciousness.
Complementing
the girls’ testimony are numerous pop culture examples, as well as academics
illuminating how the concept of girl power has been used to bring in big money
by focusing on appearance. From Dora the Explorer’s grooming aids to Disney’s
Princesses line to the highly sexualized Bratz dolls, the message is clear:
girl power means being attractive. As one particularly astute young interviewee
puts it, “Somewhere along the way girls get the idea ‘okay, I’m supposed to
look hot every time I leave my house.’” GIRL POWER is critical viewing for
women’s studies, advertising and mass communications courses, educators or
anyone who works with young girls.