2008
60 min
978-1-932869-27-9
![This film has subtitles]()
English
Generation M
Misogyny in Media & Culture
Synopsis
Despite the achievements of the women's movement over the past four decades, misogyny remains a persistent force in American culture. In this important documentary, Thomas Keith, professor of philosophy at California State University-Long Beach, looks specifically at misogyny and sexism in mainstream American media, exploring how negative definitions of femininity and hateful attitudes toward women get constructed and perpetuated at the very heart of our popular culture.
The film tracks the destructive dynamics of misogyny across a broad and disturbing 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 near-hysterical sexist rants of hip-hop artists and talk radio shock jocks, and the harsh, patronizing caricatures of femininity and feminism that reverberate throughout the mainstream of American popular culture.
Sections: Introduction | Female Empowerment? | The Doll Wars | Idealized Beauty | The Pink-Blue Dichotomy | Misogyny & Double Standards
Release Date:2008
Duration:60 min
ISBN:978-1-932869-27-9
Subtitles:English
Trailers
Filmmaker Biographies
Thomas Keith
View Thomas Keith's Filmmaker Page
Dr.
DR. THOMAS KEITH | Director, Writer, Producer
Dr. Thomas Keith teaches philosophy and gender studies at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He specializes in American philosophy and pragmatism with an emphasis on issues of race, class, and gender. In 2008 and 2011 respectively, Dr. Keith directed and produced Generation M: Misogyny in Media & Culture and The Bro Code: How Contemporary Culture Creates Sexist Men, which are used in classrooms around the world. Dr. Keith's forthcoming book is Masculinities in Contemporary American Culture: Confronting Complexities and Challenges of Male Identity (Routledge Press) is scheduled for release in July 2016. E-mail Dr. Thomas Keith.
To book Thomas Keith for a speaking engagement, contact Leslie.
Conference Screenings
Southwestern Social Science Association 2013
Conference Screenings
Southwestern Social Science Association 2013
Resources: Downloads and Related Links
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Praise
"Generation M is concerned about sexism and gender bias in everyday life. Holding up to scrutiny mainstream entertainment -- from children's toys to video games to music -- filmmaker Thomas Keith exposes the consequences of gender stereotypes that are often ignored or taken for granted. By exposing how mainstream American media hypersexualizes girls and promotes violence among boys, Generation M ties together complex issues of misogyny, sexism, and pop culture in ways that are sure to stimulate insight and debate. Generation M isn't the final word on the subject: The film provides language and tools that helps continue much-needed conversations about these tough topics.”
Shira Tarrant, PhD
Author of Men and Feminism
Author of Men and Feminism
"If you have shown any of the Killing Us Softly video series by Jean Kilbourne or Tough Guise: Violence, Media, and the Crisis in Masculinity in your classes and found them very useful for discussions on sexism, objectification, violence, and the media, you will find this video even more compelling to use. ...Undergraduate students at all levels would certainly benefit from the film in courses varying across the field of sociology and beyond. It would be appropriate for critical thinking discussions on gender, violence, media ethics, popular culture, socialization, the nature-nurture debate, and more."
Tricia Davis, University of Wisconsin, River Falls
Teaching Sociology
"Thomas Keith, a philosophy professor at California State University -- Long Beach, leads this critical investigation into the many forms of misogyny found in popular culture, culling numerous examples from advertisements, television shows, movies, music videos, pop music, and even toys. Perhaps one of the most insidious examples offered here is Lingerie Barbie, a line of dolls dressed up in panties, bustier, and negligee that was discontinued by Mattel after general uproar. Fellow academics, as well as veterans of other Media Education Foundation productions (including Jean Kilbourne and Byron Hurt), contribute to this critique, which also features snippets from classroom discussions and interviews with college-age students (such as a young woman who had an eating disorder) that reveal the pernicious effects of misogyny in media. One study purports that within three to five years of the introduction of television to Fiji -- which has a traditional culture that finds large women attractive -- 74% of young women were dissatisfied with their bodies and 11% had developed eating disorders. For the most part, Keith wisely avoids claiming direct casual relationships between media and culture, instead suggesting the kinds of disruptions in the social environment that media can create. Sure to be a valuable discussion starter that will encourage students to think critically about the ways in which media can shape our perceptions of women, this is recommended."
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