KO Response to MissRepresentation
(Photo above of Kim Flanagan, Annia B., Model and Blogger; Yvonne Jeffery, HERS Magazine Editor; Cara Fullerton, Global News Anchor; Dana Kerford, Girl Power; Cat Oshenak, Photographer & Founder of I’ve Been Bullied Campaign.)
This morning was the second screening of the film MissRepresentation I have attended in Calgary. Todays screening was put on my Church My Style, an organization of empowering events founded by Calgary Stylist, Blogger and Mom, Kim Flanagan. Kim explains that Church My Style is about finding your “it”? Church. She had the idea of Church when she was sick. Kim was tired and not feeling “it” or really anything. She was wiped out, and in the closets of other wiped out women and thought to herself, “this is bullshit!” she wanted a mentor or some release or some something that was missing. Kim also wanted to get or give the feeling of “it” back to more than one woman at a time and also back to herself.
As it was my second time watching this film, it confirmed many things to me I noticed the first time, but nothing came across to me stronger than… I really have my work cut out for myself being the mother (and step mother) to three girls. The media has done a real number on the psyche of North American society, but I watched a documentary last week called The Glass House (2009, Hamid Rahmanian) about girls struggling to find themselves in Uptown Tehran, Iran and suddenly felt so grateful to have grown up in North America where I can freely express my thoughts and opinions . Even though the media makes the plight for women’s success an uphill battle, we have millions of opportunities in this continent that are not possible elsewhere. The problem I have personally with the film MissRepresentation, other than the fact that Gloria Steinem wasn’t in it enough, is that it seems to focus and harp on the negative forces at play, which beats down and takes away from the fact that we have a chance as individuals in this country for equality, but we must become educated and strive to achieve what we desire to become because it is Capitalist system. The same way I have many friends in Calgary who complain about this city, that it’s not metropolitan enough, not culturally enriched enough…etc., but the truth is, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem! You need to go out every day and do something that contributes to it being a better place for yourself and others. Join an organization that is working toward a cause you care about, or has a like minded group of people. I have found that doing these things makes me feel more optimistic about the place I live, and is a great way to meet people with similar passions in life. The world is not going to change by someone accepting it the way it is, we need to question ourselves about the decisions we make on a daily basis. Social awareness is very important and takes huge effort on the part of an individual.
I am grateful for the people who work hard on a daily basis to make this a better place to live as a woman,an artist and a civilian. I have big shoes to fill in this world, starting in my own home.
