In collaboration with AmerikaHaus NRW...
Miss Representation - Women in Media
Film Screening and Discussion with Prof. em. Dr. Uta Brandes, design researcher, Robin Meloy Goldsby, pianist, author and composer, and Sheila Mysorekar, journalist; moderated by Alexandra Eul, journalist and moderator.
The manner in which women are represented in mainstream media and culture has an immense influence on the status of women in society. The documentary Miss Representation (2011) investigates how the demeaning portrayal and frequent sexual objectification of women in mass media contributes to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence. The film combines facts and statistics with stories from teenage girls and interviews with prominent women such as Jane Fonda, Condoleezza Rice, and Nancy Pelosi.
After a screening of the film, the (mis)representation of women in media and its impact on society will be the topic of our panel discussion: What has and what has not changed since the making of the documentary in 2011? How are women portrayed in today’s mainstream media and how is that similar to or different from their image in social media? How can we ensure fair representation as the foundation of a more just society? We look forward to discussing these and other questions with our panelists:
Prof. em. Dr. Uta Brandesheld the chair for Gender Design and Design Research at the Köln International School of Design, TH Köln, from 1995 to 2015. She has written and published extensively and has been guest professor at universities in Germany, Australia, the US, Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, and Egypt. Brandes is co-founder of the German Association for Design Theory and Design History, co-founder and former chair of the International Gender Design Network, chair of the Advisory Board of the Library of Arts and Museums, Cologne, and member of the Board of International Research in Design at Birkhäuser Publisher, Basel/Berlin.
Robin Meloy Goldsby is an American pianist, author, and composer. She currently plays solo piano in two of Europe’s top hotels - Excelsior Hotel Ernst in Cologne and Brenners Park in Baden Baden. She serves as a cultural ambassador for European organizations dedicated to transatlantic relations and women’s rights. Goldsby has performed for His Majesty, King Charles, at Buckingham Palace, for former Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, and for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court at the installation of Chief Justice Debra Todd.
Sheila Mysorekaris an Indo-German journalist and presently works for Deutsche Welle Akademie as a consultant for conflict-sensitive journalism and media in post-conflict states, for instance in Libya, Lebanon and South Sudan. Mysorekar is the chairperson of the ‘Neue Deutsche Organisationen’, a network of 200 post-migrant organisations. She is also the former chairperson of the independent media organisation 'Neue deutsche Medienmacher*innen', an organisation of ethnic minority journalists campaigning for more diversity in German media.
The discussion will be moderated by Alexandra Eul. As a journalist, she writes reports, interviews and columns and moderates events on socio-political issues. She has also been a reporter at the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger magazine since 2022. Before that, she worked as a reporter at EMMA and Deutschlandfunk-Nachrichten. As a recipient of the prestigious Arthur F. Burns Fellowship, Eul has conducted research in the US and Canada and reported from India as one of the 'Media Ambassadors India-Germany'.
Please register at: https://www.eventbrite.de/e/missreprensentation-women-in-media-tickets-841353891137
Tickets are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We kindly ask you to only reserve the number of tickets that you will definitely use!
