Hillels of Westchester Premiering Miss. Representation

Hillels of Westchester presents the Westchester County debut of the documentary Miss Representation by Jennifer Siebel Newsom on Wednesday, April 11th at 7:00 PM at the Performing Arts Center (Recital Hall) at Purchase College. The 85-minute film will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Susan Weidman Schneider, Faye Lederman and Rachel Bernstein.

Miss Representation explores how the media’s misrepresentations of women have led to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence. It challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel empowered. Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics, like Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson, and Gloria Steinem build momentum as Miss Representation accumulates startling facts and statistics that will leave the audience shaken and armed with a new perspective.

Susan Weidman Schneider is Editor-in-Chief of Lilith magazine, and one of its founding mothers. She is the author of three acclaimed books, among them the groundbreaking Jewish and Female: Choices and Changes in Our Lives Today. Some accolades include: a Polakoff Lifetime Achievement Award in journalism, Women’s E-news “Leader for the 21st Century,” and National Council of Jewish Women “Woman Who Dared.”

Faye Lederman is a documentary filmmaker whose films include: Women of the Wall, The New Old Country, A Good Uplift, and Hold the Soup. Her work has been screened worldwide. She has served on the steering committee of New Day Films, a cooperative of independent social issue media makers, and has taught at the School of Visual Arts. NYFA, NYSCA.

Rachel Shaina Bernstein holds a B.A. in Jewish Studies from the University of Virginia and an M.A. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies from Brandeis University. Rachel is currently pursuing her doctorate in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Sociology at Brandeis University. Her research interests include emerging adulthood, contemporary Jewish culture and the arts, and representations of Jewish women in film, television, and graphic novels.

Hillels of Westchester is a not-for-profit organization working with students to promote Jewish life at Sarah Lawrence College, Purchase College, Manhattanville College and Pace University, Pleasantville Campus. An all-volunteer board of directors, which include prominent members of the Westchester Jewish community, supports the Hillels of Westchester. The programming for Miss Representation is made possible through a Neshamot Grant from the UJA Federation of New York.

Tickets are $1 for students (with ID) and $10 general admission available through The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College by calling (914) 251-6200 or at the PAC web site http://www.artscenter.org.