Miss or myth?

This documentary examines beauty contests and the images of women they promote by focusing on events surrounding the Miss California Beauty Pageant. Held in the resort town of Santa Cruz, Calfornia, the Miss Calfiornia beauty pageant served as a focal point for community activity. During the seventies, however, the feminist movement challenged the traditional notions of American womanhood and protested the pageant's commercial exploitation of women. By the 1980's, the protest manifested itself in the Myth America counter-pageant. The film interweaves archival footage of beauty pageants dating back to the 1920's and interviews with Lisa Davenport Miss California 1985, Ann Simonton, leader of the Myth America pageant as well as past contest winners, officials and protestors.

Related films

Sources

  1. 16mm Filmography (legacy record) — title, year, creator, length, format, color, sound, description, catalog record