MEDIA REVIEW Expose the Illusions, Crack the Codes: Contextualizing Visual Media to Mold a New Reality

This article provides a comprehensive review of two films that analyze how and to what effect displays of gendered body ideals in the media impact body image and a wide spectrum of behaviors among viewers. While there were obvious differences in the contextual background, content, and approach of these two films, both films highlight the pervasive sexualization, objectification, and dehumanization of women in visual media—and how we might be able to tackle such entrenched social constructions of gender and gendered bodies. We thus combined our presentation of the reviews below, discussing each in turn, to offer a comparative yet integrated approach to evaluating what they have to offer, both separately and cumulatively.