America the Beautiful 3: The Sexualization of Our Youth

In the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe was one of the biggest pop culture icons on a global stage. She disrupted cultural mores with what was deemed a daring kind of sexuality in films like Gentleman Prefer Blondes. Fast forward to 2014, Marilyn Monroe seems tame compared to today’s pop culture icons. America’s youth has far more access to sexualized imagery than ever before. They’re also becoming sexually active far earlier than previous generations. But, why? The theories that exist today merely scratch the surface of a culture in which companies make billions on the objectification of women and children. The third installment of America the Beautiful explores the sexualization of our youth and its harrowing consequences. Award-winning director Darryl Roberts teams up with industry experts to delve into the problematic reality behind child beauty pageants, teen pregnancy, and rape culture. Beneath the glossy, doctored perfection of the images presented in pop culture, there is a dark underbelly leading us to question our cultural landscape. Who is at fault for perpetuating these harmful standards? Is it corporate greed in advertising? Is it pop culture? Could parents be to blame? Mr. Roberts speaks with industry experts like Jean Kilbourn, Carolyn Costin, Steven Genarro, and Gail Dines along with teenagers to answer these questions. In doing so he creates an honest portrait of this dangerously over-sexualized culture, while also highlighting the positive strides being made to bring change. Set to an acoustic music score by Sir Kahil Elzabar and featuring vocals by Nona Hendricks, America the Beautiful III portrays how women grow up believing they only have two choices: to be desirable or invisible. While boys are raised in a porn culture that makes it difficult for them to conceptualize healthy relationships with women. This film looks beyond the superficial into the psyches of our youth and those that perpetrate this epidemic of over-sexualization.