America the Beautiful's beautiful NYC opening

I caught America The Beautiful in it's NYC opening last night. I have one thing to say, Mamas ...WOW! The movie was truly amazing. Director Darryl Roberts touched on so many of the issues that drive me crazy here at Reign:

• The amount of media we're all exposed to each day
• The effects of media images (like flawless, sexualized images of the female body) on men, women, and kids
• Eating disorders
• Plastic surgery
• Beauty products
• The beauty standard as it pertains to race (i.e. darker skin being viewed by some as less attractive)
• The dishonest practices of ad agencies and the beauty industry when it comes to selling dreams in the form of potions, powders and pretty-in-a-bottle
• The questionable practices of the FDA and their reluctance to keep the American public ignorant of the fact that many beauty products are made from ingredients with questionable safety issues (i.e. phthalates and other toxins that have been linked to cancer)
• Low self-esteem in girls
• Men's view of women as sexual objects

He also included a heartbreaking interview with a 12-year-old girl who felt that she was ugly because she doesn't look like the models and celebrities who are idolized by our culture.

Whoooo! Goosebumps Mamas! Sheer goosebumps!

At the center of all this was the story of Gerren Taylor, a young model who took the industry by storm when she was only twelve, only to be discarded by the same fickle fashion world when her novelty wore off.

At the end of the movie the director took questions from the audience and actually brought out Gerren for questions...a very nice treat for the audience and especially my daughter who watches Gerren on BETs "Baldwin Hills" reality show. I could go on and on, but really you just have to see this movie. And please, take lots of other women and teens,too. It has an R rating, but only because of a few references to sexual anatomy and some graphic plastic surgery footage.

Visit the movie's website, send e-mails telling the director that you want ATB to come to your city.