Child Beauty Pageants

Rating: 9/10 (29 December 2006)

This movie made a pretty strong statement about the world of child beauty pageants. The sexual nature of Olive's routine was shocking, initially, but was soon put into perspective when you considered the routines of the other contestants. The other little girls weren't using sex directly in their routines, but the hair, makeup, bathing suits, striking a pose for the camera...all of those things are part of the sexualization of children in these disgusting pageants. Although the pageant scene itself was uncomfortable, the movie did a great job of capturing the ickiness of child pageant, but leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions. Watching those little contestants brought Jon Benet Ramsey to mind, and I wonder if her tragic fate had any part in the creating of this movie?