Sarah Banet-Weiser
Biography
Sarah Banet-Weiser (born 1966) is a distinguished professor of communication and author. She is currently the Walter H. Annenberg Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania as well as a joint professor at the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California and at the University of Pennsylvania. She previously was the head of the London School of Economics and Political Science's (LSE) Media and Communication Department between September 2018 and June 2021. In July 2014, Banet-Weiser became director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication.
Known For & Full Filmography1 Titles
Movie - 2002, 2h 15m • as Self
Tracking the country’s oldest beauty contest—from its inception in 1921 as a local seaside pageant to its heyday as one of the country’s most popular events—Miss America paints a vivid picture of an institution that has come to reveal much about a changing nation. The pageant is about commercialism and sexual politics, about big business and small towns. But beyond the symbolism lies a human story—at once moving, inspiring, infuriating, funny, and poignant. Combining rare archival footage, with a host of intimate interviews with distinguished commentators including Gloria Steinem, Margaret Cho, Isaac Mizrahi, former contestants and behind–the–scenes footage and photographs, the film reveals why some women took part in the fledgling event and why others briefly rejected it - how the pageant became a battle ground and a barometer for the changing position of women in society.