Though I and most of my friends are beyond child-bearing years, I was interested in seeing the latest discussion in favor of breast-feeding, if for no other reason than that it also says a lot about our culture's attitudes toward women.
Throughout the film I found myself having mixed feelings, recalling my own experience twenty years ago when I gave birth. I went through a lot of what the film portrays, including the conflicting feelings about breast feeding, and my ultimately not doing so, and the ensuing guilt (which was soon eradicated for various reasons I won't go into here). It seems that no matter what a woman decides, there's room for guilt or at least ambivalence.
Clearly the producers of the film and people interviewed in the film feel passionately about their point of view. Where I feel the film could have gone further, however, is a deeper exploration (and explanation) of our culture's attitudes toward women's bodies and breasts, in particular.
A serious discussion about breast-feeding cannot take place without looking at the extreme sexualization of breasts. It still surprises me when I see (mostly) young women casually dressed but with huge (many enhanced) breasts expressly showing in bras and shirts designed to accent them. One only has to look at the fashion world, and the world of Hollywood, which, of course, is trend-setting. Almost all women getting "dressed up" today have a lot of cleavage showing, to say the least. Breasts have become part of the fashion statement.
The question of how do we reconcile this with a goal of greater societal acceptance of breast-feeding should have been further delved into in The Milky Way. It was basically breezed over, for example, showing Bill Maher, a person I usually consider intelligent and with the "correct" views (ones that I agree with!), comparing breast-feeding to "masturbating, farting and taking a p--s," i.e., a bodily function that should be done in private. On the other hand, I'd guess that Bill thinks breasts are beautiful in another context, i.e., sexually.
I'd love to see the makers of this film, and/or someone else, go the next step with this subject.
Throughout the film I found myself having mixed feelings, recalling my own experience twenty years ago when I gave birth. I went through a lot of what the film portrays, including the conflicting feelings about breast feeding, and my ultimately not doing so, and the ensuing guilt (which was soon eradicated for various reasons I won't go into here). It seems that no matter what a woman decides, there's room for guilt or at least ambivalence.
Clearly the producers of the film and people interviewed in the film feel passionately about their point of view. Where I feel the film could have gone further, however, is a deeper exploration (and explanation) of our culture's attitudes toward women's bodies and breasts, in particular.
A serious discussion about breast-feeding cannot take place without looking at the extreme sexualization of breasts. It still surprises me when I see (mostly) young women casually dressed but with huge (many enhanced) breasts expressly showing in bras and shirts designed to accent them. One only has to look at the fashion world, and the world of Hollywood, which, of course, is trend-setting. Almost all women getting "dressed up" today have a lot of cleavage showing, to say the least. Breasts have become part of the fashion statement.
The question of how do we reconcile this with a goal of greater societal acceptance of breast-feeding should have been further delved into in The Milky Way. It was basically breezed over, for example, showing Bill Maher, a person I usually consider intelligent and with the "correct" views (ones that I agree with!), comparing breast-feeding to "masturbating, farting and taking a p--s," i.e., a bodily function that should be done in private. On the other hand, I'd guess that Bill thinks breasts are beautiful in another context, i.e., sexually.
I'd love to see the makers of this film, and/or someone else, go the next step with this subject.