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Rate It X

Paula de Koenigsberg, Lucy Winer · 1985 · USA · 93 min

First released in 1985, RATE IT X stunned audiences and critics alike with its unflinching look at how sexism and sexual exploitation are embedded in American media and culture. Directors Lucy Winer and Paula de Koenigsberg traveled across the United States interviewing men who profited from—and helped perpetuate—stereotyped and sexualized images of women. Advertising executives describe how sex is used to sell product. Hustler magazine’s creator of the notorious “Chester the Molester” cartoon proudly displays drawings depicting a predatory adult man entrapping young girls. A fundamentalist minister tells us that Adam shirked his responsibility by allowing Eve to lead. The flamboyant producer of a popular cable show roams the streets of New York City in a silver lamé jumpsuit, video camera in hand, asking young women, “Would you like to flex into a hallway and pose nude?”