Genre: Documentary
Directed by: Darryl Roberts
Written by: Darryl Roberts

Synopsis: The third installment of America the Beautiful explores America’s controversial and shameless sexualization of our youth. Theories and observations merely scratch the surface of a culture centered on the objectification of women. (c) America the Beautiful 3 Facebook page.

The third installment of the Darryl Roberts documentary series America the Beautiful examines the sexualization of youth. and Roberts does honest work showcasing the sex obsessed culture of our society. Sexualization of youth is a touchy subject, but also one that has drew a lot of coverage over the years. This isn’t groundbreaking stuff, more along the lines of being a subject many turn a blind eye to and the documentary is very informative, yet overly scattered with Roberts trying to fit in too much information and cover too many topics in part three of the documentary series. There is no doubt that today’s society, especially in America, has a problem with sex. In America sex is still consumed in a voyouristic manner, where it’s teased constantly yet considered somewhat taboo. It’s okay to tease it and suggest it, yet consuming it is done individually behind closed doors. Roberts attempts to tackle that issue, but doesn’t necessarily demonstrate it in the film.

America the Beautiful 3 follows a lot of couple teenage interns, Kaitlyn Custer and Cali Linstrom. The teens add some real life drama to a stat heavy documentary. Linstrom is the heart of the film. The film turns intriguing once its revealed what the struggles Linstrom is dealing with. The story documenting her push-back against Abercrombie & Fitch is refreshing and courageous. One of the other interesting stories Roberts pursues is that of a young lady named Sydney Spies and her coddling mother. Sydney is a sexually aware and fame obsessed young woman. Her mother enables her as she attempts to reach this farfetched fame. Sydney admits to having frequent unprotected sex, while her mother lightly disproves of her daughters ways. It doesn’t take much prognosticating to figure out that the road Sydney and her enabling mother travel doesn’t end up well. It’s how young wide-eyed women end up turning into porn stars usually.

Roberts definitely did his research and had gathered compelling stats regarding various staggering numbers relating to pregnancy, sexual diseases, rape, etc. I wish Roberts stayed with a subject and delved in deeper. For instance, he visits a children beauty pageant, interviews a couple mother’s and moves onto the next topic. That’s the kind of stuff that needs to be exposed further. Why are these babies in beauty pageant’s at such a young age? What’s anyone doing about it? Is this only a trend in the south?

Ambitious teen Cali fighting Abercrombie (c) Harley Boy Entertainment

While the film took a lot of turns and frequent change of topics, I found the film to be quite informative. There were some important issues addressed in the film, however it was hard to figure out what direction the film was heading into from scene to scene. There was no set direction, instead it seemed like it was about getting as much info and viewpoints out there as possible. Roberts doesn’t assert himself enough to make him a strong enough voice in the film. He seems swayed by certain people he interviews. Doesn’t take enough command that could have established him as strong ant-sexualization voice he wants to be. The questions he poses to some of his interview subjects are less authoritative then the responses he gets, he appears to fold at times. Roberts lack of authority makes you wonder if he is too afraid to confront some of the more outspoken and misguided individuals he’s interviewing.

For a casual viewer, this film is informative and impactful. Parents should be at the forefront to see this film, if only to give them an unbiased look at what their kids are exposed to. Although some of the material is a bit racy, teens should be exposed to this film also. America the Beautiful 3 appeals to a wide ranging audience. Everyone can learn something informative about the sex crazed culture we are exposed to on a daily basis. The main message of the film is that kids need to be aware and protected of all that the sex messages the media provides. The most alarming issue the documentary touches on is the physical damage kids and teens are suffering by trying to be “perfect” as the television commercials and ads want them to be. Roberts gives an honest attempt at bringing the concerns of the over-sexualized youth society we live in, even though the message is scattered and inconsistent.

America the Beautiful- 6.5 out of 10

Sex sells