By Tom Hurley

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A new awareness-centered film series kicked off at Center Theatre in the Student Center Tuesday, with a free showing of a documentary exploring the degradation of women in the media.

“Connection Cinema” is a series created by a partnership of the VIP Center and Late Night Film Series to bring movies concerning violence prevention, social justice and awareness free of charge to students.

The four-part series started with the showing of “Miss Representation,” a documentary exploring the role played by mainstream media in the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America.

Sexism is the topic tackled in the next movie on deck in the series, available free for students to watch on Tuesday, Sept. 18.

“The Bro Code” delves into the role media and society plays on men’s view on women, looking at how movies, music videos, jokes and pornography give men the impression it is OK to look at women as an inferior sex.

Filmmaker Thomas Keith explored the topic in explicit detail, finding that the media has created a culture whereby men feel it is acceptable to control and humiliate women.

Mariah Carey’s “Precious” is the third movie in the series, being shown on Oct. 2. Also staring Lenny Kravitz and Monique, Precious follows an overweight and illiterate teen, pregnant for the second time, as she begins life at a new school in Harlem. The movie is an adaption of Sapphire’s best-selling novel “Push.”

“Connection Cinema” rounds up on Oct. 16 with the screening of a movie taking aim at the notion of judging the goodness of girls based on their sexuality. “The Purity Myth” looked at topics including abstinence-only education, planned parenthood and women’s healthcare.

All movies are Tally Cat events, and start at 8 p.m. at Center Theatre in the Student Center.