Fat phobia and the The Whale TW

[Jalapeñomel]

warning for discussion that could be triggering
.

The Oscars are on tonight, and The Whale is up for Brendan Frazier for Best Actor. (Edited for correct nominations)

Some articles on the discussion around this movie, and Hollywood continuing its negative portrayal of fat people.


amp.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/10/lindy-west-on-the-whale

www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/12/the-whale-director-darren-aronofsky-fatphobia-criticism-makes-no-sense

www.salon.com/2023/01/29/the-whale-is-a-horror-film-that-taps-into-our-fear-of-fatness_partner/

www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2022-12-13/darren-aronofsky-the-whale-brendan-fraser-obesity-fatphobia

[audette]

He's a great actor, and may well deserve the oscar.

I will not watch this movie, though. Everything I have heard about it is that it just piles on to the whole fat phobia thing. As an obese person myself, I deal with fat phobia and lack of accommodations frequently. I don't need to willingly sit thru a whole additional pile on.

[erbear]

I am floored that Hollywood keeps making and rewarding these movies. I guess fat shaming is still a socially acceptable thing? It’s frustrating. I haven’t seen the movie (and won’t), but does his weight need to be the focal point?

[Jalapeñomel]

Mar 12, 2023 12:14:39 GMT -5 erbear said:

I am floored that Hollywood keeps making and rewarding these movies. I guess fat shaming is still a socially acceptable thing? It’s frustrating. I haven’t seen the movie (and won’t), but does his weight need to be the focal point?

Unfortunately, the plot of the movie is that he’s eating himself to death (although I’ve heard he doesn’t die?) . It’s amazing how tone deaf Hollywood can be (not sure that’s the phrase I’m looking for here). I wish celebs were as vocal about this as they are about other issues, but the reality is they probably share the sentiment that being fat is some sort of a moral failure. And this stereotype will continue indefinitely.

I guess it’s too much to ask Hollywood to self exam…see all the POC that have been shouting into the wind about the lack of diversity amongst these awards for, well, forever.

www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR7NjFAX/

[litasail]

One small correction - it is not up for best picture.

But yeah, not watching this. Even the name is triggering for me, frankly.

[Deleted]

Mar 12, 2023 12:59:47 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Mar 12, 2023 12:14:39 GMT -5 erbear said:

I am floored that Hollywood keeps making and rewarding these movies. I guess fat shaming is still a socially acceptable thing? It’s frustrating. I haven’t seen the movie (and won’t), but does his weight need to be the focal point?

Unfortunately, the plot of the movie is that he’s eating himself to death. It’s amazing how tone deaf Hollywood can be (not sure that’s the phrase I’m looking for here). I wish celebs were as vocal about this as they are about other issues, but the reality is they probably share the sentiment that being fat is some sort of a moral failure. And this stereotype will continue indefinitely.

I guess it’s too much to ask Hollywood to self exam…see all the POC that have been shouting into the wind about the lack of diversity amongst these awards for, well, forever.

Hollywood is, and always has been, a fatphobic institution. Actors are told from the start that their worth to society depends on being thin and beautiful (as if the two are the same thing). Fatness is unforgivable, and unemployable. It’s no surprise that their effort to support fat people falls flat on its face. Fat people are the worst kind of “other” to them.

[basilosaurus]

I like one articles take that it's a subset of body horror.

And good on Lindy west (I think she's fantastic generally) for pointing out the funding of oac.

[goldengirlz]

Lindy West’s take-down is so good!

[Jalapeñomel]

Mar 12, 2023 13:57:01 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

I like one articles take that it's a subset of body horror.

And good on Lindy west (I think she's fantastic generally) for pointing out the funding of oac.

Mar 12, 2023 14:18:57 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Lindy West’s take-down is so good!

Lindy West’s article is what lead me back to this after reading about the buzz when it first came out.

[Jalapeñomel]

Mar 12, 2023 13:12:45 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Mar 12, 2023 12:59:47 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Unfortunately, the plot of the movie is that he’s eating himself to death. It’s amazing how tone deaf Hollywood can be (not sure that’s the phrase I’m looking for here). I wish celebs were as vocal about this as they are about other issues, but the reality is they probably share the sentiment that being fat is some sort of a moral failure. And this stereotype will continue indefinitely.

I guess it’s too much to ask Hollywood to self exam…see all the POC that have been shouting into the wind about the lack of diversity amongst these awards for, well, forever.

Hollywood is, and always has been, a fatphobic institution. Actors are told from the start that their worth to society depends on being thin and beautiful (as if the two are the same thing). Fatness is unforgivable, and unemployable. It’s no surprise that their effort to support fat people falls flat on its face. Fat people are the worst kind of “other” to them.

I agree except that there has never been any effort to support fat people.

[Patsy Baloney]

I‘m reading the Wikipedia page after skimming the coverage linked. I got to this line, “After choking on a meatball sandwich, Charlie's health begins to decline…” and I just don’t feel like there is any chance the movie is anything but skinny people’s take on/hatred of fatness.

I’ll be honest and say, I am fat, but I can only tell the story of my fatness. I can’t know what it’s like to be in a bigger body or smaller body.

This kind of feels like someone watched that awful TLC show and patched it together with their own off color jokes about fat folks.

I’m happy for Brendan Fraser.

And that’s all I have to say about that, lol.

[rubytue]

I don’t get out much, and don’t really follow movies. So other than the concept of Brenden Fraser getting fat, that’s all I knew about it. And after reading a couple articles linked in the OP, I have zero desire to see this.

[Velar Fricative]

I wish Brendan Fraser could have made the comeback he deserved playing aaaaaany other role.

[shauni27]

Mar 12, 2023 13:09:29 GMT -5 litasail said:

One small correction - it is not up for best picture.

But yeah, not watching this. Even the name is triggering for me, frankly.

yes!!! 

My mom, a fat person, has been hyping up this movie and talking about it since it first came out, and as soon as she told me about it I gasped at just the name. Literally like clutched my chest and said "what an AWFUL name for a movie! This is so fatphobic" and she argued with me about it.

[Jalapeñomel]

Mar 12, 2023 20:08:06 GMT -5 rubytue said:

I don’t get out much, and don’t really follow movies. So other than the concept of Brenden Fraser getting fat, that’s all I knew about it. And after reading a couple articles linked in the OP, I have zero desire to see this.

He wore a fat suit.

[StrawberryBlondie]

Mar 12, 2023 20:17:56 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

I wish Brendan Fraser could have made the comeback he deserved playing aaaaaany other role.

Yes. When this was in theaters in my area, I was really torn because I love Brendan Fraser and absolutely want to use my dollars to support his comeback and make it known I will see movies he's cast in.

On the other hand, everything about this movie I've heard about (except his performance, which even people who are highly critical of the movie seem to agree is excellent) makes me want to boycott it.

[laladypoet]

I have loved ones that are in this weight bracket. I am actually glad to see the representation here. so often people in public look at them like they're monsters, but if this movie humanizes and makes obese people more accessible and it changes even a few peoples' minds I'm all for it. especially considering there are no movies about obese people that aren't comedies which adds to the problematic ideas of obesity.

[Deleted]

Mar 13, 2023 8:14:04 GMT -5 StrawberryBlondie said:

Mar 12, 2023 20:17:56 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

I wish Brendan Fraser could have made the comeback he deserved playing aaaaaany other role.

Yes. When this was in theaters in my area, I was really torn because I love Brendan Fraser and absolutely want to use my dollars to support his comeback and make it known I will see movies he's cast in.

On the other hand, everything about this movie I've heard about (except his performance, which even people who are highly critical of the movie seem to agree is excellent) makes me want to boycott it.

He had the choice to NOT put on a fat suit! I thought it was pretty widely understood that fat suits themselves are pretty offensive. Why couldn’t they cast a fat actor? Oh right, because a) fat actors have been mostly driven out of the industry, and hiring one would mean employing the unemployable, and b) because fat actors probably wouldn’t touch this script (from what I’ve read — I haven’t and won’t see this film).

I generally like Brendan Fraser as an actor, and I’m happy that he’s making a comeback, but I honestly can’t understand why people are giving him a pass on this.

[shauni27]

Mar 13, 2023 8:37:29 GMT -5 laladypoet said:

I have loved ones that are in this weight bracket. I am actually glad to see the representation here. so often people in public look at them like they're monsters, but if this movie humanizes and makes obese people more accessible and it changes even a few peoples' minds I'm all for it. especially considering there are no movies about obese people that aren't comedies which adds to the problematic ideas of obesity.

did you read literally any of the pieces shared in the OP? 

[rubytue]

Mar 13, 2023 7:57:49 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Mar 12, 2023 20:08:06 GMT -5 rubytue said:

I don’t get out much, and don’t really follow movies. So other than the concept of Brenden Fraser getting fat, that’s all I knew about it. And after reading a couple articles linked in the OP, I have zero desire to see this.

He wore a fat suit.

Yeah, so that’s how much I didn’t know. I could swear somewhere I saw/read that he gained weight for it, too.

[laladypoet]

Mar 13, 2023 9:08:48 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Mar 13, 2023 8:37:29 GMT -5 laladypoet said:

I have loved ones that are in this weight bracket. I am actually glad to see the representation here. so often people in public look at them like they're monsters, but if this movie humanizes and makes obese people more accessible and it changes even a few peoples' minds I'm all for it. especially considering there are no movies about obese people that aren't comedies which adds to the problematic ideas of obesity.

did you read literally any of the pieces shared in the OP? 

literally yes. except for the one that was paywalled. they're opinion pieces. I have a different one. literally.

[Patsy Baloney]

I don’t see this as representation.

It’s a man in a fat suit pretending to live a life that thin people think a person that size lives.

[fernweh]

Mar 13, 2023 8:42:39 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Mar 13, 2023 8:14:04 GMT -5 StrawberryBlondie said:

Yes. When this was in theaters in my area, I was really torn because I love Brendan Fraser and absolutely want to use my dollars to support his comeback and make it known I will see movies he's cast in.

On the other hand, everything about this movie I've heard about (except his performance, which even people who are highly critical of the movie seem to agree is excellent) makes me want to boycott it.

He had the choice to NOT put on a fat suit! I thought it was pretty widely understood that fat suits themselves are pretty offensive. Why couldn’t they cast a fat actor? Oh right, because a) fat actors have been mostly driven out of the industry, and hiring one would mean employing the unemployable, and b) because fat actors probably wouldn’t touch this script (from what I’ve read — I haven’t and won’t see this film).

I generally like Brendan Fraser as an actor, and I’m happy that he’s making a comeback, but I honestly can’t understand why people are giving him a pass on this.

I haven’t seen the movie or know much beyond what has been posted here but when I first heard Brendan Fraser would be wearing a fat suit I was really surprised I hadn’t heard about much of a backlash.

[Velar Fricative]

I've seen people justifying online that because he's fat himself it's okay that he wore a fat suit, which...wtf no.

[seeyalater52]

Mar 13, 2023 9:20:00 GMT -5 laladypoet said:

Mar 13, 2023 9:08:48 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

did you read literally any of the pieces shared in the OP? 

literally yes. except for the one that was paywalled. they're opinion pieces. I have a different one. literally.

Your opinion is that one type of so-called representation is good because another type of so-called representation is problematic? When people who are impacted by the latter “representation” are explaining exactly why it is absolutely problematic? That is… certainly a take.

[Velar Fricative]

Representation isn't about certain groups of people just being featured in movies, TV, social media, etc. It's about HOW they're featured. Fat people would like to be featured as, you know, people who have normal lives too. Or portray characters as rich and complex as those portrayed by thin people.

[laladypoet]

Mar 13, 2023 9:48:56 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Representation isn't about certain groups of people just being featured in movies, TV, social media, etc. It's about HOW they're featured. Fat people would like to be featured as, you know, people who have normal lives too. Or portray characters as rich and complex as those portrayed by thin people.

yes. but others live like this character does. and the world judges them on it and thinks it's their fault. I was glad to see it in a film. but that's just my opinion. 

[laladypoet]

Mar 13, 2023 9:44:11 GMT -5 seeyalater52 said:

Mar 13, 2023 9:20:00 GMT -5 laladypoet said:

literally yes. except for the one that was paywalled. they're opinion pieces. I have a different one. literally.

Your opinion is that one type of so-called representation is good because another type of so-called representation is problematic? When people who are impacted by the latter “representation” are explaining exactly why it is absolutely problematic? That is… certainly a take.

I am one of the people who is impacted. I am also allowed to explain my thoughts and feelings, no?

[seeyalater52]

Mar 13, 2023 10:10:27 GMT -5 laladypoet said:

Mar 13, 2023 9:44:11 GMT -5 seeyalater52 said:

Your opinion is that one type of so-called representation is good because another type of so-called representation is problematic? When people who are impacted by the latter “representation” are explaining exactly why it is absolutely problematic? That is… certainly a take.

I am one of the people who is impacted. I am also allowed to explain my thoughts and feelings, no?

You specifically said you have “loved ones that are in this weight bracket” which strongly implied that you are not.

[StrawberryBlondie]

Mar 13, 2023 8:42:39 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Mar 13, 2023 8:14:04 GMT -5 StrawberryBlondie said:

Yes. When this was in theaters in my area, I was really torn because I love Brendan Fraser and absolutely want to use my dollars to support his comeback and make it known I will see movies he's cast in.

On the other hand, everything about this movie I've heard about (except his performance, which even people who are highly critical of the movie seem to agree is excellent) makes me want to boycott it.

He had the choice to NOT put on a fat suit! I thought it was pretty widely understood that fat suits themselves are pretty offensive. Why couldn’t they cast a fat actor? Oh right, because a) fat actors have been mostly driven out of the industry, and hiring one would mean employing the unemployable, and b) because fat actors probably wouldn’t touch this script (from what I’ve read — I haven’t and won’t see this film).

I generally like Brendan Fraser as an actor, and I’m happy that he’s making a comeback, but I honestly can’t understand why people are giving him a pass on this.

I'm not giving him a pass. I am curious (and I may have missed this in an article if it's addressed, so apologies if this is generally known) if the choice was "wear it or not, whatever" or "wear it or don't get cast."

From everything I've read, this movie shouldn't have been made (nor should've the play it's based on), even if the actor cast was the actual size the role is intended to be. I ultimately ended up falling on the line of boycotting. But I'm glad Brendan Fraser is making a comeback.