Whenever I think we have progressed, I am reminded that my thinking is false. Moreover, I realize it's the people in charge of the media we watch who perpetuate certain beliefs and normalize certain ways of thinking.
It's 2018 and some things shouldn't happen anymore.
Netflix's new show, "Insatiable," misses the point it sets out to make. Its premise does little to promote a positive attitude toward one's appearance and body image, although this is its supposed intention. Its premise is simple: a high school girl is bullied for being "fat," but after an accident leaves her with her jaw wired shut for a whole summer, she loses weight after consuming liquid meals and returns "skinny" for her senior year, ready to get revenge on her bullies. Now, thin and pretty, she is not seen as worthy of being bullied so the torment stops.
I cannot, at all, see how this show promotes a positive attitude towards body image to those who struggle with it on a daily basis.
This show perpetuates the stereotype of fat people being bullied more than skinny people. It does little to sway our thinking about diverse body types and does not promote a healthy dialogue about body image.
Most of all, it promotes the ideal version of beauty we have built up as a society, instead of attacking and challenging this belief to promote change and acceptance of a diversity of people. Although its premise is to satirically critique how people judge others by their looks and touch on the topic of body image, having a girl go from what is considered "fat" in the eyes of the creators to what they consider "skinny" and have the bullying stop, is where the message is completely lost.
Despite the numerous issues with the show, and how it misses the goal it sets for itself, it does reveal a truth about our modern psyche and way of thinking.
Bullying is a pattern of behavior which generally starts in one's pre-college years, but can sometimes continue, which involves aggression and an imbalance of power. Kids are prone to bullying as a result of an imbalance of perceived social power, and unless this behavior is stopped and corrected, it can have numerous consequences including drug and alcohol abuse. Since children are still developing and molding their own world-views, I believe it is dangerous to have a show which normalizes bullying based on someone's weight.
This show is supposed to start a conversation, and it has: about itself and how it misses the mark.
Seeing what the creators deem a "fat" girl be bullied become "skinny" and not be bullied, outlines a problem we have in our current ways of thinking. Discriminating and bullying someone based on their weight is something we should have long stopped. It's 2018, let's change the way we think about others and treat each other with respect. Yet, the primary source of change will be the media. Only by changing what we are exposed to can we hope for a change in mindset. The media has to address its own fatphobia and look at its history of inappropriately telling the stories of those who are considered overweight, and correct its wrongs. However, we must remember: change is not immediate but it is possible.
