Eating Disorder in Film Norbit by Brian Robbins - Movie Review Example

Eating Disorder FILM: Norbit. The message in the film about the body An eating disorder is usually caused by an abnormal attitude towards food where a person is either too cautious about what they eat or eat too much food. These disorders affect both the male and female gender with the female being more affected especially when they are younger. In the film Norbit, the antagonist is an overweight woman who is portrayed as being gluttonous, lazy and a bully while the protagonist is a slim man who is kind and caring. The antagonist is able to trick the protagonist through offering protection from other bullies in school, forcing him to marry her after school since nobody liked her thus she opted for demanding marriage as a reward for the ‘protection’. However, this was not a happy marriage as the antagonist mistreats her husband due to his small size. Though rich, the antagonist is not attractive due to her body size and poor character; she and her relatives are also involved in some illegal businesses. Table manners are not part of the vocabulary of this family. Eventually the protagonist in able to get away and marry a child hood friend who is slim, attractive and kind. Effect of the film in body image formation of the spectators The film portrays the huge body size as being associated with gluttony and laziness. The overweight character is not socially acceptable in the film as it is directly associated with overeating. The character, thus becomes a bully as a way of self defence. The laziness character is portrayed in the engagement in illegal business to get quick money without working hard for it. On the other hand, the slim body size is appreciated as it is associated with beauty and hard work from both genders. The slim people are considered flexible at work and tend to care more about others rather than concentrating on their own selves. Therefore, the spectator’s body image is directly affected by the film as they are comparing themselves with the characters in the film and would like to have the same body as that of the appreciated character. Those who are already huge are also affected as they hate being associated with the undesired character of the antagonist. Effect on eating and exercise habits of the spectator Furthermore, the eating habits of the spectators are bound to change soon after the change of their body image. Girls and women embrace the idealization of thinness in the media leading to an unsatisfactory view of their body, thus desiring thinness (Fox-Kales 60). Since a slim body is associated with beauty, the spectators will desire to be thin thus changing their eating habits in a bid to slim. Some spectators will reduce the amount of food intake as they fear adding weight. This may affect their health negatively as the body lacks the basics it requires for good health. Some may engage in extreme body exercise hoping to lose weight; this leads to over-eating to recover the energy lost. The women are also known to induce vomiting after overeating for fear of gaining weight. Those engaging in overeating and extreme exercise tend to be of normal body weight and fairly good health though having the RN eating disorder. The ones who fear weight gain eat very small amount of food at times starving themselves and are mostly underweight with their health being affected negatively. Those vulnerable to the effects of the film The majority of those whose eating habits is affected by the media are the adolescent girls and young women. The young girls will experience body dissatisfaction and desire to be thin so as to look attractive to their peers and the opposite sex. There is also increased fear of gaining weight, thus engaging in vigorous body activities to lose weight. Younger women are also not spared by the media as they imitate the media stars and view them as having the ideal body. In modern western culture, cultural values are passed over through the media (Fox-Kales 59) thus the increased dependence on the media for guidance on the desired body. As the women desire the portrayed ideal image, they engage in poor eating habits either to lose weight or to avoid gaining weight. Those already having big body size are stigmatized and desire to lose weight; their self-esteem is affected as they adopt a low opinion of their body. This in the long run affects the health of these people and some of them end up eating more to console themselves thus adding more weight instead of losing it. Oppositional critical view of Hollywood movie Hollywood movie stars are always portrayed as having the perfect body through being thin. This is not always the desired body in every part of the world. Thinness is linked to lack of family care and love in the traditional Fijian culture (Fox-Kales 59). This has helped to create an opposing view of the Hollywood movie since not all traditions advocate thinness. Moreover, the extreme thinness has major health risk effects, including high chances of affecting reproductive health. The femininity of a woman is what best describes a woman thus poor reproductive health will definitely affect the self esteem of the woman involved. This does not mean that obesity is good either, but advocates for normal body weight. Normal body weight is vital for the well being of the individual as the expected BMI is achieved. Low BMI ha negative effects on the health of the individual. Moreover, the perfect body shapes of the Hollywood stars are not always naturally achieved. Due to their demanding career, some of them may go for unnatural methods to have a perfect body shape such as plastic surgeries to have their bodies altered. In so doing, they gain shapes that are balanced both on the breast and hips, which is not possible for all women naturally. Moreover, I have learnt to appreciate my body as I am without desiring to be like the stars. We cannot all be stars, thus stars are who they are and we are who we are. The movies also are created to portray perfect characters which are more unrealistic for such characters are very few if they exist at all. The stories always have a happy ending for most romantic films thus giving the impression of a good reward for thin bodies; this is not the case in real life situation. Thus the movies are fiction based and cannot be used as a yardstick for the society’s culture today. Furthermore, a poor self esteem is the least desired character because it makes one to feel inferior in the company of others and also influences the lack of self-confidence. Thus, anything that degrades my self esteem is not my number one priority as it does me more harm than good. Thus an entertaining view of the films is worthwhile rather than a model view. In so doing we learn to appreciate ourselves more instead of admiring Hollywood actors. A high self esteem is paramount to living a healthy life as it eliminates the chances of eating disorders associated with desire to have a body similar to that of another person. The total well being of an individual is measured by the physical, mental, psychological, and social well being of the person; thus self esteem plays a role in ensuring peace of mind and appreciation of ones body leading to social acceptability. The first step to social acceptability is accepting oneself as you are for others to accept you since change begins with us. Work cited Fox-Kales E. 2011. Body Shots: Hollywood and the culture of eating disorders. USA, New York, New York Press, Albany. Read More