Does Pixar’s ‘Wall-E’ Reinforce the Fat Stereotype?
By Radhika | 19-Aug-08 in Current Events
Pixar’s latest animated production ‘Wall-E’ seems to have reinforced the stereotype of the fat, lazy slob and not everyone is happy.
Simple Plot: ‘Wall-E’ tells us if we continue to live the way we are right now, we’re headed for Doomsday pretty soon. Consumerist humans have destroyed the planet with their greed and must escape their dying planet on a ship that floats in space. Far from changing their ways, humans further deteriorate and after 700 years of floating in space, they simply become fatter, lazier and totally incapable of intelligent thinking.
While Australia is yet to see the movie, the protests have been numerous in America, where the movie released earlier this year. Pixar insists that the obese shape that humans take on is the effect of a gravity-free environment and is not a commentary on the plus sized population.
“But will general audiences (which form the bulk of Pixar’s demographic), upon seeing a fat blob “drinking liquified food from Big-Gulp-esque cups, and forever surfing (and chatting) on chair-mounted video screens” think “Oh, wow, so that’s what gravity does to humans!” or “Wow, so that’s what the obesity epidemic will do to humans!”” worried Rachel Richardson of F-Word.org, even before the release of the movie.
However, even recent news articles have wondered why obesity gives one the ability to destroy the world? “According to this lazy logic, a fat body stands in for a distended culture: We gain weight and the Earth suffers. If only society could get off its big, fat ass and go on a diet!” says Daniel Engber of Slate.com.
But is this stereotype fair or is it merely reinforcing fat hate? Common perceptions BBW women often live with:
- You’re lazy
- You eat bad food
- You don’t exercise
- You have no will power
- You’re intelligence is below average
- Your parents didn’t help you enough
- You’re a couch potato and you spend your day watching TV
- You can’t dance
- You don’t mind being joked about
- You’re undesirable
- You’re miserable
- You can’t have a successful career
- You’re not feminine enough
- You aren’t good at sport
- You have no sense of personal hygiene etc etc etc….
Why does society insist on projecting their stereotypes on BBW women? And while Wall-E might well be an enjoyable movie, is it fair to further perpetuate stereotypes that seem to haunt BBW women anyway?
To quote Engber again, “What happens when the movie ends and the lights come up? Does the rest of the audience stare at the lone fatty as she waddles her way toward the theater doors? Do they see in her body a validation of the film's "darker implications"—a signpost for what we might become if we don't change our ways? Or do they just scowl at her, convinced that she's part of the problem?”
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And we can make our voices heard at the box office.... think about it.. statistically the average person knows 250 people.. and they then know 250 people... look at what the Christains (hope I will not offend anyone here, I have been a Born Again Christian myself and count myself as once guilty) have helped do to Ford sales because of Ford's involvment with the Gay community.. people power Don't go see or buy the movie, get your friends/families etc to help boycott this as well.. stereotypes and myths............ hmmmmmmmmmmmm
dont even worry about being overweight
I look at it this way,yes im a bbw and im proud of it and i am trying to lose some weight and that and if people dont like the fact that im a bbw and disabled also due to unfortunate incidents from past then all i can say to them is that you dont have to talk to me and there is the door dont let it hit you in the backside going out.being a bbw and being judged for that by men on the internet really hurts cause they dont realize that a bbw woman is just like any other woman and just as capable if not more to give love and recieve it ..its just that there is more to love.i just wish men would give me a chance.