The Whale Is Out, But Wonka Is In
The consensus of 2022 seemed to be that it was a horrific year for fat people on screen. From Brendan Fraser in The Whale to Emma Thompson donning a fat suit in...
The consensus of 2022 seemed to be that it was a horrific year for fat people on screen. From Brendan Fraser in The Whale to Emma Thompson donning a fat suit in Matilda (despite being an outspoken advocate for body positivity?), we didn’t just feel marginalised or unrepresented, we felt persecuted, oppressed, and subjugated.
In 2023, however, the discourse fell quiet. One might think that there was nothing to talk about - no representation of fat people on screen. However, my research led me to the opposite conclusion. Fat people were just as prevalent as ever on screen, and in some ways it was better, and in some ways, just as bad as what we were seeing back in 2022 in The Whale. Only you can be the judge of that though - I want you to form your own opinion. These are the films that I think made the biggest splash for fat people this past year.
Sharon Rooney in Barbie
I was so happy to see our plus size bestie Sharon in Barbie - and even more happy to see her as a member of Barbie’s main squad. However, I did have a problem with Sharon’s character that I frequently have with fat characters surrounded by only thin ones - the costuming is always so different between them. You can see that even in the image below, Sharon’s Barbie is in a tracksuit, while the others are dressed to the nines and in far more revealing clothes. This happens often (I always think of Glee, where Mercedes’ competition costumes always have the shoulders covered and her teammates don’t). Even in the beach scenes in Barbie, Sharon is fully covered. I don’t want to discount that this may have been to make Sharon comfortable and at her request, however, the effect has still been to hide fat bodies. Also - no fat Kens?
Keegan-Michael Key in Wonka
An unsuspecting candidate - although one I would give zero stars for fat representation if I could - Wonka styles Keegan-Michael Key of Key and Peele fame in fat suits of increasing size as the film progresses. Key plays a police chief who is set on preventing Wonka from establishing his factory, so Wonka bribes him with chocolate. Simple enough, and ACAB all the way, but instead of creating a complex and interesting villain, they simply give you a fat person to laugh at. The jokes range from piles of candy wrappers spilling out of his car (because all fat people binge eat on the job, right?), to his belt buckle popping off at a pivotal moment, to the exaggerated sweating, creaking, and groaning noises he constantly makes. This isn’t to mention the fact that we are STILL doing fat suits in 2023. Also, I think it is particularly pernicious to depict fat people like this in a film aimed at children.
Aubrey Gordon in Your Fat Friend
If we were trying to think of our DREAM film there would be absolutely nothing better than a film by a fat person, about a fat person, for a fat person. And that’s what Your Fat Friend is. We are certainly all familiar with the fabulous Aubrey Gordon, and her film with Jeanie Finlay has just finished up the festival circuit and will hopefully be coming to a cinema near us soon! The film is about “fat, family, the complexities of change and the deep, messy feelings we hold about our bodies”. It will be magical and I really hope it takes the world by storm.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers
She is the moment! OSCAR NOMINATED Da’Vine Joy Randolph stars in this OSCAR NOMINATED film as a boarding school head cook and bereaved mother of a fallen Vietnam veteran. She must stay at the school over the holidays to take care of the students who cannot go home. The premise sounds simple, but the film is incredible, and most importantly for our sake, fatphobia is nowhere to be found. Da’Vine is new to my radar and she seems like an angel sent from heaven, and I am thrilled to have this fat representation in such major categories at the Oscars!
Jack Black in Kung Fu Panda 4
Another unexpected entry, but I did promise surprises. Jack Black will reprise his role as Po the panda in Kung Fu Panda 2024 this year, a series which, to some extent, is built entirely on fat jokes at the expense of Po. However, the film works to shift the paradigm and demonstrate that you can be both fat and successful - Po is the highest-ranked kung fu master in the land, demonstrating that you can be both fat and exceptionally talented. Hence, I have complicated feelings about this series: I love that it flips the narrative that fat people are incompetent and lazy on its head, but at the same time, why the fat jokes in the first place? And again, in a movie for kids?
