INTRODUCTION:
I want to look into the representation of Fat People because they are often misunderstood. They all state that Fat people are stupid but not all fat people are stupid and some can be very clever. There are not only negatives in the Media but some signs of Positivity. Some examples would be Smithy from Gavin and Stacey is quite funny and does fall in love with a girl. Shrek also finds love with Princess Fiona. I don’t like anyone to be represented by others actions like the fact that I am a teenager and the media represents us as violent and wearing hoodies.
TELEVISION:
There are lots of people on Television that are overweight for example:
1)Heather Trott on Eastenders played by Cheryl Fergison:
Heather is represented as fat, stupid and lazy. She
Is funny because we feel the need to laugh at Fat people but
Really they are real fun to be friends with and are totally
Normal. It also shows Heather as weak because she has asthma.
One storyline for Heather that proves she is just stupid and weak is when she has a baby with a much younger character called Darren Miller and even her best friend Shirley is shocked.
2)Homer Simpson in The Simpsons is a funny and silly character and is represented as fat. They show he is fat because he always wears a white shirt which doesn’t fit his belly and is always eating Doughnuts.
His storylines are usually based around him being fired by Mr.Burns, creating a nuclear disaster, A drunk who does nothing with his life and often forgetting important things and his children.
I personally don’t think Homer Simpson is very dumb or stupid because he has a very good job and pay at the Nuclear Power Plant and to handle Nuclear material you have to be qualified specially.
FILM:
In films a lot of people and characters that are fat are represented as funny and generally stupid and lazy. Here are some examples:
1) In Kung Fu Panda, Po is represented as fat and lazy because he lives of the money of his father’s business and gets very tired easily. He is stupid because he hasn’t done anything with his life and his father is always telling him to do something good with his life.
But when Po gets the chance he shows he can be the best when he is trained by Master Shifu and is highly praised when he saves the day from evil. He trains hard when he realises that he has an opportunity and a full life ahead of him.
2) Another film representing Fat people is Just Friends with Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart.
What happens is that our main character Chris Brander is overweight and fancies a girl
very much. At the end of their year at school he decides to confess his love to her by writing in his yearbook. But the girls ex-boyfriend gets the book off Chris and reads it aloud in the party. Chris runs away in tears and cycles home vowing he will go away far and never come back until he achieves better than everybody else.
Ten years on and Chris has lost his excess weight and is very handsome and successful with a thriving career as a Los Angeles record producer and a reputation as a ferocious womanizer. Just before Christmas, his boss (Stephen Root) orders him to take up-and-coming pop singer Samantha James (Anna Faris) to Paris, so that she will sign with their company. Chris goes reluctantly, as he has a history with the self-obsessed singer. During their trip to Paris, Samantha sets her private jet on fire by neglecting to remove the aluminum foil from a plate of tuna she has placed in the plane's microwave oven. This necessitates an emergency landing in New Jersey, not far from Chris's hometown. He takes her to his mother's house for the night, causing him to face the humiliating high school years he left behind and his unresolved feelings for Jamie.
News:
In newspapers and news on the television we always hear the side of Fat people as bad. People believe these because they rely on the news for correct information and the silly actions of some Fat people is used as a stereotype towards all others that are classed as Fat.
1) Fat people are blamed weirdly for part of the reason for global warming. This is because fat people use up more fuel in a car and cannot be bothered to walk increasing emissions. Also the fact that the food they prefer to eat takes more energy to produce than normal and the agriculture used releases emissions.
2) It has been said that women do not mind fat men as long as they also have a fat wallet. This is telling us that women are greedy for money and do not look for personality in a fat man however the media shows this as a bad thing towards fat people instead. This outrageous as you should only like who you really want to be with and not fall into a trap of a beautiful woman after your money.
Conclusion:
In conclusion I think that fat people are really underestimated but films, television and news show this badly and stereotype them the wrong way. They really need to step into the shoesof the fat people and look at their view of getting bullied everyday at school, work and in public.
