Disfigured

Hey loves!

Do you know these movies and books that you watch or read and that occupy your thoughts days and sometimes even weeks after finishing them? The movie disFigured was one of these movies for me. The movie explores how we, and especially women, see themselves and how our size can affect our lives. The movie does this through following the exceptional friendship between a recovering anorexic and a woman trying to foster acceptance for overweight people like herself.

Before I go on to give you my take on the movie, here is the trailer of the movie:

After watching the trailer, I was not entirely sure whether this movie would be a good choice or not. I think there is often a thin line between addressing issues such as eating disorders on the screen and romanticising them through doing so. But this movie really gets eating disorders. There is no other way to put it. The movie does not show you any shocking images associated with eating disorders, but instead addresses how people suffering from such disorders feel. It shows how two women on opposite ends of the clothing size chart struggle in their lives because of their weight.

The movie does not only address the women's personal struggles, but also how society reacts to them. One of the most shocking scenes to me was when the overweight character walked along the beach and someone started to insult her due to her weight out of nowhere. I have never had someone comment on my weight in such an insulting way and I cannot imagine how hurtful it must be. What I find most shocking about this scene is that it shows what reality looks like for many people around the world. The movie gives you an insight into how horrible it can make people feel and to what it can drive the recipients of such dark comments. The woman literally asks her anorexic friends for lessons on how to be an anorexic in her pursuit to become thinner. It shows how such things can drive one to literally desire to become sick.

I loved this movie and the journey the characters go through. I would highly recommend it to anyone who cares about society as a whole - eating disorders affect so many people out there and our attitude towards people of different sizes contributes to the numbers of sick people. Another movie that deals with eating disorders, though on a more personal level than this one, is To The Bone. I also loved this movie, but please be warned that it contains much more graphic images than disFigured. You can find the trailer of To The Bone here:

Do you know a good movie that I should watch during my vacation? Please let me know here!

Lots of Love,

Elena

The title picture of this article was taken by Cie Jen Wong.