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Thin (2006)
Poignant Glimpse Into the Lives of Eating Disorder Sufferers
The documentary Thin was released in 2006 and directed by Lauren Greenfield. It follows the lives of four young women, ranging from their teens to early thirties, who are sent to temporarily reside in a treatment care facility in Boca Raton, FL, for eating disorder patients. All four of the women hail from different states within the U. S. and grapple with a variety of disordered eating habits, ranging from anorexia nervosa (restrictive eating), bulimia nervosa (binging and purging), to binge eating disorder. Upon being released from the treatment facility, the women quickly slip back into their old ways of struggling with obsessive-compulsive rituals to lose weight quickly, whether by severely restricting caloric intake or binge eating and self-induced vomiting.
Witnessing one of the women at the treatment facility demonize a refined sugar-laden vanilla cupcake was especially poignant. People who suffer from eating disorders often perceive "fattening" and "unhealthy" foods as the most dangerous weapon and have truly lost sight of the bigger picture beyond their focus on controlling their food intake and weight. Seeing the women form friendships and bond over acting like silly teenagers jumping on the bed, or hugging each other goodbye, was also touching. A reminder that these treatment facility patients are human beings, capable of forming bonds, and who each have distinct backstories before their eating disorder took over their lives.
Many critics have accused rehabilitation facility staff of treating their clientele with a cold, clinical approach centered more on increasing caloric intake and body weight rather than uncovering and addressing the core emotional and psychological issues that led these women to engage in disordered eating habits and rituals. The climax of the documentary features one of the four women being asked to leave the facility for modeling disruptive and rebellious behavior. Upon her departure, she engages in self-induced vomiting and requests to smoke cigarettes in the cab leaving the facility. It is revealed at the end of the documentary that all four of the women drastically dropped in weight proceeding their release from the treatment facility, and the woman who was asked to leave committed suicide.
Thin did not hesitate to share graphic footage of women who struggle with life-debilitating mental health issues repeatedly vomiting into toilets, hysterically expressing their desire to die, or struggling to hush the voice of their inner critic, one of which condemns themself as "disgusting" or "pathetic." What the documentary did lack was including footage of the women making strides toward recovery. Not only in terms of recognizing distorted perceptions related to body dysmorphia but also addressing the motivations they harbored to engage in dysfunctional eating, exercising, and purging rituals or seeing the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel. Being able to envision a life where they are not slaves to their mental health disorders, spending every day counting calories in vegetables and sugar-free gum, binge eating in shame and secrecy, vomiting into toilets or running X amount of miles on the treadmill. Questions therapists at the treatment facility could have potentially posed were, is there anything you want out of life you can't achieve in this state of mind? Is there a lifestyle you'd like to be living you would not be able to enjoy if you are struggling with engaging in disordered eating habits on a daily basis? Were there major events or changes in your life that triggered the beginning of using disordered eating rituals to cope with being unable to control other aspects (of your life)?
There was also a lack of acknowledgment of external factors that could have affected the self-esteem of these women. For example, Western society's strong focus on thin body ideals, the American beauty, fashion, and entertainment industries, or the pressure to remain "elegant" for women who grew up doing ballet or gymnastics.
I Am Greta (2020)
Hot Button Issue in a World of Extreme Polarities
I am so glad positive light is being shed on such a hot button issue as the Climate and Ecological Crisis, and am also beyond stunned by how composed and informed one of our youngest leaders is on the issue. I was most surprised by the way this documentary showed conservative news channels demonizing 16-year-old Swedish school girl and climate activist Greta Thunberg as being "mentally ill" rather than "on the autism spectrum/neurodivergent" or even more horrific, seeing former U.S. President Trump mock her after pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement.
I was not particularly fond of the conclusion of this documentary which felt repetitive and did not emphatically inspire viewers to participate in the movement by offering a fresh and direct message.
I would love to see more media coverage or NY Times best sellers on two things: 1. What can ordinary people of the Western world do on an everyday basis to reduce their carbon footprint aside from drastic lifestyle changes like never fly or go vegan? 2. What are the possible environmental catastrophes that will occur within decades - likely in less than centuries - if we continue to ignore the climate crisis and carry on exploiting oil, accelerating species extinction and destroying land masses for corporate greed?
Miss Americana (2020)
Authentic Inside Scoop on Life of Young Pop Star
When I first came across this documentary, I will not lie and admit I was a bit skeptical. I have always had mixed feelings about Taylor Swift and her contribution to the music industry, as well as her image as a pop star. She perfectly embodies the all-American, Aryan, Christian good girl who worked her way up to the top from the ground up. I've always thought her music was often heavy on the talking and light on the delicate intertwining of signing the lyrics with moving emotion in conjunction with background instrumentals. However, after viewing this documentary I now realize that singers, celebrities and pop stars like Taylor Swift are just humans like the rest of us. She is, indeed, full of flaws, insecurities and also descends from humble beginnings. In this documentary, she shares her struggles with an eating disorder, extreme anxiety and moments of unwavering self-doubt. She also covers her experience as a sexual assault victim, her mother's battle with cancer, and navigating how to express her political views with dignity and grace. She explains how anyone who begins to acquire fame or fortune within the industry they work must also be aware of the fact the magnifying glass of the public eye will increasingly become more concentrated on their whereabouts and accolades. Taylor Swift may not be the most talented or amazing singer who has ever lived, but is she talented, smart, hardworking and a positive role model who can easily reach the teenage girl audience most of her songs are geared towards? Undoubtedly. And, she seems like a genuinely nice, truthful, classy woman, which makes her image even more admirable.
What Maisie Knew (2012)
Precocious child endures dysfunctional parental discord
I really love this movie and have been an advocate since its release. It's about a precocious and intuitive little girl raised in Manhattan during modern times and caught in the midst of dysfunctional parental discord. Her mother is depicted as a nasty, narcissistic woman who enjoys trying to remain younger than her years through her rockstar career, creating unnecessary drama, and also forces inappropriate closeness with her daughter perhaps alluding to Cluster B personality disorders. Her father is portrayed as an art dealer completely out of touch with how to relate to children, and a bit of a smarmy guy who uses the nanny for sexual gain then proceeds to treat her terribly. Though Maisie endures neglect and witnesses harrowing conflict she remains sensitive, wise and sweet-natured. The help who are side casted second to the parents are the only ones who actually demonstrate truly responsible behavior and genuine care for Maisie. The ending is quite surprising and a far twist from what one may expect after viewing the first half of the film. Its soundtrack and costume design are also a charming touch.
The Princess Diaries (2001)
Humorous aspects never die
Trite at times but a comic relief that will never get old. Anne Hathaway offers a spectacular delivery of the awkward girl gone popular who must face navigating moral decisions which will alter her life and automatically affect all of her relationships. The moral seems to be that it's better to be good to your true friends who treat you well no matter what rather than fall prey to the illusion of the promise of friendship by the popular, superficial kids who only act like they care once you've acquired status, but don't actually care about who are you are inside.
Equilibrium (2002)
One-dimensional action scenes
Premise is good, acting is decent, but action scenes are completely simplistic and unrealistic. I think this movie could have been propelled further in terms of cohesive excellence (plot, character development, set/costume design, resolution, acting abilities, loopholes, etc.) if the action scenes had been trickier for the protagonist to overcome. I also think, while there was a push for the development of a bond between Preston and Mary O'Brien when they touch hands, there needed to be a little bit more to solidify their connection, physically or intellectually. Finally, I think this premise was interesting and unique within the genre of science fiction, but there were undoubtedly several holes in the plot (i.e. how was it that Preston was the first in his society to refuse or lose his daily dosage of Prozium?) which did not add up and needed to be re-examined.
El hoyo (2019)
Gruesome yet thought-provoking
Gruesome yet thought-provoking motion picture on the horrors of savage capitalism and the outcome of rebellion against social stratification. Food serves as a metaphor for individuals competing for self-preservation and survival. Floors serve as a metaphor for inequality that manifests within a capitalist society, with those higher up on the ladder being portrayed as the greediest and prone to exploitation of those below.
Ambiguous ending tied to Cervantes' protagonist Don Quixote's fate leaves viewers pondering the meaning of a life well-lived; for one's society, for one's self-interest, or for the vulnerable and the defenseless.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Born Psychopath (2013)
Disappointing but still worth viewing
While I have always been compelled to read about, watch or examine stories where the conflict centers on children and psychopathy, when I saw there was a Law and Order SVU episode on this exact topic, I was immediately excited to watch it. Although psychopathy is generally viewed as a taboo subject, when mixed with children the idea of cunning and callous, neurologically impaired beings trapped in small bodies is highly riveting to ponder. However, much to my dismay, while this episode had a strong narrative and character development, there were a multitude of flaws worth addressing.
First, the actor who plays Henry demonstrates an inconsistent character in terms of mood, aggression and manipulation. While I think Ethan Cutkosky did an excellent jobs at points throughout the episode conveying superficial charm, rage, manipulation of adults and silent scheming, there were times his performance didn't quite seem convincing as a full-blown psychopath. I think if you compare his performance as a child psychopath to Kevin in "We Need to Talk About Kevin" (2011), you would agree that Kevin is more consistently off and violent, while Henry is more seemingly normal yet arbitrarily violent.
Second, it isn't quite clear why Henry would've called the cops after he set his apartment on fire, locked his sister in his room and his mother in the laundry room. If he wanted to kill his family members, why did he want to be caught so quickly? And, if his parents owned a multi-million dollar apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side with a contemporary renovated interior, why were there no fire alarms?
Finally, in the scene where Nick Amaro tries to persuade Henry to release his neighbor and hand over the gun he had stolen, there is a point where Henry maniacally suggests that if he shot the detective standing in front of him, blood would gush out of his head. It doesn't make sense that Nick didn't think of a way to get the weapon from Henry during this scene through hasty persuasion, or pounce on and cuff him in the midst of his threats.
On bright side, there were many strong aspects of this episode. The dialogue, character development of Henry's parents, the other detectives, Dr. Huang, the pacing and the set design were all incredibly done. Henry's parents denial was realistic and convincing. The most convincing scenes were Dr. Huang's evaluation of Henry as well as Henry's creepily seductive behavior towards Rollins. The amount of drama, suspense and plausible excitement incorporated throughout this episode was undoubtedly well done.
While Cutkosky's final hugging interaction with his father masking his blank, psychopathic staring was flawless, perhaps if another actor had played Henry and been asked to convey more eeriness and deception through cunning actions and sly smirks, the role of the 10-year-old child psychopath would've been more realistic and complete.