What's wrong with this picture?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And that's what's so wrong about everything else going on here.
"Fat Actress" star Kirstie Alley has signed a deal to appear in ads for the Jenny Craig weight-management program....
Poor Kirstie Alley. She's gained some weight over the years. Her and half of America. Instead of being the voluptuous trim woman of her youth, she is now a voluptuous plump woman. Sure, she could stand to lose some weight, particularly if her health is at risk. But for the past year or more, there has been a minor national obsession with this woman's weight. Has every fat editor in America decided to take out their own frustrations on her? Why is a weight gain a cause of so much snickering, pointing, and prying into her psyche to understand why she gained it? The woman likes ice cream. How much more do we really need to know?
Especially maddening is that men don't seem to get the same attention for their obesity. Yes, people poked fun at Marlon Brando when he turned into Orca; on the other hand, he was such a bizarre individual, fussing over his weight merely detracted attention from the even creepier aspects of his personality. But no one stalked him with cameras, waiting for the opportunity to catch him at the worst possible angle so they could document every ripple of flab, as they have with Ms. Alley (and Ms. Winfrey, and scores of other glamorous women who commit the great sin of looking like the average American).
A couple of years ago, a reporter had the gall to ask John Travolta about his weight gain. Travolta shrugged it off, saying (and this is loosely paraphrased) "You grow up, you get old, you get fat. Shit happens." I loved his attitude. And, for a time, Alley seemed to be taking the same attitude about her weight--indeed her new show "Fat Actress" was, I thought, supposed to sympathetically and positively explore what it's like being a regular-looking person in a business that embraces the concentration camp survivor look.
Now she's just another cliche--the unhappy fat chick who's going to pimp a diet product. The meanness of public opinion wins again. Sad.
Recent Comments