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The Sinister Dr. Larimer (![[info]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} phosfate) wrote in ![[info]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/community.gif){kind=small} otf_wank,@ 2005-03-11 10:51:00 |
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Remember when the Mr Creosote scene killed all those teens in the 80s?
According to the New York Daily News, members of the National Eating Disorders Association are pissed off about Kirstie Alley's new show, Fat Actress. Because bulemia is never, ever funny.
Oddly, reading this marks the first time I've had any interest in watching the show. Too bad I don't get Showtime.
Calling for a script doctor
Is 'Fat Actress' a health threat?
By MARISA GUTHRIE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Kirstie Alley is poking fun at her own weight problems in the new series "Fat Actress," but members of the National Eating Disorders Association are biting mad at the show.
The head of the Seattle-based organization isn't seeing the humor in Alley's show and believes it might even be harmful to people with eating disorders.
"[The character] appears to be suffering from a binge-eating disorder," said Lynn Grefe, CEO of the association. "That's not funny.
"She's eating a cigarette so she can clear her stomach - it's appalling. I'm meeting people who lost their children to eating disorders. There's nothing funny about eating disorders. There's just no punch line."
In the series, which premiered Monday, Alley is seen gorging herself, overdosing on laxatives and sticking a feather down her throat so that she can purge without ruining her manicure.
Showtime maintains that the show is in no way intended to ridicule eating disorders.
"'Fat Actress' is a fictitious program loosely based on Kirstie Alley's experiences in an unforgiving industry where her weight has been viewed as an insurmountable obstacle to her career," a spokeswoman said in a prepared statement. "The fact that Kirstie Alley has decided to speak out about the absurdity of Hollywood's standards and demands is in itself inspirational."
Grefe appreciates the value of a plus-sized character in a medium obsessed with the super-skinny.
"There is a piece of me that said that this was interesting," said Grefe, "because it was showing the discrepancy with weight between men and women. And it is exposing that we have this huge obsession with size in this country."
An estimated 35 million Americans suffer form eating disorders, according to Grefe. Already, the association has gotten calls and E-mails complaining about the show.
A Showtime spokeswoman said the network had gotten no calls.
"The show's emphasis is on battling societal pressures in a humorous and candid way, and is in no way intended to encourage dangerous behavior or to ridicule those who suffer from eating disorders," Showtime's spokeswoman said.
But, said Grefe, the feather scene was especially unnerving.
"They're offering advice about [purging without] ruining your manicure," said Grefe. "When I saw that I thought, Oh no. I promise you somebody will try that. Because people with eating disorders are not thinking clearly."
Originally published on March 10, 2005
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainmen
According to the New York Daily News, members of the National Eating Disorders Association are pissed off about Kirstie Alley's new show, Fat Actress. Because bulemia is never, ever funny.
Oddly, reading this marks the first time I've had any interest in watching the show. Too bad I don't get Showtime.
Calling for a script doctor
Is 'Fat Actress' a health threat?
By MARISA GUTHRIE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Kirstie Alley is poking fun at her own weight problems in the new series "Fat Actress," but members of the National Eating Disorders Association are biting mad at the show.
The head of the Seattle-based organization isn't seeing the humor in Alley's show and believes it might even be harmful to people with eating disorders.
"[The character] appears to be suffering from a binge-eating disorder," said Lynn Grefe, CEO of the association. "That's not funny.
"She's eating a cigarette so she can clear her stomach - it's appalling. I'm meeting people who lost their children to eating disorders. There's nothing funny about eating disorders. There's just no punch line."
In the series, which premiered Monday, Alley is seen gorging herself, overdosing on laxatives and sticking a feather down her throat so that she can purge without ruining her manicure.
Showtime maintains that the show is in no way intended to ridicule eating disorders.
"'Fat Actress' is a fictitious program loosely based on Kirstie Alley's experiences in an unforgiving industry where her weight has been viewed as an insurmountable obstacle to her career," a spokeswoman said in a prepared statement. "The fact that Kirstie Alley has decided to speak out about the absurdity of Hollywood's standards and demands is in itself inspirational."
Grefe appreciates the value of a plus-sized character in a medium obsessed with the super-skinny.
"There is a piece of me that said that this was interesting," said Grefe, "because it was showing the discrepancy with weight between men and women. And it is exposing that we have this huge obsession with size in this country."
An estimated 35 million Americans suffer form eating disorders, according to Grefe. Already, the association has gotten calls and E-mails complaining about the show.
A Showtime spokeswoman said the network had gotten no calls.
"The show's emphasis is on battling societal pressures in a humorous and candid way, and is in no way intended to encourage dangerous behavior or to ridicule those who suffer from eating disorders," Showtime's spokeswoman said.
But, said Grefe, the feather scene was especially unnerving.
"They're offering advice about [purging without] ruining your manicure," said Grefe. "When I saw that I thought, Oh no. I promise you somebody will try that. Because people with eating disorders are not thinking clearly."
Originally published on March 10, 2005
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainmen
