The Arm Flab Situation
Another one about the issue of celebrities and their weight.
"We don't root for the fatties, because fat is still seen as evil, something to ridicule. And Hollywood takes this bias to the extreme, denying film roles to some of our most talented performers based on their bodies. Samantha Morton, the British actress who has been nominated twice for an Oscar... claimed she was turned down for a starring role in a Hollywood movie because 'the tops of my arms were too thick.'"
Samantha Morton is awesome, so that sucks. Hasn't she always been super thin though? Hmm. Here's a picture of her where I guess her arms don't look like sticks. But she is quite thin, and always has been.
"We don't root for the fatties, because fat is still seen as evil, something to ridicule. And Hollywood takes this bias to the extreme, denying film roles to some of our most talented performers based on their bodies. Samantha Morton, the British actress who has been nominated twice for an Oscar... claimed she was turned down for a starring role in a Hollywood movie because 'the tops of my arms were too thick.'"
Samantha Morton is awesome, so that sucks. Hasn't she always been super thin though? Hmm. Here's a picture of her where I guess her arms don't look like sticks. But she is quite thin, and always has been.
posted by mo pie at 8:55 AM
6 Comments:
I heard the movie was The Brothers Grimm which flopped anyway, so maybe she should be happy.
I am from SoCal and the last time I lived there (in the Valley) my friends--show-biz wannabes on the very periphery of *The Industry*--were absolutely obsessed with body image, fat, hair or lack therof... bemoaning the luck of the draw that gave you bad features that were impossible to fix. It was practically all they talked about. It was depressing, shallow and boring all at once. These were my high school friends, who really had a lot more going for them than that, but they were hanging around Hollywood too much. It'll do that to you.
SO...I moved to Montana. That was in 1975. Never looked back. Oh, and I don't see much TV or many movies.
Well I clicked on the article, got mad (I won't tell her my source, Mo, honest) and wrote this back to the columnist:
I'm as conflicted as any woman, but if you mean what you say at the end of your article:
"We need to end all body shame ... etc."
then perhaps it would help if you replaced phrases in your own article like
"We don't root for the fatties ..." with "we're NOT TAUGHT to root for the fatties (and I'm not going to get into whether "fatties" is or isn't pejorative)"
and challenge whether
"The harsh truth to face is that we don't want fat girls on film" - again, your quote - is ACTUALLY ACCURATE since Camryn, Kirstie, and other actresses you don't discuss (like Ashlee - Atkinson, not Simpson) actually DO have careers - and Emmys and Oscars.
Now, again, I'm as conflicted as you seem to be. I work in New York. I'm a size 8. I REFUSE to assume that that's "fat" based on the FACT that camera angles (and BTW, it is "angles", not "angels", especially in this context) generally add about 10-15 pounds. I know it, and based on your own stunning photo, you know it too.
I don't know who you're trying to please or what role you're up for, and I hope you get everything you want. But if you really mean what you say, you'll want to think it over - and what your audience's reaction might be, and who your audience really is - before you print it next time.
But don't you see that having ANY flesh on the upper arms is a sign of moral weakness and complete lack of acting ability? < /sarcasm>
I think they're supposed to be concave from shoulder to elbow, and if the upper arm has any substance to it it must be toned sculpted muscle.
Funny, my arms probably look about like hers in that photo, and I'm very very happy with them. She's probably happy with them too. How horrible to have something like that given as a reason for not being hired.
Final word: if Samantha Morton had been the girl in Brothers Grimm, it would have been an entirely different film, because she's that good.
I was reading through the article, and towards the end she talks about the fat men that we like on movies with their skinny wives, and I noticed one oddity...
Tom Hanks is fat?
I never seemed to think so, and wouldn't have put him in the same classification as Dr. Phil.
I can tell from her posture in that position, that Samantha Morton's arms are pressed against her sides, flattening her arms against her body and making them look heavier than they actually are. As they don't look heavy even in that photo, in that awkwad position, I can only conclude that, in fact, her arms are not heavy. Which makes the whole issue (per Ms. Morton) a WTF?
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