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January 24, 2023 at 00:02 GMT
Image source A24
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Brendan Fraser is one of the favorites of Hollywood awards season for his role in The Whale.
The film The whale is one of the big contenders for this year’s film award season. It was also noted for rebooting the career of its lead actor, Brendan Fraser.
But besides thanks for the ovation, its director, Darren Aronofskyand Fraser himself were forced to defend it in the face of mounting criticism Clues the Masks “fat phobia”.
The Story Features charliea morbidly obese gay professor who not only faces life-threatening health issues and the social stigma of his condition, but also tries to restore his relationship with his daughter.
It is an adaptation of a story by Samuel D Hunterwho is also the screenwriter of The Whale (titled “La ballena” in some Spanish-speaking countries).
In an interview with the BBC, Fraser and Aronofsky emphasized that their work is looking for Open the minds of viewers about the problems people sometimes face in these circumstances.
“If we could break the bias against people with obesity, that would be a step in the right direction,” says Fraser.
“We often lose sight of the fact that they are people with thoughts and feelings and hearts and families. And it’s a story that takes place behind closed doors,” he adds.
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Director Darren Aronofsky and actor Brendan Fraser had to defend their work against criticism of “fat phobia.”
“Shurting each other with what we say cause health problems in real life. And it looks like there’s something we can easily do to change that.”
The film received a standing ovation when it was presented at the Venice Film Festival, where Aronofsky won awards.
Fraser also won the Critics Choice Awards for Best Actor and both are in contention for Oscar nominations.
Is there “fat phobia” in the film?
In addition to the nominations and awards, however, criticism surrounding The Whale has also surfaced.
There are sign from that amplifies stereotypes from obese people and who falls into an alleged “fat phobia”..
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Fraser gained a lot of weight to play Charlie on The Whale.
The main criticism is that to characterize Charlie, as so often in the film, what is known as a fat suit (“Fat Suit”) was used, a suit-like undergarment designed to make the appearance of the body thicker or on television actors and transform it into an obese or overweight figure.
Aronofsky told Yahoo Entertainment that using this resource was necessary intends to make the character obese outside realisticand not that it seemed “a joke”.
“One of my first calls after deciding on Brendan was my makeup artist Adrien Morot. I asked him, ‘Can we do something realistic?’ Because if it’s supposed to look like a joke, we shouldn’t be doing it. ‘ he explained, pointing out that for him the criticism of fat phobia ‘makes no sense’.
Fraser had to gain some weight to play a 270 kg man. But the production’s makeup and prosthetic bodies come into play to impersonate Charlie.
Why not rent one actor with actual obesity?Some critics wonder.
Finally, part of the problem that The Whale addresses is the rejection of overweight people in all areas, such as work.
Image source A24
The director says he doesn’t agree with that. In an interview with Variety magazine, he noted that casting an overweight actor was “prohibitive from a health perspective.”
“It’s impossible to get a real person dealing with these issues to fill the role,” he said.
However, this has drawn more criticism from obesity specialists who say so Making a film doesn’t endanger the lives of overweight people.
Fraser has also defended her work: “I learned very quickly that it takes someone incredibly strong in that body to be that person. It just felt appropriate, poetic and practical all at once,” he told Vanity Fair.
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Critics point out that Hollywood usually has no place for obese people.
Another aspect criticized is the type of cinematic devices used by the director.
For example, when Charlie eats the sounds of you A form of are chewing very noticeable.
That and that dramatic approximations to its slow movementsare highlighted as reinforcing stereotypes related to overweight people.
For writer Roxane Gay, The Whale ends up being shown as “an inhuman film about a very human being,” as she wrote in a review in The New York Times.
Fraser, on the other hand, emphasizes that his performance was made with respect: “This is a man’s story. Not representative of anyone living with a body like Charlie’s‘ he defended himself.
Similarly, Aronofsky has attempted to refocus the discussion on Charlie’s personal history and the issues he faces.
“This film shows that we are all human, like everyone else, and that we are all good, bad, flawed, hopeful, happy, sad, and have different colors within us,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
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