A futureless compulsory body : how representations in The Whale perpetuate an idealized body
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Robert Byrd (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Sarah Cervenak
Abstract: Within media, representations for varied bodies have been minute and when these bodies are acknowledged the perspective is one constructed of stereotypes. This thesis aims to interrogate the intersections between fatness, queerness, and disability and query the cultivation of representation specifically in the 2022 film The Whale. The Whale chronicles a fat gay man (Charlie) during his last week alive as he tries to connect with his estranged daughter. Using a close reading of scenes from the film, I question the way that the director, Darren Aronofsky, crafts a lens that perpetuates an ideal body, which is thin, white, and heterosexual. When looking at the interactions of queerness and fatness, this thesis will examine the increased scrutiny of bodies within the gay community while also tackling the imposed heterosexual norms that dictate futurity. Turning toward the intersections of fatness and disability, I work from the assertion of fatness as a disability to question the voyeuristic interest of media to watch fat bodies as if on display. By the end of this thesis, I propose that moments of fat rebellion can be found in media enriched with fat community and that this form of community can be wielded when combatting normative body ideals.
A futureless compulsory body : how representations in The Whale perpetuate an idealized body
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Created on 8/1/2024
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2024
- Keywords
- Disability, Fatness, Film, Futurity, Queer
- Subjects
- Obesity in mass media
- Gay people in mass media
- People with disabilities in mass media