Fat Myth Monday: Fat People Are Only Valuable as Comic Relief

From the BB:

As the title states, this entry will examine the role of fat characters in popular media and entertainment. While there are some exceptions to the following analysis, (one of which I will even talk about!) my goal is to show how we live in a fat shaming culture that teaches fat people that they can demonstrate their value by A) Being Funny/Comic Relief (Often in a self-deprecating way) or B) ShuttingTheHellUpAndQuietlyRetreatingOutOfTheSpotlight. THIS IS A MYTH. Fat people have so much more to offer than the limited points of view that their characters are given in popular television, ads, and film. 

So, what’s the problem with a funny fat character in a show? A LOT. Do not let anyone tell you that you are being overly sensitive or too critical if a fat character makes you feel uncomfortable, self-conscious, or even angry. In fact, you should feel something when you see the way that fat people are portrayed, whether you are personally fat are know someone who is. Here’s why:

When we are constantly bombarded with comic relief fat characters as the ONLY representation of fat people in the media, it certainly influences a fat person’s sense of self-worth in addition to the way that fat people are seen by non-fat people. That is, fat people are taught to see themselves through a lens of “If I’m funny, people will like me more. I’m fat, but I can compensate with humor” while non-fat people are taught to think “Oh my god that fat person is funny! I bet ALL fat people are funny…” Even if the thought process isn’t EXACTLY like this, it still stands to reason that based on how we see fat characters, we as a culture perceive ourselves differently and/or have certain expectations of fat people based on an archetype that we are force-fed daily. (You could say this about the way women of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and other minority groups are represented in popular media as well).

Besides the fat and not-fat fat gaze (say that five times fast!) the comic relief fat trope has some other major issues. The comic relief character isn’t just portrayed as fat and funny, but as funny because of negative qualities attributed to being fat. For example, fat characters that are supposed to be comic relief who eat voraciously, fart, burp, breathe heavily, walk slowly, or are otherwise hindered by their weight, are laughed at as a spectacle. We as the audience aren’t laughing with them—we’re laughing at them because they are unhygienic, ill-mannered, and lazy due to their weight. Somehow the fact that they are fat makes it okay to laugh at health problems and we begin to accept that fat people are a spectacle to be jeered at, and to assume that all of their problems stem from weight issues.

Let’s take this to the next level—and watch some YouTube clips with examples very soon—and make the statement that I didn’t make above: Not only are fat comic relief characters portrayed in ways that communicate fat equals bad, but they are also portrayed as worthless, unintelligent, non-central characters that are only there to offer a laugh, bolster a main (skinny and attractive) character’s persona, or provide fat fodder as an extra that is killed off, the scapegoat, or the helpmate that saves the day but still doesn’t receive credit.  

Before we look at some examples, know that there are always exceptions to an argument such as this. The idea is to expose that this happens VERY OFTEN and TOO OFTEN and it is detrimental to a fat person’s sense of self as well as others’ view of them. To sum up my argument so far:

Popular media and entertainment reinforces the idea that fat people are only valuable if they are funny, and even if they are funny, they are still dumb, worthless, non-central, or otherwise unimportant as characters. 

For the first example, let’s talk Family Guy. This is a very popular show, and it often spouts misogyny, racism, homophobia and stereotyping under the guise (some would argue this) of satire. I’m not here to dissect every joke that probably went to far on this show, although there are many, but rather I want to focus on Peter Griffin as a fat character. Let’s take a peek at Peter in case you aren’t familiar with him: 

Peter Griffin NAAFP

In this video Peter addresses a crowd of fat men that he has brought together for the NAAFP, the National Association for the Advancement of Fat People. Peter says that he wants them to discuss changes that they wish to see in the community as “fat people with pride.” However, the meeting cannot get underway because: 

1) The fat, male members are very slow to sit down. It takes them forever to walk to their chairs because they are fat. FAT PEOPLE ARE LAZY. 

2) Too much burping and farting interrupts Peter’s speech as he tries to call the meeting to order. FAT PEOPLE HAVE NO MANNERS. BLAME SMELLS ON THEM.

3) The fat men want to snack, so they rustle their chip bags and open cans of soda, again interrupting Peter. FAT PEOPLE HAVE TO EAT CONSTANTLY, THEY CAN’T HELP IT.

4) All of the men have their eyes half shut and a lot of them are breathing heavily. FAT PEOPLE ARE IN POOR PHYSICAL CONDITION.

5) Towards the end of the clip, one fat guy breaks his chair and doesn’t even get up afterwards. LAUGH AT THIS FATASS BECAUSE HE WAS SO FAT THAT HE BROKE A CHAIR. 

I have capitalized above all of the assumptions that this clip makes about fat people. These characters are meant to be laughed at, and they give the main character, Peter, a chance to think “Well I’m fat but I’m not this kind of fat.” This isn’t healthy or positive, either.

Something interesting about Family Guy is that Peter IS central to the show, something very rare for a fat character. (Arguably, however, Peter’s family as a whole is the main focus of the show). Despite his prominent role in the cartoon, Peter exemplifies nothing positive about being fat. He is portrayed as lazy and dumb, his wife and dog often have to correct his behavior, and his infant son is more intelligent than he is. His oldest son, Chris, is also portrayed as extremely unintelligent. The key point of this analysis is not to say that there aren't fat people with negative qualities, but rather to point out that Peter's negative qualities are often highlighted BECAUSE he is fat. (He's not funny and fat...he's funny BECAUSE he's fat. He doesn't fart and burp all the time and happen to be fat, he does this BECAUSE he is fat). While Peter does have redeemable qualities in some episodes, overall he reinforces a negative view of fat people as worthless and lazy. He does his share of eating in excess and farting, just like a fat comic relief character always does.  

While Peter represents an arguably central male that is portrayed as worthless, lazy, and unproductive, Melissa McCarthy’s character in the film Bridesmaids is a de-centralized character  who has some positive qualities that are masked by her role as comic relief. Megan, as she is called in the film, is the sister-in-law-to-be of the bride. Even though she does have her own storyline to an extent, in which she tries to gain the interest of an air marshal that she is attracted to, she ultimately plays the helpmate to the main characters and serves as the token funny fat woman.

To get an idea of how Megan is portrayed as a character, take a look at the following clip:

Bridesmaids Trailer

In this scene the bridesmaids are picking out dresses with the bride-to-be. Right away FAT MEGAN burps and is shunned by the rest of the VERY SKINNY (this movie really doesn’t have many average sized women, does it?) ladies. Megan apologizes and jokes “I’m not even confident of which end that came out of,” demonstrating her value as a funny fat character. In this clip and throughout the entire movie, Megan is portrayed as the least feminine character “tagging along” with the normalized women as they prepare for the wedding. Even when it is time to try on dresses, Megan’s is the most modest and least revealing. Her fat body is totally covered from the chest down, and her legs are not visible. She even wears a matching shrug across her arms and shoulders while the other women wear shorter, more revealing dresses that showcase their slender legs and shoulders. When ALL of the women run to the bathroom with food poisoning, the owners of the store and the other bridesmaids are STILL most disgusted with Megan, who has to make a bowel movement in the sink. Despite the fact that they are all getting sick in expensive dresses, Megan is still used as the main scapegoat for comic relief as the others criticize her for going in the sink even thought she didn’t really have another option. 

(Sidenote: I did not choose Fat Amy or her brother for this analysis because I wanted to show how a really likable character like Megan is reduced to nothing but comic relief, but Fat Amy and her brother do not represent much positivity about fatness, either! They are simply silly, unlikable fat characters each with a dry sense of humor.)

Now, I laughed the first time I saw this movie. Melissa McCarthy is damn funny, and I really enjoy her in a lot of t.v. However, when looking more closely at this film I can no longer laugh at her. Even though she IS funny, she is still being made fun of as the token fat woman who isn’t as feminine, valuable, or sexually attractive as the other characters. 

At the end of the film Megan helps one of the bridesmaids redeem herself in the eyes of the bride, helping them to restore their bestfriendship. Although Megan is extremely thoughtful and perceptive in this scene, she still has to make jokes and include quirky, awkward personal anecdotes to make her point—as with any comic relief fat character. Even though she does end up “saving the day,” she still remains out of the spotlight. Once she has reunited two best friends, she steps aside for their reunion and for the wedding to take place. Thus, she is hilarious when she needs to be, helpful when she needs to be, and quiet when she needs to be. This would be fine, EXCEPT for the fact that she is also shown as a farting, fat, unfeminine, oddball character that is only valuable when she’s helping the “more attractive” characters. 

With both of these examples I hope to have shown how fat people are typically portrayed as valuable only if they are funny, how that humor is often self deprecating, and how centralized fat characters are negatively portrayed and decentralized fat characters are downplayed for their good deeds and applauded for being raunchy or funny.

Need some other quick examples to convince you? 

1) The fat guy in the awful Three Musketeers movie. When he is first introduced he literally references his own farts, eats a ton of food, and is dismissed by the other, in-shape characters as a bumbling idiot. 

2) Sam from Game of Thrones. Although he has had heroic moments, he is still viewed as weak and less-than by the other men because he is fat. He has also had his share of scenes in which he is eating rather than attending to matters at hand. 

3) Kevin from The Office (U.S. Version). I love The Office, but Kevin is a fat, sweaty, lazy guy who is always talking about food. He is portrayed as dumb and not much else.

4) The Fat Girl in Glee. When she is serenaded with the song Fat Bottom Girls she stands up for herself, but other than this she is really just an unlikable character that isn’t portrayed in a redeeming way. The audience isn’t meant to sympathize with her, and her limited role on the show details her experiences as a fat girl rather than a fat girl and a human being. She's the token fat chick amongst many other tokens on this show. 

5) Chunk from the Goonies—The Truffle Shuffle is NOT a testament to the beauty of the fat body. It’s a mockery of it.

This list goes on and on.   

Now, I would like to show a clip from a T.V. show that I believe portrays fat people in an excellent way—and it might surprise you that I think so! The following is a tribute to Tony Soprano’s love of food:

Tony Soprano Loves Food

I chose this compilation for an important reason that I will get to in a moment. I need to preface this by saying that The Sopranos is not free from misogyny, stereotypes, and racism; However, it doesn’t try to hide these things under the guise of satire, but rather shows how rampant they are in the mafia culture explored within the show. Tony Soprano is a great fat character because he is REAL. Wait, what?!?

That’s right. Not every fat character has to ride in on a horse and save the day and also be the best person ever with no negative qualities. That’s not realistic. (Although if there were some fat characters like that it would be cool!) In real life some fat people are assholes, and some are super nice.

In addition, a fat character shouldn’t be an irredeemable idiot like Peter Griffin who bumbles around like a court jester for the audience’s enjoyment or a token character that provides only a very limited or even incorrect point of view about what it is like to be fat. 

This is a very specific distinction, and I want to be perfectly clear about it.

Tony Soprano is a successful fat character because he is IN THE SPOTLIGHT WITHOUT BEING COMIC RELIEF. He is a centralized character that has bad qualities UNRELATED TO HIS FAT. He’s a misogynist, he makes fun of other fat people, and he’s a freaking gangster. BUT. None of these bad qualities are attributed to his weight. He’s an anti-hero that the audience is made to admire and sympathize with. His character has the power of AND.

He’s fat AND he loves food AND he’s powerful AND he’s respected AND he’s a badass AND he’s a slightly sociopathic anti-hero ultimate criminal AND he’s a father AND AND AND….

By being unafraid to centralize a fat character, as well as unafraid to make that character not 100% likable, this show is extremely successful in showing that fat people ARE REAL PEOPLE AND THEY MAY BE FAT BUT THAT DOES NOT INFLUENCE EVERY FACET OF THEIR PERSONALITIES. Tony Soprano isn’t a misogynist because he’s fat in the way that Sam from Game of Thrones is weak because he’s fat. He isn't a fat token character without any other personality traits. He doesn't exist within the show to help more attractive characters or for the audience to laugh at or humiliate. He’s an anti-hero that the audience can’t help but root for, and we’re rooting for him and his love of food and everything else about him, because he’s a deep, well-developed character that we can respect, appreciate, and analyze. He shows that fat people can be more (and not just physically!) 

Note how this photo shows the character as powerful and strong; the statue of liberty is behind him and he looks thoughtful yet a bit menacing. You can also see his unapologetic double chin, wide shoulders, and the hint of his girth. A great photo that definitely captures this actor's talent, and speaks to the fact that fat characters in popular entertainment can be so much more than comic relief. Google search Fat Amy, Peter Griffin, or any other fat character and you will rarely find them portrayed in this way.