MovieChat Forums > The Martian (2015) Discussion > and Hollywood's fat female phobia contin...

and Hollywood's fat female phobia continues....

posted 9 years ago by Jupiter555555
228 replies | jump to latest

The Spanish guy was overweight, Jeff Daniels is old and not in the best shape, Chiwitel could stand to lose a few pounds (come on, let's do this by BMI: Let's say his BMI is 25.5. If a woman had that BMI, that would place her at a size 6-8 and she'd never get a role in most films.)

Damon had a good body but notice how they wouldn't make him lose weight for the role. Yeah... we're gonna have you play the role of some guy who gets stranded on mars with only potatoes to eat for 3 years but don't worry, you don't have to lose a pound, you're perfect as is..you're a man after all...

Meanwhile, all four women were emaciated. And TWO scenes (in a movie that took place 99% on a space ship,) featured women on tread mills sweating their faces off...you know...just in case you forgot a woman's duty, dear viewer. We really have to drive the point home.

Seriously, Hollywood, you have a severe psychological issue. Get help.

"Matthew McConaughey lost 45 pounds for his role in Dalas Buyer's Club...or what actreses call being in a movie." --Tina Fey

[–] DaRealestBlack 9 years ago

if a woman doesnt have the discipline to stay in shape then she probably doesnt have the discipline to be an actress.

[–] Angry_Dukat 9 years ago

I've seen a lot of dumb Feminists on these boards, but this one is the most hilarious. Nothing is funnier than her "I'm such a victim because I can't be an actress" rants.

Christians, Muslims, Feminists: I don't respect your beliefs and I don't care if you're offended

[–] Anakin_McFly 9 years ago

if a woman doesnt have the discipline to stay in shape then she probably doesnt have the discipline to be an actress.

But then why doesn't the same apply to men? Which seems to be what the OP is asking: she doesn't seem concerned about fat people in general needing representation, but rather the double standard in Hollywood where fat male actors have a much easier time getting hired than fat (or even just average sized) female ones.

It's illogical to argue that Hollywood won't hire larger women because people think fat people are gross or undisciplined or whatever. If that were true, they wouldn't hire fat men either, but they do. So it's obviously not a fat person issue, and complaints about how obese people don't need affirmative action miss the point completely. It also doesn't make sense that movies should only have skinny, conventionally beautiful women because men like looking at them. If movies can have unattractive men alongside the conventionally beautiful ones, why not the same for women?

Or if people say they don't like seeing fat people in movies because we see them IRL, then why are there still so many fat men on screen? Heck, we're not even talking about fat people; what about men who prefer women who aren't rail thin but more average sized?

Not everyone needs to be represented in every film, and I agree that this film in particular (which I loved) required a level of fitness from its cast, but there is a larger trend across Hollywood to discriminate more against fat actresses than fat actors.

(FWIW, I'm a skinny gay guy.)

---
It's the question that drives us. I know the answer is 42.

[–] rmontro 9 years ago

I did notice, it was very noticeable in fact, that Kate Mara and Jessica Chastain were seriously very thin.

To some extent, a man is expected to be more bulky - preferably more bulky with muscle, like a Vin Deisel or Dwayne Johnson or such. But they aren't expected to be wispy like these females. Different standards of beauty, or handsomeness, or whatever.

[–] nomen_meltdown 9 years ago

In real life NASA has fitness requirements to be an astronaut. And in real life, space launch system efficiencies are increased by minimizing crew + payload weight. More succinctly, if they can find a 120 lb person who can do the same job that a 250 lb person can do, they're going to prefer to launch the person who saves them 130 lbs. Peña/Martinez might have been near the margins for eligibility to fly, but he didn't look any heavier than, say, Scott Kelly (who's on the ISS right now). But Daniels/Sanders' weight, or Chiwitel/Kapoor's weight, aren't relevant in any way to the performance of their NASA job, they were administrative/ground personnel.

You kinda' seem so hung up on the optics that you're blinding yourself to the known, practical realities of putting people into space.

I'm an island- peopled by bards, scientists, judges, soldiers, artists, scholars & warrior-poets.

[–] Jupiter555555 9 years ago

In real life NASA has fitness requirements to be an astronaut. And in real life, space launch system efficiencies are increased by minimizing crew + payload weight. More succinctly, if they can find a 120 lb person who can do the same job that a 250 lb person can do, they're going to prefer to launch the person who saves them 130 lbs. Peña/Martinez might have been near the margins for eligibility to fly, but he didn't look any heavier than, say, Scott Kelly (who's on the ISS right now). But Daniels/Sanders' weight, or Chiwitel/Kapoor's weight, aren't relevant in any way to the performance of their NASA job, they were administrative/ground personnel.

You kinda' seem so hung up on the optics that you're blinding yourself to the known, practical realities of putting people into space.

Once again: three of the emaciated women were NOT astronauts and yes, Pena's weight on board was troublesome and not conducive to your argument that astronauts have to be small.

[–] nomen_meltdown 9 years ago

I did not say they "have to be small." I said that qualifications being equal, the preference would be to launch the person who weighs less. If a 200-pounder were sent into space instead of a 120-pounder, it probably means the heavier person was far more experienced and competent. Because every pound fired off the Earth's surface is expensive.

And I posit no defense for the size of non-astronauts. In fact I'd agree that the ground crew should have been as diverse as they are in reality (though, without a lot more information from NASA's HR department, I can't say whether it was or it wasn't, and I'm skeptical that you can either). Regardless, they're a separate issue; they aren't relevant to the argument that I'm making about fidelity to real technical principles that are considered in selecting a crew to launch.

I'm an island- peopled by bards, scientists, judges, soldiers, artists, scholars & warrior-poets.

[–] Jupiter555555 9 years ago

And I posit no defense for the size of non-astronauts. In fact I'd agree that the ground crew should have been as diverse as they are in reality (though, without a lot more information from NASA's HR department, I can't say whether it was or it wasn't, and I'm skeptical that you can either). Regardless, they're a separate issue; they aren't relevant to the argument that I'm making about fidelity to real technical principles that are considered in selecting a crew to launch.

Okay but my point was the movie's, and Hollywood's, treatment of women as a whole..not just the women they launched into space. By the way, one of the male astronaut was chunky by Hollywood standards.

[–] NotASpeckOfCereal 9 years ago

Nonsense. Jessica Chastain is a curvy woman.

https://nyppagesix.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/464239338_106648143.jpg

She's not overweight, but neither is she emaciated.

You could say that about Mackenzie Davis, but she played a small part.

Be sure to proof your posts to see if you any words out

[–] Lookoflove1365 9 years ago

Get over it, fat female

[–] Lookoflove1365 9 years ago

Get over it, fat female.

[–] Lookoflove1365 9 years ago

Get over it, fat female.

[–] Tiigerr 9 years ago

Did you not see how much weight he had very noticeably lost by the time they rescued him?

__________________________________________
I don't win, I don't eat.