Comments on: A Really Original Idea For Comedy: Let’s Use A Fat Suit!

By: Carrie

Carrie — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:37:20 +0000

I actually stopped watching 30 rock after the pilot episode where they did the sketch about “Pam, The Overly-Confident Morbidly Obese Woman”. No thanks!

I am loving Marc and Cliff though. Super cute!

By: Ampersand

Ampersand — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:25:17 +0000

Bev –

I’ve been catching up with UB, and the first episode has been the only one this season that made me want to scream and throw my TV out the window. (Fortunately, my TV is an old-fashioned non-flat variety, and so is too heavy for me to throw easily.)

Anyhow, I’m thankful that the fat suit was forgotten as if it had never been as of episode two, and by and large I’ve really been enjoying this season, except where they’ve strayed too far into Hallmark Family Movie territory. Marc’s budding romance with Cliff is indeed lovely.

By: Bev

Bev — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:14:53 +0000

I don’t like the fat suit thing either, but I kept watching and will continue to watch especially now that they have a healthy gay relationship between Marc and his new boyfriend, Cliff, where Marc is being made to confront some of his appearance biases and sterotypes. You see them doing things all normal couples do, watching tv, kissing, and Marc’s attempts to change Cliff’s appearance lead him to a deeper understanding that he really values the love over the look. This happens five episodes into the season and while its not as rounded out as I know everyone might like it to be, I think it’s a good step in the right direction. Consider giving it a chance for a few more episodes.

By: 30 Rock fan

30 Rock fan — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 22:45:55 +0000

I disagree about “30 Rock.” That show has several fat characters, male AND female, who are treated no differently from the thin characters. Okay, having the Jenna character be thin again after two episodes was pretty lame, and some of the jokes were somewhat offensive, but I thought they did a pretty good job of lampooning all the typical reactions when a TV personality gains weight.

By: mari

mari — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 17:13:52 +0000

Tina Fey is from Philadelphia. That explains why she’s a loser!

Ugly Betty is a very hypocritical show and I’m VERY proud of the
fact that after I saw that fat suit, I stopped watching the show and
convinced my family to stop watching it too.

Hundreds of years from now, Ugly Betty will be a case study on
anti-fat the way Birth of a Nation was on pro-racism.

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 13:46:53 +0000

Insightful as usual, Amp.

WRT 30 Rock, I’ve noticed that Tina Fey has had a modest-to-strong anti-fat streak in her since her SNL days. I recall that on Weekend Update she was almost always given (and wrote, perhaps?) the fat jokes. The quick, easy, stereotypical ones. Almost always.

When I’d read that Fey dropped a lot of weight after she moved from the writers’ desk to in front of the camera - and really bashed her previously-fat body - the puzzle pieces came together.

Frustrating. She’s seen as very smart and witty in the media, as is 30 Rock, and then there’s this drivel on it.

By: Michele

Michele — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 04:17:54 +0000

considering that every media portrayal of America Ferrera i’ve ever seen has come with the headline “look! she’s actually really hot,” i’m not very surprised about the photo slimming.

By: Celluloid Sally’s » 2007 » November » 07

Celluloid Sally’s » 2007 » November » 07 — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:24:37 +0000

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By: defenestrated

defenestrated — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 00:56:55 +0000

I haven’t watched too much Ugly Betty, but I did see the episode in which she and some actress were aghast at the computerized slimming the magazine wanted to do for a cover (if I recall correctly, the “wrong” photos got out, to Betty and the actress’s glee and the magazine and agents’ horror).

Ironic, then, that America Ferrera was herself slimmed down to - I’d say - a grotesque degree (considering) on a recent cover of Glamour.

By: Sheana

Sheana — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 23:10:49 +0000

Yeah, I was really disappointed with that episode of Ugly Betty. For all its faults, I think the show does make some interesting inroads in deconstructing notions of beauty and commonsense racism. I think the series has gradually been losing some of the interesting progressive ground it had at the beginning, and that really sucks.