Luke Skywanker
[tv] Started Shrill the other day. I'm enjoying it. Curious about thoughts from the group.
Luke Skywanker
Amusingly, though I know "he's not really Dan Savage" and all the press is very clear about that, I'm still amused because I briefly did sort of work for Dan Savage?
Luke Skywanker
(I interned at The Stranger doing their movie times but it never turned into anything.)
OhCecilia
I really enjoyed it for a bit but there are chunks where I get so annoyed by her bad decisions I find it hard to watch and the I go back and pick it up again and get annoyed again and rinse and repeat
OhCecilia
Also, JCM is so fun in this
Luke Skywanker
Ah, yeah I can see that. She does seem like, purposely hapless?
Luke Skywanker
HE IS I LOVE HIM SO MUCH
OhCecilia
Luke Skywanker
: yeah, exactly. Also, not sure how far in you are so I won’t say much more so to avoid spoiling anything but I’ll just say that I feel some of her trajectory would feel unorganic
Luke Skywanker
OhCecilia
: Ah yeah I know that type of show. They can't develop like you'd want because... then they think there's not a show.
Luke Skywanker
I was kinda curious about the response from people who are not skinny
OhCecilia
Well, I identify as fat and I think there's a lot about the show that is pretty empowering and even inspiring. I also think it does a good job of exposing a lot of biases/prejudice/stereotypes about fat people. My favorite is the whole "it's about being healthy" bullshit argument
Luke Skywanker
Yeah. I mean it feels good to me but it's not my place.
for a price
As a certified Not Skinny for my whole life, I went off it pretty fast because iirc I felt like the most interesting parts of her development had happened before the show even started.
for a price
Like, as I recall her character arc is at least partly about building her confidence....but she was already in a place that would have been completely unreachable to me when I was that size.
for a price
The way she dresses, the fact that she has a boyfriend and will be naked (nearly naked? I don't recall) with him, she has a(n albeit not super satisfying) job in an industry that's not easy to break into
OhCecilia
for a price
: She may be in a place that was unrelatable to you, but she definitely had major issues to overcome. She was letting her boyfriend HIDE her from his friends. She had to leave the house through his window. Someone accepting that kind of treatment is definitely not confident.
OhCecilia
I do think she dresses way too confidently and cute for it to make sense with her size though, lol. But I mean, that's a thing that I can't relate to personally, that's not to say that there aren't people with low self-esteem because of their size who DO dress adventurously regardless
OhCecilia
I think fat people are like every other marginalized group in that their power, privilege, experiences, etc are all different despite certain shared commonalities
for a price
I get where you're coming from on all counts and I'm not saying 'not relatable to me ergo not relatable to anyone'.
for a price
That scene with her boyfriend stood out and I still remember it and felt for her. I'm not saying that she came into the first episode with her shit entirely sorted. But if I'd been told that was episode 1 of a second season it would have made more narrative sense to me.
Luke Skywanker
That makes a lot of sense. And maybe it's still useful for the wider culture? but I'm sorry it didn't work for you
for a price
Eh, not all things are for all people! I respect their decision to start in media res in terms of her development but for me it didn't hang together.
Luke Skywanker
I do agree she'd done a lot of the work already. They start with her sort of primed? IDK how closely it adheres to the book, either.
for a price
Yeah, I might pick up the book sometime, I tend to enjoy nonfiction more anyway.
Luke Skywanker
I started it because of JCM but also she's local, they just set it in Portland instead
OhCecilia
The book is pretty different as I recall, but in a good way. And yeah, not all things are for all people. Also, when there's not much representation going around, sometimes I overlook stuff I normally wouldn't
Luke Skywanker
Hey I just liked seeing all the fat girls in bathing suits even that felt like something
Thicken Nugget
I love it. I related to a lot of it
Luke Skywanker
That makes me happy!
Thicken Nugget
I do see sorta what you’re saying about the clothes, but I also feel like that can tie a lot into class, too. She clear can and has always been able to shop at Torrid and above, and as someone who worked there but in a poor area, that makes a big difference
Thicken Nugget
Not for every person, but if you can afford to walk in and throw money down on things from a “trendy” store, like...you never have to settle for shapeless shirts made for grandmas are anything
Thicken Nugget
Be otoh doesn’t like it cause it rings too true and makes her uncomfortable
Luke Skywanker
I can also see that for sure
Thicken Nugget
It just hits in stuff she’s lived too much
Luke Skywanker
I just kinda wanted to make sure it was community vetted. which I assumed anyway given the willingness of the people in it, but still
Thicken Nugget
But yeah, she’s not like 1% by any means but a lot of the rough stuff I encountered, she’s got soother out by money.