More Half of the Spanish population has no regulatory body but almost nothing else is seen in the fiction. Different people almost never appear in the cast, neither in TV series nor in movies. It is not a perception written in pencil, but the data of the “Fat Phobia 2023 Report”. Observatory for Diversity in Audiovisual Media (ODA).
According to the analysis, only 3% of Spanish fiction characters will be available in 2022 “perceived as fat”“: 57 out of 1,721 characters examined in total. In addition to the apparent invisibility, the observatory underlines that these data are “even more worrying” if we take into account that, according to INE, 61.4% of men and 46% in Spain are above the “normal weight”.1 The percentage of women. Screens do not reflect reality. In total, 61 seasons of 99 movies and 59 fictional series were analyzed.
fragmentation of data, There were 701 regulatory bodies (94.6%) and 28 fat characters (3.8%) in 2022 Spanish films; Meanwhile In the series, normative persons were 934 (95.3%) and obese persons were 29 (3%). In both cases, the study found that “other body types” appeared in 1.6% and 1.7% of productions, respectively.
Regarding this, the study underlines that there are “parallels” between both audiovisual formats and also notes that these characters tend to concentrate mainly on drama but also on comedy, in the latter case using corporateness as a “ludicrous element”.
The normative institutionalities to which the report refers are those that do not deviate from dominant models or canons of beauty. Among the facts highlighted, researchers also note: ““The thinnest character in the cast is automatically perceived as fat.” Therefore, the same actor “may be read as fat in some productions but not in others.”
Men, ages 30 to 50
In terms of gender, the study also shows that men are more present among legal entities that are not normative but are also a minority: 5.4% in cinema, While they were on the show, they were 4.7%. “At the same time, we observe how women become more subject to body regulations, while at the same time their representations continue to be more associated with hypersensitivity to their own bodies,” they detail.
almost according to age 50% of fat characters in TV series and movies are between the ages of 30 and 50. Therefore, the most majority profile within this minority they represent in the audiovisual fiction industry would be: middle-aged men and men whose characters appear in drama or devote themselves to roles in comedy. Additionally, the study shows that characters tend to be from lower social classes.
On the other hand, the ODA report, which is supported by Film and Prime Video, also focuses on other diversity, noting that there were only three racialized fat characters or those with some diversity in fiction over the course of a year, while LGBTIQA+, one.
With all this, they request from the observatory that people with non-normative institutionalities do not appear in genres or roles that merely “promote harmful collective delusions” or “become mired in oppression, marginality, and evil.”
“There also needs to be more than one fat character per production.” “Likewise, more intersectionality is still necessary, as there are almost no fat characters who are LGBTIQA+, racialized, or disabled.”
To end this invisibility, they encourage creators to “think” and “expand the concept of non-hegemonic institutionalities to enable more people to take part in cinema.”
Little pig, an indispensable phenomenon
Among the cinematographic excitements of 2022 is ‘Cerdita’, which he directed. Carlota Pereda And together Laura Galan as the protagonist. For the studio, it is “an essential film that represents a break from the traditional representation of fatness on screen, while also touching on specific issues faced by fat people, such as its protagonist, who is a victim of bullying.”
Moreover, this is a horror movie. Its director states: “There is nothing more revolutionary than showing human reality.” And remember: “Fiction is an important part of our socialization and emotional education. It reaches places that society, school and parents cannot.”