What Kept Me Up Last Night
I couldn't fall asleep last night. I had DVRed the new documentary THIN on HBO, and although the program was over shortly after midnight, I couldn't put it out of my mind.
THIN is shot over six months in an anorexia/bulimia treatment facility in Florida. It's residents tend to range from 15 to 30, and all of them are so sick it breaks your heart. Four particular women were followed for the majority of the program, and within their release from the facility, all of them had relapsed. What THIN reveals, besides the deadly affects of the disease, is the support system the facility provides, as well as the reason most of the women leave the center: because their insurance had run out. The common theme throughout: women dying to be thin. Prior to entering the facility, one woman was "restricting" her intake of food, down to an unbelievable 200 calories a day. Most women purged.
What scared me most after watching THIN was the fear of having a daughter with this disease. Not wanting to bring children into this world, full of peer pressure and unrealistic role models plastered on TV and in magazines. Having those feelings that all of the parents of the girls in the facility had: heartbreak and an unbelievable loss of control.
On the other side of the spectrum is the fight for real beauty. One brand in particular is leading these efforts: Dove. It's incredible that a packaged goods product can singlehandily tackle women self esteem issues. If you haven't seen the video floating around YouTube, you can see it here.
THIN is shot over six months in an anorexia/bulimia treatment facility in Florida. It's residents tend to range from 15 to 30, and all of them are so sick it breaks your heart. Four particular women were followed for the majority of the program, and within their release from the facility, all of them had relapsed. What THIN reveals, besides the deadly affects of the disease, is the support system the facility provides, as well as the reason most of the women leave the center: because their insurance had run out. The common theme throughout: women dying to be thin. Prior to entering the facility, one woman was "restricting" her intake of food, down to an unbelievable 200 calories a day. Most women purged.
What scared me most after watching THIN was the fear of having a daughter with this disease. Not wanting to bring children into this world, full of peer pressure and unrealistic role models plastered on TV and in magazines. Having those feelings that all of the parents of the girls in the facility had: heartbreak and an unbelievable loss of control.
On the other side of the spectrum is the fight for real beauty. One brand in particular is leading these efforts: Dove. It's incredible that a packaged goods product can singlehandily tackle women self esteem issues. If you haven't seen the video floating around YouTube, you can see it here.
posted by Does Debbie @ 8:20 AM
2 Comments:
At 12:16 PM,
Paige Jennifer said…
Love, love, love that ad. Yeah, it's marketing. Yeah, it's an ad for a sorta kinda beauty product company. Whatever. It's utterly brilliant.
At 9:44 AM,
Tracy said…
OH, wow, I watched it last night and also had trouble sleeping immediately afterwards. What disturbed me the most, knowing quite a few women in my life with eating disorders, was how quickly these girls reverted back to their old ways and habits. All that treatment, yet one day back in the "real world" and they can't keep it up. It's really sad.
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