Plot
Beautiful, popular and athletic Aly has been banking on a softball scholarship as her ticket to college. She has an active life and never seems to sit still. Because her mother had weight issues and struggled with depression for most of her life, Aly has dedicated her life to staying healthy and in shape. When an opposing player unknowingly steps on her knee during a game, injuring it and thus ruining her chances of getting the scholarship, she realizes that she will have to fund her education in other ways.
It is revealed that as a consequence of binge eating, her mother got sick and had to use the money set aside in her daughter's college fund to pay for treatment, a decision for which Aly has always resented her. Aly also showers scorn on her family for their high-fat diet and lack of exercise, to the point of refusing to eat a cake that her mother purchased just for her.
To get the money, Aly decides to enter a documentary contest with a large cash prize. Convinced that her overweight younger brother and mother use their struggles with weight as an excuse for everything wrong in their lives, Aly decides to go undercover, using a fat suit and facial prosthetics to make herself obese and unattractive, while deploying a hidden camera to record herself at school to prove personality can outshine physical appearance.
Aly soon realizes how difficult the life can be for the overweight, as she is shunned and mistreated by other students, despite her resolve to be kind and maintain the same personality she always had. She meets Ramona, an overweight girl in the same class who shares aspects of her personal life with Aly but feels betrayed when she discovers Aly's real identity and that their conversations have been secretly recorded for the documentary. Aly titles her documentary Fat Like Me, a reference to John Howard Griffin's 1961 book Black Like Me , which recounts Griffin's experience living as an African-American in the segregated Southern United States for several weeks after receiving skin-darkening injections.
The film ends with Aly deciding to attend a house party while disguised, just to see how the same "friends" who loved her when she was attractive will still feel the same way now that she's fat. She is shocked to realize that, just as she expected, they now look down on her and talk behind her back just because of how she looks. Aly storms out, though not before unmasking herself in front of everyone so they know the truth. Aly reconciles with her mother and tells Ramona she intends to drop out of the contest. However, Ramona talks her out of it, saying that if she truly wants to make up for her deception, she will win. She also tells Aly that one day, they might actually get a chance to be real friends.
Super Size Me is a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003, during which he claimed to consume only McDonald's food, although he later disclosed he was also drinking heavy amounts of alcohol. The film documents the drastic change on Spurlock's physical and psychological health and well-being. It also explores the fast food industry's corporate influence, including how it encourages poor nutrition for its own profit and gain.
Black Like Me, first published in 1961, is a nonfiction book by journalist John Howard Griffin recounting his journey in the Deep South of the United States, at a time when African-Americans lived under racial segregation. Griffin was a native of Mansfield, Texas, who had his skin temporarily darkened to pass as a black man. He traveled for six weeks throughout the racially segregated states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia to explore life from the other side of the color line. Sepia Magazine financed the project in exchange for the right to print the account first as a series of articles.
Kaley Christine Cuoco is an American actress. She is known for starring as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules (2002–2005), Penny on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019) and as the title character in the HBO Max comedic thriller The Flight Attendant (2020–2022). The latter earned her nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards.
Fatso is a 1980 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Anne Bancroft, her only such credit, and starring Dom DeLuise, Ron Carey and Candice Azzara. It was the first film produced by Mel Brooks's Brooksfilms company. The film examines the subject matter of obesity, addiction, family, self-acceptance and singlehood.
"The Fat Guy Strangler" is the 18th episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 27, 2005. In the episode, Lois discovers she has a long-lost brother, Patrick who was institutionalized after seeing his mother being seduced. Lois gets him released, but after a childhood flashback induced by Peter, Patrick becomes traumatized and starts murdering overweight people.
Tru Confessions is a 2002 American comedy-drama film released as a Disney Channel Original Movie. It was directed by Paul Hoen and is based on the book of the same name by Janet Tashjian. Tru Walker aspires to be a famous filmmaker. She has a twin brother Eddie, who is developmentally disabled due to oxygen deprivation at birth. Eddie becomes the subject of Tru's documentary for a film contest she enters.
"The American Dad After School Special" is the second episode of the third season, and the twenty-fifth overall episode, of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on September 17, 2006, and is written by Dan Vebber and directed by Pam Cooke.
Ellen West (1888–1921) was a patient of Dr. Ludwig Binswanger who had anorexia nervosa. She became a famous example of Daseinsanalysis who died by suicide at age 33 by poisoning herself.
Penelope "Penny" Hofstadter is a fictional character from the American CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, portrayed by actress Kaley Cuoco. She is the primary female character in the series, befriending her neighbors Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper, two physicists employed at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
For the Love of Nancy is a 1994 American made-for-television drama film directed by Paul Schneider. The film, based on a true story, deals with anorexia nervosa. Lead actress Tracey Gold was actually recovering from the disease while making the movie and used her own life experience for the portrayal of Nancy.
Good In Bed is the debut novel of Jennifer Weiner. It tells the story of an overweight Jewish female journalist, her love and work life and her emotional abuse issues with her father. The novel was a New York Times Best Seller and as of 2020 is being adapted into a film produced by and starring Mindy Kaling for HBO Max. Aspects of the plot were inspired by Weiner's own life.
Oliver Jones is a fictional character in the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Zack Conroy originated the role in January 2010. In 2013, the character crossed over to The Young and the Restless for two episodes.
Amy Farrah Fowler, Ph.D., is a fictional character in the CBS television series The Big Bang Theory, portrayed by Mayim Bialik. Amy is a neuroscientist who is the love interest of Sheldon Cooper and subsequent wife in the series. She has a PhD in neurobiology, with a research focus on addiction in primates and invertebrates, occasionally mentioning such experiments as getting a capuchin monkey addicted to cigarettes or getting a starfish addicted to cocaine. Amy goes on to win the Nobel Prize in Physics alongside her husband.
Life in the Fat Lane is a novel for young adults written by Cherie Bennett. The novel was included among the American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults. It was published in 1998 by Delacorte Press.
"Supersize Me" is the seventh episode of season 8 and 207th episode overall of the American animated television series Beavis and Butt-Head. It aired on MTV on November 17, 2011, along with "Bathroom Break".
Haley Morris-Cafiero is an American photographer, Associate Professor of Photography and Acting Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Memphis College of Art. Her series "Wait Watchers", in which she photographs the reactions of passers-by to her presence, went viral in 2013. She has since become a commentator on issues of anti-fat bias and obesity in the United States; as well as a Body Positivity and Anti-Bullying Workshop volunteer with Girls, Inc.
The Flight Attendant is an American dark comedy drama mystery thriller television series developed by Steve Yockey based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian. It stars Kaley Cuoco in the title role and premiered on HBO Max on November 26, 2020. In December 2020, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on April 21, 2022. In January 2024, the series was canceled after two seasons.
I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Marcarelli and starring Jason Alexander and Nia Peeples.
Meet Cute is a 2022 American romantic comedy film directed by Alex Lehmann, starring Kaley Cuoco and Pete Davidson. It was digitally released on September 21, 2022, on Peacock, and received mixed reviews from critics.
Being overweight or obese has influence on the sexuality of people in various different aspects. It can include negative aspects such as stigmatization which can be an obstacle for romantic developments, sexual dysfunction and an increased chance of risky sexual behavior. It can also have positive aspects in the form of fat fetishism.
