THE PORTRAYAL OF EATING DISORDERS IN FILM Ellie Ip, Year 12, Keller Eating
disorders
deadly
This television film released in 1981 is based on its
diseases that could put anyone at risk anytime. A
counterpart: a novel published in 1978. Following
study in 2007 found that about one in five
the life of Casey, a teenage cheerleader and ballet
secondary school students aged twelve to eighteen
dancer who suffers from anorexia and bulimia,
were at risk of disordered eating. Eating disorders
this film accurately illustrates the significant
are a group of mental illnesses characterized by
effects one’s eating disorder could have not only
severe
on themselves but also on their families.
and
are
persistent
dangerous
and
disturbance
in
eating
behaviours associated with distressing thoughts and emotions. They can be life-threatening and
However, despite films raising awareness on the
can affect one’s perception of their own body.
issue of mental health and eating disorders, it could arguably have an adverse effect. Many
The most common types of eating disorders
mental health professionals argue that films and
include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge
the media in general often have a tendency to
eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa is when one has
glamourise and beautify mental illnesses, eating
an extremely restrictive diet and not eating
disorders included. However, eating disorders are
enough for their age, weight and gender. This
anything but glamorous. The reality of such
usually leads to a significantly low BMI. People
disorders are often devastating and without
with anorexia nervosa usually have an extreme
proper recognition and treatment, they can result
fear of gaining weight. Bulimia nervosa is when
in permanent damage or death.
one consumes a large amount of food whenever they have negative emotions (binging), and due to
An example of this would be the portrayal of
guilt and fear of gaining weight, they try to get rid
anorexia nervosa, a common eating disorder.
of the food by vomiting, excessive exercising or
Films often associate anorexia with starvation and
taking pills like laxatives. Binge eating disorder is
weight loss. They tend to make the subtle
when one constantly engages in excessive eating
implications that anorexia is often seen in young
and cannot stop eating even if they feel full, some
Caucasian females who strive for perfection,
may call it a food addiction or compulsive eating.
which in turn creates an unrealistic stereotype within the general population.
Having been a prominent feature displayed in films since the 13th century, eating disorders are
In reality, this is far from the truth.
constantly being made aware of; however, how they are portrayed is not always ideal. The first
Eating disorders are more than an obsession with
film to explicitly portray eating disorders was
food
‘The Best Little Girl In the World’.
characterized by underlying triggers that are
Issue 1 | 32
and
weight
loss,
they
are
also
often
