Scorsese86
Likeable conservative
http://www.thestate.com/living/story/915320.html
Have a sandwich, Twiggy. In fact, go ahead and down a 6-foot sub. With cheese. Fat is suddenly fabulous, at least on TV, a realm once thought to be the exclusive playground for stick figures.
Drop Dead Diva, a dramedy about a rail-thin model reincarnated as a plump lawyer, is scoring the highest ratings for a new Lifetime series since Army Wives debuted in 2007.
Dance Your Ass Off, in which contestants shake their girth thing to wild applause, is the heftiest hit in Oxygens history. Ruby, which chronicles the adventures of 500-pound Ruby Gettinger, is responsible for the Style Networks highest numbers.
This spring, The Biggest Loser continued to eat into American Idols ratings, providing NBC its best Tuesday-night viewership in four years. Susan Boyle, the Scot with the build and artistry of Julia Child, dreamed the dream on Britains Got Talent. Heck, even Oprah Winfrey parked her fat wagon in the cooler and put back on a few comfort pounds.
So why this appetite for fuller-figured personalities?
I dont know, said Luke Conley, the 330-pound real-estate developer who gets to play bachelor to 20 plus-size women on Foxs More to Love. Maybe they just have wider angles on their cameras now so they can fit me on the screen.
More likely, it has something to do with the fact that the big & beautiful will no longer be ignored.
According to a study by the Trust for Americas Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, adult obesity rates increased in 23 states last year and nearly one-third of all children in 30 states are considered overweight.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey believes that nearly two-thirds of all American adults should be spending less time at McDonalds and more time at the salad bar.
The countrys struggle with weight issues is a big reason Loser has been one of the few bright spots in NBCs struggling lineup.
I think it embraces a concern and a worry that keeps a lot of Americans awake at night, said Paul Telegdy, who oversees the networks reality programming. Theres this epidemic of obesity that the show deals with using exceptional delicacy, in a way thats uniquely engaging.
Seeing real-life people struggle with their expanding waistlines is certainly more relatable than, say geniuses tracking down mass murderers or ubergeeks who have more than a molecule of a shot with the hot blonde across the hall.
It strikes at the heart of the human spirit, said Loser host Alison Sweeney, a soap-opera star who has had her own public battle with weight. You see people being able to overcome this obstacle that seems insurmountable. Miracles can happen.
For many of these TV celebrities, its a miracle just to be on TV.
MoNique, a successful standup comic, helped set the table in 2005 with MoNiques Fat Chance, a cable series that encouraged plus-size women to feel comfortable in their own skins.
I just think that it was time for us to stop feeling like we were committing a sin or we were doing something wrong just because we had a double belly or our arms flapped a little, she said. It was time for us to get out there and say, We are beautiful, too.
MoNique said it helps that more programming decisions are being mae by executives who are working mothers, a demographic thats particularly sensitive about weight. (Studies show that 80 percent of moms are dissatisfied with their physical appearance.)
I would say to people in a meeting, Hey, sister, what size are you? and shed say, Oh, Im an 18, she said. I would answer, Well if you are watching TV, dont you want to see someone who looks like you so that you can feel good about yourself? Thats how Fat Chance happened.
There may be new opportunities, but plus-sized people can be hesitant about stepping into the spotlight, worried that theyll end up being a punchline rather than a player. After all, thats what they often deal with in real life.
I can walk into a place and people are staring at me and laughing or making these noises that are just really bad, said Gettinger, who once weighed more than 700 pounds. I cant let them get in my head, because if I do that, then Id never go out of my house.
Some scholars even cringe at the names of shows. They may be cute, but they can also be hurtful.
I have a real problem with the title The Biggest Loser, said Mary Story, a professor at the University of Minnesotas School of Public Health. When you think about the double meanings it can have, I dont think its very respectful. People who are overweight already deal with enough social discrimination.
After hearing the title More to Love, Conley said he and most of the female contestants were concerned about how they would be captured on camera.
It seemed like everyone had to be talked into it for the same reason, said Conley, who got the gig after answering an online ad. As I got to know the producers more, I realized it was a legitimate show that had a desire to see two people make a sincere connection.
The female participants were even more wary, Conley said, especially those who had never been out on a date or kissed a suitor. Bathing-suit parties were particularly daunting.
If I had to, I would have thrown on a Speedo and jumped in to make them feel more comfortable, he said. They definitely got into those suits. I was really proud of them.
Trice Hensley, a featured player on Dance Your Ass Off, said she never thought shed have the opportunity to perform on television.
My passion is entertaining. I love to sing and dance, but theres not even a handful of people who look like me in show business, said Hensley, who entered the show at 274 pounds and with arthritis in her knees. I love that people like me are now getting the chance.
Hensley may not get an invite to join the Bolshoi Ballet, but she is already shedding pounds and misconceptions.
When I read messages from fans, it brings tears to my eyes, she said. They say that Im an inspiration to them. That keeps me motivated. They just want to thank me for giving them hope.
Have a sandwich, Twiggy. In fact, go ahead and down a 6-foot sub. With cheese. Fat is suddenly fabulous, at least on TV, a realm once thought to be the exclusive playground for stick figures.
Drop Dead Diva, a dramedy about a rail-thin model reincarnated as a plump lawyer, is scoring the highest ratings for a new Lifetime series since Army Wives debuted in 2007.
Dance Your Ass Off, in which contestants shake their girth thing to wild applause, is the heftiest hit in Oxygens history. Ruby, which chronicles the adventures of 500-pound Ruby Gettinger, is responsible for the Style Networks highest numbers.
This spring, The Biggest Loser continued to eat into American Idols ratings, providing NBC its best Tuesday-night viewership in four years. Susan Boyle, the Scot with the build and artistry of Julia Child, dreamed the dream on Britains Got Talent. Heck, even Oprah Winfrey parked her fat wagon in the cooler and put back on a few comfort pounds.
So why this appetite for fuller-figured personalities?
I dont know, said Luke Conley, the 330-pound real-estate developer who gets to play bachelor to 20 plus-size women on Foxs More to Love. Maybe they just have wider angles on their cameras now so they can fit me on the screen.
More likely, it has something to do with the fact that the big & beautiful will no longer be ignored.
According to a study by the Trust for Americas Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, adult obesity rates increased in 23 states last year and nearly one-third of all children in 30 states are considered overweight.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey believes that nearly two-thirds of all American adults should be spending less time at McDonalds and more time at the salad bar.
The countrys struggle with weight issues is a big reason Loser has been one of the few bright spots in NBCs struggling lineup.
I think it embraces a concern and a worry that keeps a lot of Americans awake at night, said Paul Telegdy, who oversees the networks reality programming. Theres this epidemic of obesity that the show deals with using exceptional delicacy, in a way thats uniquely engaging.
Seeing real-life people struggle with their expanding waistlines is certainly more relatable than, say geniuses tracking down mass murderers or ubergeeks who have more than a molecule of a shot with the hot blonde across the hall.
It strikes at the heart of the human spirit, said Loser host Alison Sweeney, a soap-opera star who has had her own public battle with weight. You see people being able to overcome this obstacle that seems insurmountable. Miracles can happen.
For many of these TV celebrities, its a miracle just to be on TV.
MoNique, a successful standup comic, helped set the table in 2005 with MoNiques Fat Chance, a cable series that encouraged plus-size women to feel comfortable in their own skins.
I just think that it was time for us to stop feeling like we were committing a sin or we were doing something wrong just because we had a double belly or our arms flapped a little, she said. It was time for us to get out there and say, We are beautiful, too.
MoNique said it helps that more programming decisions are being mae by executives who are working mothers, a demographic thats particularly sensitive about weight. (Studies show that 80 percent of moms are dissatisfied with their physical appearance.)
I would say to people in a meeting, Hey, sister, what size are you? and shed say, Oh, Im an 18, she said. I would answer, Well if you are watching TV, dont you want to see someone who looks like you so that you can feel good about yourself? Thats how Fat Chance happened.
There may be new opportunities, but plus-sized people can be hesitant about stepping into the spotlight, worried that theyll end up being a punchline rather than a player. After all, thats what they often deal with in real life.
I can walk into a place and people are staring at me and laughing or making these noises that are just really bad, said Gettinger, who once weighed more than 700 pounds. I cant let them get in my head, because if I do that, then Id never go out of my house.
Some scholars even cringe at the names of shows. They may be cute, but they can also be hurtful.
I have a real problem with the title The Biggest Loser, said Mary Story, a professor at the University of Minnesotas School of Public Health. When you think about the double meanings it can have, I dont think its very respectful. People who are overweight already deal with enough social discrimination.
After hearing the title More to Love, Conley said he and most of the female contestants were concerned about how they would be captured on camera.
It seemed like everyone had to be talked into it for the same reason, said Conley, who got the gig after answering an online ad. As I got to know the producers more, I realized it was a legitimate show that had a desire to see two people make a sincere connection.
The female participants were even more wary, Conley said, especially those who had never been out on a date or kissed a suitor. Bathing-suit parties were particularly daunting.
If I had to, I would have thrown on a Speedo and jumped in to make them feel more comfortable, he said. They definitely got into those suits. I was really proud of them.
Trice Hensley, a featured player on Dance Your Ass Off, said she never thought shed have the opportunity to perform on television.
My passion is entertaining. I love to sing and dance, but theres not even a handful of people who look like me in show business, said Hensley, who entered the show at 274 pounds and with arthritis in her knees. I love that people like me are now getting the chance.
Hensley may not get an invite to join the Bolshoi Ballet, but she is already shedding pounds and misconceptions.
When I read messages from fans, it brings tears to my eyes, she said. They say that Im an inspiration to them. That keeps me motivated. They just want to thank me for giving them hope.
