Fat Chance (1994)
The terrific 1994 documentary Fat Chance follows Rick Zakowich, a 400 pound man struggling to lose weight and to come to terms with his situation. We learn a lot about Rick, from his talents as a singer and good works as counselor to abused children, to his self-loathing and gradual retreat from social relationships as he struggles with his identity as an obese man. Eventually, in the midst of another failed diet, Rick sets out, with the help of a doctor also struggling with his weight, to find a community of support and to learn to accept himself as a valuable human being in spite of a society that belittles him at every turn.
The first half of Fat Chance, directed by Jeff McKay, is particularly powerful and instructive about the lives of obese people. What many people don't understand is the mental aspect of obesity. As Rick notes, many people just assume that fat people are dumb, lazy, or lack self-control. As a society these days we seem to have more compassion for those addicted to heroin or alcohol than those addicted to food (even though only one of those addictions involves something that every human must take in order to survive).
In truth, obesity is as much a mental condition as a physical condition. Although there are genetic and metabolic factors, obesity often stems from unhappiness and insecurity (the place from whence most drug addiction comes), and then, when obesity begins, often in childhood, the teasing and humiliations create a powerfully negative self-image that only compounds the problem and makes one more and more susceptible. As a doctor notes, when obesity begins in childhood the metabolism of the person sets itself at a certain range, which affects that person for the rest of his life, providing a lifetime hurdle to overcome.
As Rick notes, the pain he feels causes him to retreat from living, which only causes more depression and more eating. As Rick's doctor friend notes, his own weight problem deprives him of even simple joys - he points out he can't even take pleasure in his accomplishments as a doctor and says, "It's not living." Another doctor relates a story of an obese woman who tells him that whenever someone tells her that she "has a pretty face," her response is not to feel good, but to feel like she wants to mutilate her face. It's life when what even people consider to be a compliment is often a back-handed insult about your weight.
While empathy is missing these days from much of American life, one place in particular where such empathy is gone is toward people dealing with obesity. One man in the film is so haunted by the teasing and the snide comments that he has come to a point that whenever he walks down the street and hears even a hint of giggling he assumes it is about him and his self-esteem is crushed. A woman in the film describes having to finally tell her family that at Thanksgiving dinner if they make any more comments about her weight she will leave and never talk to her family again. She then adopted a veneer of rage so that her family would get the message that she was serious - turning Thanksgiving no doubt into something less than fun but at least not entirely humiliating.
Many of these things above are things that I have felt or experienced myself. That made the documentary particularly poignant and powerful for me. On the other hand, if you have never suffered from this problem (an increasingly shrinking pool in North America), and if you feel little or no empathy toward obese people, perhaps this film will help. And if you feel the same way after this film, then I suggest at a minimum seeing a psychiatrist to diagnose your own disorders. Sociopathy is no way to go through life.
Eventually Rick's journey takes a more positive spin as he begins to seek out support from others and even begins to take a role in advocacy organizations. Rick's journey toward self-acceptance is not complete by the end of the film, but there certainly is hope. While this review has tended to focus on some of the more downbeat stories in the film, I can assure you that this is not a dreary piece of work and it is actually quite upbeat in a lot of ways (especially at the end).
The film is powerful and I highly recommend it. If you know someone that is obese, and chances are you do, then you should watch this film. If you, like me, have had to deal with many of these same issues, the chance to hear others talk about it and to reach a level of self-acceptance is helpful and affecting.
Streamed on the National Film Board of Canada's free Roku Channel. You can also watch it for free via the NFB's website, as embedded below. The NFB's site and channel are absolutely stuffed with great material and I highly, highly recommend you check it out. Don't skip over the "Kid's Channel" on the NFB site, as there are some great animated pieces to check out there as well.
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