{"id":472,"date":"2014-01-27T22:46:41","date_gmt":"2014-01-28T03:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/?p=472"},"modified":"2014-01-27T22:46:41","modified_gmt":"2014-01-28T03:46:41","slug":"three-short-fat-films","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/2014\/01\/three-short-fat-films\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Short, Fat Films"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"dslc-theme-content\"><div id=\"dslc-theme-content-inner\"><p>I&#8217;ve realized I probably do too much Mega Buster charging when it comes to blog posts: I wait until I&#8217;ve got\u00a0<em>so fucking much<\/em>\u00a0to say that it pours out in a sometimes untempered flood of nonsense that people excusably stop reading 10% of the way through. So today I&#8217;m trying an experiment in just getting a quick post out there.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m gonna write some stuff about being fat. You were warned.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Part the First:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So on Twitter about an hour and change ago, I asked people to name fat, gay male characters from TV and film, ideally fictional ones. I opened it up to the rest of the queer spectrum too.<\/p>\n<p>In the span of that hour, here&#8217;s the list that people came up with, with a couple inclusions by yours truly:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Yossi, the eponymous main character of <em><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/LUOBN_uahrI\" target=\"_blank\">Yossi<\/a><\/em>, an Israeli film (trailer vaguely NSFW for naked bottom). You can, as of this writing, <a href=\"http:\/\/dvd.netflix.com\/Movie\/Yossi\/70241254\" target=\"_blank\">watch the movie on Netflix Instant Play<\/a> if you&#8217;re interested.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/Ka72kWlAjwQ\" target=\"_blank\">Cameron &#8220;Cam&#8221; Tucker<\/a>, a character on the sitcom\u00a0<em>Modern Family<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/s4V3jM7x3bk\" target=\"_blank\">Vito &#8220;Wide Guy&#8221; Spatafore<\/a>,\u00a0from HBO&#8217;s\u00a0<em>The Sopranos<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=EgU_8deZ0s4\" target=\"_blank\">Damien, the sassy gay best friend<\/a> from\u00a0<em>Mean Girls<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Richard Hatch <a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/lhD7rfVjdSw\" target=\"_blank\">playing a semi-fictional version of himself<\/a> in\u00a0<em>Another Gay Movie.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>John Goodman playing William &#8220;Butch&#8221; Gamble in the <a href=\"http:\/\/youtu.be\/6AgSEr8u1PI\" target=\"_blank\">short-lived Fox sitcom\u00a0<em>Normal, Ohio<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Fichinescu\" target=\"_blank\">Ignacio Esains from Twitter<\/a>\u00a0was kind enough to mention two Spanish-langauge options &#8212; the character Guillermo from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.minutouno.com\/notas\/298051-julio-chavez-y-benjamin-vicuna-se-besaron-farsantes\" target=\"_blank\">Argentinian legal drama\u00a0<\/a><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.minutouno.com\/notas\/298051-julio-chavez-y-benjamin-vicuna-se-besaron-farsantes\" target=\"_blank\">Farsantes<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and the character Enrique from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OI8aVnrTa6E\" target=\"_blank\">Spanish film\u00a0<em>Gordos<\/em><\/a>. There&#8217;s also many of the characters in the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cachorro\" target=\"_blank\">Spanish film\u00a0<em>Cachorro<\/em> (&#8220;Bear Cub&#8221;)<\/a><\/li>\n<li>I guess some of the cast of the movie\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/movies.netflix.com\/WiMovie\/70153584\" target=\"_blank\"><em>BearCity<\/em><\/a> counts. I guess.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That&#8217;s about ten? More or less? I&#8217;m gonna say, for the record, that a couple of these guys don&#8217;t even seem fat, to me. When <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OptimistPanda\/status\/427982923694759936\" target=\"_blank\">Shane Liesegang told me about Vito<\/a>\u00a0he mentioned a weight loss plot which immediately set me on edge, as did the trailer for\u00a0<em>Gordos<\/em>. I will say point blank that\u00a0<em>BearCity<\/em> infuriates me; it is a film fundamentally about a fit\/thin man getting shit for being attracted to bears (which is not necessarily about body size), as well as having an infuriatingly up-then-down subplot about a fat gay man considering a lap band and a scene where said thin main character roundly mocks a bear for being even remotely effete. So fuck that movie.<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t even get me started on Cam from\u00a0<em>Modern Family<\/em>. And while I actually wish\u00a0<em>Normal, Ohio<\/em> had lasted more than a handful of episodes, that Fox promo and indeed, the show&#8217;s entire premise goes\u00a0<em>out of its way<\/em> to emphasize that being gay isn&#8217;t normal and, tacitly, to imply that being fat and gay isn&#8217;t normal either. That&#8217;s the whole joke.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Part the Second:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Before I start talking about anything, watch this trailer for\u00a0<em>Street Fighter X Tekken<\/em>:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"663\" height=\"373\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/64DNpYiqlEc?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>These characters are Rufus of\u00a0<em>Street Fighter 4<\/em> and Bob of\u00a0<em>Tekken<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>I have a very complicated relationship with Rufus and Bob.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the deal. I like that both are presented as highly skilled martial artists. Rufus in particular is a very acrobatic fighter, performing a flashy kung fu style that is highly, highly atypical for characters of his body type. Neither\u00a0<em>SF<\/em> nor\u00a0<em>Tekken<\/em> sell these characters short in terms of their skill. I don&#8217;t know much about <i>Tekken<\/i>&#8216;s gameplay, but when\u00a0<em>SF4<\/em> debuted Rufus was also a relatively high-tier character, so he saw a decent amount of play. That is actually pretty great.<\/p>\n<p>And I mean, the alternative is SNK&#8217;s fat guys:\u00a0<em>Samurai Shodown<\/em>&#8216;s Earthquake,\u00a0<em>KoF<\/em>&#8216;s Chang Koehan, and\u00a0<em>Real Bout Fatal Fury<\/em>&#8216;s Cheng Sinzan:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_474\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-474\" style=\"width: 496px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/snk_fatguys.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-474 \" alt=\"SNK's &quot;Fat Guys&quot;\" src=\"http:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/snk_fatguys-620x278.png\" width=\"496\" height=\"222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/snk_fatguys-620x278.png 620w, https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/snk_fatguys.png 650w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 496px) 100vw, 496px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-474\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">No. No no no no no.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One of the three characters above farts in someone&#8217;s face with a gleeful expression as one of his standard throws. Another curls into a ball Blanka-style and attacks that way. Just throwing that out there.<\/p>\n<p>Rufus and Bob could be worse. But they could be better. Bob used to be thin &#8212; a weak, depowered version of him, interestingly enough, appears as <a href=\"http:\/\/eng.tekkenpedia.com\/wiki\/Slim_Bob\" target=\"_blank\">Slim Bob<\/a>\u00a0in a few of the\u00a0<em>Tekken<\/em> games &#8212; and decided to get fat to &#8220;challenge&#8221; himself. Rufus is consistently portrayed as a delusional fool who mistakes any blond for his perceived rival, Ken Masters; you&#8217;ll notice in the trailer I linked, when Bob claims Rufus has the wrong guy, Rufus exclaims &#8220;You thought if you can&#8217;t beat &#8217;em, join &#8217;em, and got a cool body like mine!&#8221; Rufus as a character is unashamed of his physicality and even sexuality (he has a hot, thin girlfriend, but her portrayal is icky and &#8220;part of the joke&#8221;) but we, as viewers, are not encouraged to think of it as rational; instead we&#8217;re supposed to see his self-assuredness as yet another aspect of his delusional personality. The framing of that trailer, with Rufus and Bob meeting outside a bathroom (and Rufus&#8217;s bizarre manner as he\u00a0<em>exits<\/em> that bathroom), is just weird and offputting to me.<\/p>\n<p>So yeah. Mixed feelings.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Part the Third:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Despite all this, however, one thing happened in fat gaming this year that I was unabashedly, entirely on board with.<\/p>\n<p>It is this guy:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_475\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-475\" style=\"width: 372px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/XY_Tierno.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-475 \" alt=\"Tierno from Pokemon X\/Y\" src=\"http:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/XY_Tierno-620x990.png\" width=\"372\" height=\"594\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/XY_Tierno-620x990.png 620w, https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/XY_Tierno.png 801w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 372px) 100vw, 372px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-475\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tierno from Pokemon X\/Y<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This is one of the supporting characters in <em>Pok\u00e9mon X\/Y<\/em>, <a href=\"Tierno from Pokemon X\/Y\" target=\"_blank\">Tierno<\/a>. Tierno is one of the group of kids (including the player&#8217;s avatar) who set off to fill their pok\u00e9dexes, and with whom you have a number of encounters over the course of the journey. Unlike the other main character kids, Tierno doesn&#8217;t enjoy battles and doesn&#8217;t want to fill the Pok\u00e9dex. Instead he is obsessed with dances, and likes pok\u00e9mon who know &#8220;dance&#8221; movies. His dream is to create a dance team with his pok\u00e9mon.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s actually really great. As befits the positive fiction of the games, nobody ever tells Tierno he can&#8217;t be a famous dancer because of his weight, or that his dream of dancing with his pok\u00e9mon is unattainable. His friends support him. And more to the point, a character of size is given an interest in a primarily physical, performative act (dancing), which is really, really unusual in media portrayals of fat people. Unlike Rufus, we&#8217;re never encouraged to think of Tierno and his dream as weird, unusual, or offputting. Tierno isn&#8217;t delusional, though perhaps we&#8217;re asked to give a chuckle at his incredible energy and enthusiasm.<\/p>\n<p>So, I&#8217;m gonna bring this post to a close on that note. Of all the fat characters in\u00a0<em>anything\u00a0<\/em>I&#8217;ve consumed lately, the good one &#8212; the satifying one &#8212; was a bit part in a\u00a0<em>Pok\u00e9mon<\/em> game.<\/p>\n<p>Think about that.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve realized I probably do too much Mega Buster charging when it comes to blog posts: I wait until I&#8217;ve got\u00a0so fucking much\u00a0to say that it pours out in a sometimes untempered flood of nonsense that people excusably stop reading 10% of the way through. So today I&#8217;m trying an experiment in just getting a&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/2014\/01\/three-short-fat-films\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Three Short, Fat Films<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[81,52,16,11],"tags":[142,140,143,141],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/fatfilm_poster.png","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3NfdI-7C","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":480,"href":"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472\/revisions\/480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chaoticblue.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}