'Think of it as LARPing' 'Okay - I cast level-nine flirtation'

[sibyllevance]

1. Okay, very quickly - polyship sign-ups are open till - gasp! - tomorrow so head over there now if you're interested in an exchange of fanworks with polyamory characters. They accept art, fanfic, vidding, icons, wallpapers, fanmixes. Unfortunately it's not the place for original fiction. All fandoms and ratings welcome.

All fandoms, all polyships and all fanwork types welcome! [Info & Rules] [Sign-up] [Promo Banners]

2. I want to talk about ABC's TV show Huge which aired this summer. I only found out about it two days ago. Never mind the fail. First two shout-outs: thank you Jamie for your introductory post about this series which put it on my radar and also, FRITH IF YOU READ THIS WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE SHOW? (I stalked my flist's profiles to see if anyone had caught it before and saw you had). You may comment here if you wish or send me a PM with your thoughts.

This is an open invitation - if any of you want to talk about the show with me but not in a public comment, feel free to PM me.

On to the show now - what is Huge?

 

 

 

 

Huge is a drama about 'teens sent to a summer weight-loss camp called Camp Victory.' Now I don't know about you but when I saw the poster, featuring Nikki Blonsky (who plays one of the main characters, Will and by the way I find Nikki gorgeous but that's shallow of me :p) in which she looks awkward and uncomfortable and when I saw the premise, I wondered what the hell inspired anyone to create a show that was obviously going to beat up fictional characters for being fat instead of fucking learning from the fat acceptance movement once and for all.

I was wrong. The pilot is ridiculous and buys into every cliché imaginable - the kids are made to give up their food and food is pinpointed as the enemy, which had me shake my head in horror. But then the show turned out to be a little more. The creators' idea was not to set the show in a fat camp (I'm using fat throughout this post as a reclaiming of the adjective - fad doesn't mean bad and fat doesn't mean unhealthy. Fat means fat) just for the sake of having these characters be ashamed of themselves, it's set in a fat camp so from the word go weight is no longer something different and it's about the rest of it. The entire cast of teenagers is fat, which makes Huge a seriously refreshing show that's doing a lot for representation of fat people on TV in fiction. There are no tokens in this show.

I was really impressed with Huge. I saw all 10 episodes of the first season and really cared about each character and each storyline. It revolves a lot around romance and you know how bored I am when watching romance but I wasn't here. It was just so well-done.

REASONS YOU SHOULD WATCH HUGE

1. Even if the show itself seems to condone the whole 'lose weight and be a better person' mindset, Will, who's a rebellious sarcastic teen, is THE voice of fat acceptance activists. I LOVE her character. She refuses to buy into this bullshit. She refuses to believe that fat is bad and that you can't be healthy at any size. If you need a little inspiration in your life, watch Will, that's all I'm going to say.

2. Becca. Becca is a geek. I love Becca so much. She loves books and LARPing (Live-action role-playing, in which she plays a warrior princess). She loves runes. She's an amazing friend. I completely fell for her character.

 

Becca

3. Alistair - OH MY GOD ALISTAIR. I can't begin to explain the beauty that is Alistair. Alistair is queer. He's a genuinely nice character who lives in his own world and is pretty much oblivious to anything that's not genuinely nice like him. You just have to see it. He doesn't label, he takes people for what they are and takes himself for what he is. I found this character very touching.
Actually, talking about sexuality - the only out asexual character is one of the characters who's not fat. Apart from the fact that asexuality actually exists in this show (this is so rare), YAY @ the idea that fat people have no sexuaity whatsoever being flushed down the toilet.

4. This is co-written by Winnie Holzman, who created the wonderful, jaw-droppingly awesome My So-Called Life, the most realistic show about adolescence ever. She's written this show with her daughter. I really love Winnie, she has a sensibility I found nowhere else on television. Everything she touches is real and genuine and graceful. Her characters are eccentric, never stereotypes and Huge is no exception. It's eccentric, it's quirky, which makes it disarmingly charming.

5. This show is making a statement. I didn't think any screenwriter out there would ever create something like Huge, because you kind of lose faith after a while. It's like when they announce 'a lesbian show' or 'a bisexual book' (lol that never happened, bisexuals are so invisible in fiction, but this is another debate). You're hungry for it, you can't wait, and then you can't help but turn each page or watch each new episode with apprehension because obviously they're going to get it wrong at some point and any way we're just better off with fanfic. Give this show a chance. It's a subtle thing that deserves attention and recognition for what it's doing.

You may watch the 10 episodes of the first season HERE (I'm linking you to streaming links) or straight on Hulu or ABC Family for those of you living in the US.


It's a tiny fandom but we have a comm - join us over at - huge_deal.

Now - the show has just been cancelled, which was the whole point of Jamie's post. She linked to two things - this and this. I'd be very very sorry to see this show go. I can't believe they're letting it go, actually. Please save it if you like it. I can't do much as it's not even being aired here.
While you're at it, you can read this very good interview with Savannah Dooley, who created the show.

If you want a primer on fat acceptance, feel free to read this post over at ontd_feminism , which is one of my favourite communities.

Comments

[timeasmymeasure]

I was absolutely in love with Becca!
I wonder if it's been nommed for Yuletide.

[sibyllevance]

Shoot we can no longer check the nominations. I think so though as someone mentioned yuletide at the Huge comm. I really hope so! I want Alistair/Becca friendship fic and Will/Becca femslash :)