Analysis Of Phat Girlz

Picture this: An early Saturday morning that consists of a steady flowing summer breeze that caresses the curtains as it dances into the bedroom of a young girl. The young girl that this room belongs to sits on her bed Indian style (or Native American Style, to be politically correct), listening to her beloved iPod. She’s probably listening to Aerosmith -- her favorite band -- or her guilty pleasure song “Hollaback Girl” by No Doubt lead singer, Gwen Stefani. These aren’t her only musical interests; she has hundreds of favorites. Alice Cooper, Ludacris, Bad Company, Korn, Beastie Boys: the list continues on.

Once upon a time, women were celebrated for their curves. Weight was a symbol of wealth and fertility in a woman. During this time, women were subjugated to being a housewife and nothing more. As time and society progressed, a woman’s prison became her body and no longer her home. Women had the freedom to vote, work, play, but could no longer be fat. This new beauty standard of thinness affects women in many ways. In “Add Cake, Subtract Self Esteem” written by Caroline Knapp, she describes her own personal experience on how this impossible standard affects women’s eating which leads to eating disorders and an unhealthy relationship with food. In “The Beauty Myth” written by Naomi Wolf, she describes the mental effects on women from a

Based on Rosalind Wiseman's non-fiction book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, the 2004 movie, Mean Girls, was directed by Mark Waters and the screenplay was written by Tina Fey. Through the use of cinematography and music, the viewers were able to experience the real high school society. Mean Girls is about a sixteen-year-old homeschooled girl and her first-time experience at a public high school. Through his movie, Walters portrays the damaging effects of female social cliques on every student in high school.

“I don’t hate you because you’re fat. You’re fat because I hate you,” an iconic “Mean Girls” quote briefly illustrates how fat is often portrayed in society. Movies and television series have a tendency to exclude overweight actors/actresses or use them as a center of ridicule. In doing so, it sends a misguided message to children, teens and adults who now feel the pressure of inadequacy. People have begun to examine the effects of body shaming in America. In the article “Fear of Fatness,” Peggy Orenstein, an award-winning writer, claims that the image of the ideal woman is rather impossible to achieve, and even those who may obtain it, still find flaws within themselves. Orenstein presents the idea that body fat is viewed as a negative

In our world today, there are many different types of cultures. In America especially, there is so much diversity within culture that it's what makes America what it is today. What is culture you may ask? Culture is basically a human’s way of living life through values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects. In the well-known movie, Mean Girls, there are a lot of different types and aspects of culture throughout the movie. The movie Mean Girls is about a girl named Cady Heron who lived in Africa and was homeschooled for most of her life, has to attend a public high school called North Shore. She is clueless at first and after a while she makes friends with a group of popular girls known as the Plastics. She fits in quickly and tries to adapt through high school. There are different types of cultures and subcultures at North Shore such as the Plastics, the Jocks, the Nerds, the Cool African Americans, the Cool Asians, the Foreigners, and the Losers. Everyone at North Shore high wants to be like the Plastics so some of the girls like to copy everything the Plastics do such as the way they speak and dress. In addition to that all the students are desperate to fit in so in order for them to do that they have to value sex, drinking, partying, makeup, and other typical teenage stuff. Mean Girls did in fact have a lot of different types of cultural aspects to it and there are strong examples to prove this.

In Susan Bordo’s article “Never Just Pictures: Bodies and Fantasies” this is an article that is informative as well as interesting. Bordo mentions celebrity names like Alicia Silverstone and famous dieting products like Citra Lean to introduce the “thin” trend in today’s popular culture. The author explains how today’s society explores different media cites to acknowledge how individuals should appear in today’s world. Advertisements have also become a big part on the reflection of society’s beliefs. Bordo talks about body figures that were once considered normal, have become known as an abnormal appearance. Bordo wants to convince the audience that being thin has become an issue that must be addressed by the general public,

Commonly referred to as a classic by millennials, Mean Girls, directed by Mark Waters in 2004, allows an interesting critique of racism when viewed through a sociological lens. The story follows Cady Herron, a normal teenager- except for the fact that she grew up in Africa, homeschooled by her scientist parents- as she is forced to integrate into the public-school system in Illinois. Never having been in an institution like a public school, Cady quickly learns what not to do and who to hang out with. Through trial and error, Cady assimilates and becomes a ‘normal’ American teenager who is part of the ‘popular’ crowd, befriending “The Plastics”; Karen Smith, Gretchen Wieners, and their leader, Regina George. The story of Mean Girls is not as superficial as it seems. This film illustrates the perils of not only teenage life, but current life in America, and accurately depicts the struggles that minorities face. Looking at this movie through Functionalist theory, the racial aggressions present are part of a larger institution of the public school system; insinuating that the micro and macro-aggressions directed towards minorities are part of developing the future generation and teaching them to perpetuate racial inequality in America, allowing white people to remain the majority race and to reap the benefits that come with it. The complexity of the movie lies within an interesting discourse that examines the effects and functions behind the racist

Only six of these 17 films presented a big woman as a positive figure (410).” The quote demonstrates how Goodman focuses on using information provided with evidence. In addition to surveys and critical numbers, Goodman also enhances the essay by using strong words and phrases. “Message to all large women: You’re not sexy. The only beautiful woman is a thin woman,” illustrates how the media views large women all around the world (410). Goodman also demonstrated that “out of 324 ads by men seeking women in which the men specified body size, 312 requested, or rather demanded a thin body type (411).” Using the quote above portrays how the male figure view women all around the world and Goodman’s use of reliable information helps the reader trust and believe in him. Goodman strongly portrays his opinion on how all women should be treated equally by using surveys, strong evidence, and critical numbers. Goodman’s essay enables the reader to believe all the facts and information provided in the essay. The writer has used many examples and statistical evidence to make his point, which makes the reader feel like he or she can trust Goodman. Using specific details and evidence enables the reader to trust the author in a more respectable way. The more evidence an author provides, the faster the reader will agree with his or her

Today in modern society, we are driven by social forces. Not only do we strive for human approval and companionship, we also thrive on social media. The media plays such a pivotal role in what we buy, eat, wear, etc. that we are conditioning ourselves to fit the mold for the “perfect” or “ideal” body type. This social construct has been a pressing issue for many years regarding the female physique, but not as much has been said on behalf of men. When confronted with appearance based advertisements, men are more likely to experience muscle dissatisfaction, weight disparities, and anger and/or anxiety toward showing their body in public. This paper will address these facets of the media’s effect on male body image as well as presenting what has been done to address this quietly debilitating issue.

Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women, and their bodies, sell everything from food to cars. Women's magazines are full of articles urging women to fit a certain mold. While standing in a grocery store line you can see all different magazines promoting fashion, weight loss, and the latest diet. Although the magazines differ, they all seemingly convey the same idea: if you have the perfect body image you can have it all…the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career. The media, whether TV, print, or Internet advertising, seems to play a huge role in influencing women of all ages; from adolescence and teens, to women in their twenties and thirties, as well as

The female body image is highly influenced by the mass media and the media’s portrayal of women, ‘70% of college women say they feel worse about their own looks after reading women’s magazines’ (University of Massachusetts & Stanford University, 2006), the portrayal of women in the media has an unrealistic approach and brings out body dissatisfactions and this results in eating problems and disorders.

A female should not feel insecure with her body when she is comfortable in her own skin, whether or not she weights 130 pounds or 150 pounds at 5’5”. According to Rehab’s study of the evolution of the female figure over one hundred years, “the body shapes of the most admired models have remained consistently slimmer than that of the average American woman.” Due to the significant increase in mass media throughout the twentieth century of the United States, there has been a noteworthy impact on the popular image of women. A woman being dissatisfied with their body is a everyday trend around the world where as

Preview of Main Points: I will begin by explaining how the perfect body image shown in the media is unrealistic, then, I will talk about how the unrealistic images lead to both men and women to have a low self-esteem and eating disorders that develop due to people wanting to look like the images shown in the media. Lastly, I’ll talk about a solution we can do to stop the portrayal of an unrealistic body image.

On television and in movies, women are often portrayed as the love interest for the main male character or the succubus that tries to gain the main character’s love through temptation. Most the women depicted in the romances are white, thin, and busty. Often the attractive female lead has a best friend who is deemed overweight and never receives any romantic interactions. The only goal the female character has is to gain the attention of the main character. In other movies and television shows when the female character is not considered attractive, she must go through a complete makeover before her love interest even notices her. Once the makeover is complete, the girl’s love interest is completely stupefied with her beauty and instantly falls in love with her. This plot device leads

PHAT GIRLZ is a comic movie about a woman who tries to convince the world that the bigger the better. Monique plays the character of Jazmin, a fat girl in a skinny girl’s world. She could not attain a suitable attire for a women of her size. Jazmin has her heart set on launching her own clothing line for large ladies but she has a difficult time convincing investors. They do not believe that there is a market for plus size clothing, only for skinny girls. It appears that society has a certain image of what a woman should look like to be deemed beautiful. In the movie, Jazmin is often criticized for her outgoing personality and weight. Then, Jazmin wins a trip to the Caribbean Islands, and she goes on trip with her skinny cousin. She is embarrassed