Eating Disorder Movies: Triggering?

"I'm sorry that I'm not a person anymore, I'm a problem"
-Ellen, To the Bone

Fuck Hollywood's portrayal of eating disorders. The tiny, rail-thin girl who has been to in-patient multiple time and still isn't better. The girl who somehow makes bone-thin look pretty and finds "romance" while she's at the hospital. Fuck that. That's exactly why people with actual eating disorders feel like even bigger failures than before.

"I'm not that skinny..."= I'm not good enough at having an eating disorder.

"I've never been to inpatient..."= I must not really be sick.

"He fell in love with her while she was still sick/in inpatient..."= Being sick is attractive.



I get it though. You can't make a movie factual AND interesting. You've got to keep the viewer hooked so why not add a star-crossed romance in there? Hmm...movie about anorexia? Edgy girl thinks she's fat so doesn't eat...let's have her go to inpatient, make some friends, maybe throw in a boy and then BAM! she starts trying new things and, oh my lanta, actually eats something!, then she relapses but ultimately at the end, she returns to recovery! OH BOY! Fuck that.

Yes, there are definitely truths in these movies. Everybody's eating disorder story is insanely different and unique and seeing the same portrayal over and over again is toxic. You might say, "Then why do you watch them?" Why do you think? It's entirely sick, but we watch them to get ideas. Ideas on how to be "better at being sick." Do you think those disclaimers they show at the beginning are going to deter us from watching? No..if anything, it reinforces the need to watch.

While I obviously completely support getting eating disorder stories, and all mental health stories, out there, I also think they should be done right. That being said...I don't think there's any way to portray any mental health story, especially one about eating disorders, without it being triggering in some way to someone.