Only with diversity and new ideas do
society and individuals alike grow and progress. However, in today’s society, such diversity
and new ideas are often discouraged or repressed. This can be seen in the mainstream media,
which represents the perspective of only a fraction of the population that are
white heterosexual males. Thankfully, through
the growing number of female artist, film director, and screenwriter, new and
broader ranges of ideas are now available.
Often through great adversity, female artists gave a media presence to
the unheard voices of women and minorities.
Using deliberate approaches and processes, female artists convey their
unique message, which are often times understood by female viewers, while male
viewers fail to grasp the message. This
can be seen in Nnegest Likke’s film, Phat
Girlz.
Phat
Girlz is a story that is centered around a character named Jazmin. Being overweight as a child, she was bullied
at school and didn’t have friends. Fed
up with the verbal abuse, Jazmin punched one of her bullies. From that experience, Jazmine learned that
“if I couldn’t get respect because I wasn’t a stick, I’d get respect because I
was a stone.”[1] Although appearing to be tough and outgoing,
Jazmine still desired to be thin. Therefore,
Jazmine bought a ton of diet pills and exercise videos. It seemed to her that only thin women could
get men, fit into fashionable clothes, and get preferential treatment. Wanting a break from her worries, Jazmine,
her friend Stacey, and cousin Mia, went on a vacation to Palm Springs, California. There, Jazmine met the handsome Nigerian
doctor, Tunde. Coming from a culture
that admires big women, Tunde is confused by Jazmine’s desire to be thin and her
inability to see the beauty that is her.
Due to her insecurities, Jazmine soon ends their relationship, saying
eventually he would leave her for a skinny woman. Afterwards, Jazmine had a nervous breakdown. Her deep-seated insecurities of her body
figure overwhelmed her. In desperation,
she called out to her beloved grandmother and Jazmin recalled her grandmother’s
words. “You are beautiful inside and
out. You’re beautiful sugar.”[2] After recalling that precious memory, Jazmine
was able to see through her grandmother’s eyes and see the beauty that was
within her. “I am beautiful, I am. All
of me. I love me. I love me. I love me.”[3] Imbued with the strength
of self-acceptance and self-love, Jazmine had the courage to approach her boss
and discuss opening her line of plus size fashion clothes. Jazmine also developed the confidence to go
to Nigeria
to seek out Tunde. Resolving their issue,
Jazmine and Tunde resumed their relationship stronger than before.
Although
this film is a fictional comedy piece, the struggles and hardships Jazmine went
through is a mirror of what many individuals face in reality. Indeed, that was the intention of the
screenwriter and director, Nnegest Likke.
Being plus sized growing up, Likke
understood the hardships big women had to endure, which most people aren’t even
aware of. “You
can’t go to the mall and just pick something.
And you can’t go to the club and just choose the guy you want because 9
times out of 10 they aren’t looking at you.
And if they are, they are looking at you because they are laughing.”[4] This reality typically goes unseen in
mainstream media. Therefore, Likke
wanted to bring this awareness to the screen in a “very real way but in an
entertaining way that is funny and palpable.”
Likke’s film also featured a number of minority subcultures and the
Nigerian culture, which gives the audience a great insight into our American
society. Because our society becomes so
ingrained within us through subtle media and social conditioning, people
generally don’t realize how bizarre some of our beliefs are. With the use of foreigners’ perspective and
exaggerations, it becomes blatantly obvious in the film the peculiar nuances of
American Society. For example, when
Jazmine expressed her desire to become a size 5, Tunde solemnly said, “you will
never be a size 5, and I’m speaking to you as a medical professional, your body
structure is not made to be a size 5.”[5] Tunde further concluded that those who strive
for another’s standard of beauty will ultimately lead them to be “hopelessly
insecure and incurably unhappy.”[6]
In order to
convey the story true to her vision, Likke deliberately chose actors based on
their likeness to the characters, rather than their popularity. “I believe that audiences will come if your
character is strong enough.”[7] Being a first time feature film director, Likke
didn’t have a lot of technical expertise.
Therefore, her approach as a director was to go behind the camera as a
movie goer. Likke would say to herself, “What
do you want to see in the theater as a movie goer? What do you want the guy to say to you? What do you want if you were that character? What
do you really say in real life? What happen
in those private moments? What happens
in your head? ”[8] With these criteria in mind, Likke chose to
use some open and direct narration in the film.
Being able to hear Jazmin’s inner thoughts enabled the audience to get a
deeper understanding of her actions and true thoughts that she dare not say aloud. This technique further enhanced the audience’s
ability to perceive as Jazmin and experience her hardships as well as lessons.
Drawing on
life experience, the main purpose of Likke’s work is to convey issues and messages
that are important to her, which typically goes unaddressed in the mainstream
media. With social norms and stigmas telling
us that we aren’t beautiful or worthy unless we look and act in a way the mainstream
media’s male gaze deem appropriate, it’s easy to see why many individuals develop
self-loathing, self-criticism, and low self-esteem. Likke’s character, Jazmin reflects this reality. However, in order to provide a solution,
Likke put Jazmin through an emotional journey.
As Jazmine’s world expands through meeting Tunde and his unique perspective,
Jazmine faced her deep-seated insecurities and learned to love herself. By proactively taking charge of her life,
Jazmine decided to measure her beauty and worth through her own definition,
rather than adopting another’s definition.
This can be seen when Jazmine said, “we ain't got a weight problem,
you've got a problem with our weight” and “you are a diamond, girl and don’t
you ever forget it.”[9] Therefore, Likke’s message to the audience is
to not strive for beauty as defined by others, but rather strive for beauty as defined
by self. And this beauty is already present,
to be discovered, and realized by ourselves. “The bottom
line is, love yourself -- fat, skinny, short, tall, whatever. Love
yourself."[10]
Although this story offers a
powerful message, it wasn’t well received by many financiers. With the difficulties of finding financiers,
the film’s producer, Bobby Newmyer had to mortgage his house in order to get filming
started. With a production budge of only
$3 million, many people had to pitch in, in order to bring the story on film.[11] Jazmine’s wardrobe and “all of the clothes in
the fashion show were pieces from out of my closet,” said Monique, the actress
who plays Jazmine.[12] Another example of people pitching in was in
the Nigerian convention scene. With not
enough funds to create the convention scene, “we found out at the eleventh hour
about a real Nigerian convention that was happening in New York… they said “come on in, we’d love
to have you.””[13] The lack of production budget can also be
seen in some scenes with the use of lesser quality cameras and lighting, which
many critics noted. Critics are also able
apply gynocriticism, which is a way of assessing works of art specifically in
relation to the interests and desires of women.[14] This can be seen in critics remark about how Tunde’s
characteristics are those most women would find highly attractive. Many male viewers especially thought Jazmine’s
issues were extremely exaggerated. Although
Likke intentionally used exaggerations, the core issues weren’t exaggerated. Failing to comprehend the film’s message coupled
with poor cameras, odd lighting, and exaggerations, many male reviewers
responded like Joe
Leydon of Variety magazine, saying it, “feels tortuously padded at an overlong
98 minutes.”[15] As of November 2012, Phat Girlz is ranked 97 of IMDb bottom
100 chart with ratings of 2.5/10 from 7,379 voters.[16] Although the ratings appear low, many female
viewers rated the film positively.
Contrary to male viewers, many female viewers appreciated the film’s humor
and understood its’ message. With an
entertaining storyline and powerful character development, many female viewers
thought, “this is a very positive and uplifting
movie.....and funny too!”[17] Many female viewers were able to grasp the
message of “self-esteem, self-improvement, self-awareness.”[18] Female viewers also recognized the poignant
moment of Jazmin’s breakdown, describing it as, “real, raw, and deeply moving.”[19]
This film
shows that contrary to popular belief, not everyone have the perspective of the
mainstream media’s male gaze, which portrays definitions of beauty and
importance determined by the male spectator.[20] This world is quite diverse with many various ideas
and beliefs, which are even opposite to the mainstream media’s version. For example, when Monique, the actress who
plays Jazmine, traveled to south
africa, “she said when she got there people
were screaming at her on the street, ‘Marry me! Marry me!’ They didn’t even
know she was a celebrity. It was just because she was plump, and full, and
beautiful.”[21] Therefore in actuality,
there are many diverse ideas in the world, including such ideas that people can
find solace, help, comfort, and strength.
In a world full of helpful and unhelpful ideas, people can simply turn their
attention to those they choose. However,
only those who are aware of the options are able to choose. Therefore, it is important that many female
artist expresses these unvoiced ideas.
With increased awareness, people now the ability to choose alternative
ideas, such as uplifting ideas, which gives people strength to repudiate the detrimental
ideas and take charge of their own life.
Works Cited
Humm,
Maggie. “Author/Auteur: Feminist
Literary Theory and Feminist Film.” Feminism and Film. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997.
“IMDb Charts:
IMDb Bottom 100.” IMDb, 2006-2012.
<http://www.imdb.com/chart/bottom>
Leydon, Joe. “Phat
Girlz.” Varitey, 2006.
<http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117930186/>
Likke, Nnegest.
Interview with Kara Harshbarger.
Spike, 2006.
<http://www.spike.com/video-clips/etzsah/phat-girlz-interview-with-nnegest-likke>
McMurtrie,
John. “Nnegest Likke – “Phat Girlz”
writer – hits it big!” Ethiomedia, 2006.
<http://www.ethiomedia.com/courier/phat_girlz.html>
Mulvey, Laura.
“Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Film
Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. Eds. Leo Braudy and Marshal Cohen. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. 833-844.
“Phat Girlz.” Box
Office Mojo, 2006.
<http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=phatgirlz.htm>
“Phat Girlz: Customer Reviews.” Amazon.com, 2006-2012.
<http://www.amazon.com/Phat-Girlz-Monique/dp/B000FUH35U>
Phat Girlz. Dir. Nnegest Likke. Prod. Bobby Newmyer. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2006. Film.
“Phat Girlz: Production Information”. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2006.
<http://hollywoodjesus.com/movie/phat_girlz/notes.pdf>
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] “Phat
Girlz: Production Information”. Fox
Searchlight Pictures, 2006.
[11] “Phat Girlz.” Box Office Mojo, 2006.
[12] “Phat Girlz: Production
Information”. Fox Searchlight Pictures,
2006.
[13] “Phat Girlz: Production
Information”. Fox Searchlight Pictures,
2006.
[14] Humm, Maggie. “Author/Auteur: Feminist Literary Theory and
Feminist Film.”
[16] “IMDb Charts: IMDb Bottom
100.” IMDb, 2006-2012.
[17] “Phat Girlz: Customer
Reviews.” Amazon.com, 2006-2012.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.”
[21] “Phat Girlz: Production
Information”. Fox Searchlight Pictures,
2006.
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