Oh, freedom is mine: Weight Watchers and Feeling Good
The past few years have seen the rise of a new sort of celebrity. I blame Kirstie Alley for this, given her particularly memorable turn as Jenny Craig spokesperson, but she is only one of the many - Valerie Bertinelli, Sara Rue, Carnie Wilson, Jason Alexander - who have been famous in recent years primarily for having been on a diet. The latest casualty collected by the diet-spokesperson bandwagon is Carrie Fisher, of all people, who was evidently driven to take the job by mean-spirited internet people. I’ve started to wonder if someday soon I will turn on my television to see Miss Piggy singing the glories of Jenny Craig to the tune of “The Rainbow Connection”.
The topic of today’s post is nearly as bad.
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When I first saw the Weight Watchers commercial with Jennifer Hudson singing in it, I cringed. I cringed at the way she sung the great freedom of being thin. I cringed at thinking about my family, my friends, and strangers seeing this commercial and buying into the thin fantasy it advertised. And like all diet commercials on cable television, it kept popping up, ruining the enjoyment I had of watching my shows. And now that Kinzel revealed the history of the song Hudson sings, it leaves me all the more frustrated. There's something disgusting about the idea that Weight Watchers is basically saying that fat is the 'oppressor' of thin people and so they go and use a song about racial discrimination; comparing being free as a person of color as being free as a thin person.
Thoughts, everyone? Also feel free to suggest how I should tag this entry, I'm new at posting in this community and if I miss something, or if you think a tag should replace another, do tell. All is welcome.