Brooklyn Nine-Nine and how fatphobia is still acceptable in the awake media (2023)

Welcome toFat no cinema, a monthly column discussing examples of how body fat and diversity is represented on screen.

Brooklyn or orIt's one of"best" programmeon TV. While it follows the events of a police station, it doesn't focus on the violence, crime, or jaded attitudes we might expect from a police show. Instead, the characters come together to form a strange but utterly endearing family, and in the end, being a good person always wins.

The sitcom regularly breaks with stereotypes and also treats some topics in a very subtle way. These include Terry's (Terry Crews) racial profiling when he was searched by a biased officer and didn't have his badge, the homophobia and racism Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) faces as a gay black man in the police force, the problems with American Justice system experienced by Jake (Andy Samberg) when he was wrongly convicted and Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz) when he came out as bisexual to his traditional Latino family.

As the TV shows go on,Brooklyn or orit's one of the good ones. But it's not perfect. There's a big problem withnine past nineIncidentally, the remarkable record of inclusion: he can not stop being fatphobic.

Fatphobia's continued presence rears its ugly head in all sorts of liberal "wake" rooms outside of film and television. Judging and making fun of fat people is almost like the latest form of widely accepted prejudice. That's not to say that there aren't other forms of oppression, of course there are, and the fight against things like racism, sexism and homophobia is far from over, but at least there's an accepted notion in society that this is the case is. t. 't. we must subscribe to these views. When it comes to fat phobia, there's still a vast majority of people who don't even recognize it as valid. This is true across the political spectrum; Both liberals and right-wingers see fat women as fair game.

There's a certain sadness to watching a show you loveBrooklyn or orthat looks so progressive and then be totally amazed at how a body like yours becomes a joke. Again. You are not angry; you're just disappointed You expected something better. You thought you were safe

Fat phobia jokes and storylines can be found in every season of the show, but there are three main episodes that featured fat phobiaBrooklyn or oruntil here.

S1 E4: "M.E. Time' and the fat victim

One of the most painful ways to treat someone is to take their voice away; allowing them to be judged and discriminated against without being able to defend themselves or empathize.

In this episode, Jake is criticized by the team for acting like a bad corporal on a case involving Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio). Talking about Boyle, he takes over the crime scene and delays the autopsy results by sleeping with the coroner. The reason for all of Jake's police misconduct? He considers it an open case: the victim must have died of natural causes because she is fat. It was his fat that killed him! Apparently!

Weight stigma and prejudice against fat bodies is a huge problem in the medical industry, and it's what kills people every day. Fat people may be reluctant to go to the doctor for fear of being judged by their body, and therefore angry at diseases that have not been treated for a long time. Or when they see a doctor, their symptoms are ignored and blamed on their size. Patients are prescribed to lose weight, diseases go undiagnosed and untreated, and people die.

In this case, the victim is already dead. But Jake's fat jokes and willful lack of professionalism affect the living, fueling the misconception that getting fat is death for you, something that has been scientifically disproved time and time again.

Jake's childishness is a core part of his character, and we love him for it, but the sheer volume of fat-people jokes that come off screen during this twenty-minute episode makes it hard to see, "I think we know what killed that." got him, and it definitely wasn't hungry", "I started cataloging the contents of his fridge, but I found out there isn't enough paper on earth", "Murder-murder, or as if his mouth were him would kill by making him eat so much heartbreaking food?" The same goes for other characters, including Boyle and coroner Dr. Rossi (Mary Elizabeth Ellis). He even seems to enjoy and fetishize performing an autopsy on the body : "Look at this stomach lining; that's just a beauty."

It turned out that this was a real murder. The victim was poisoned by his wife. Jake learns his lesson about being a bad side but is never challenged for his reducing and stigmatizing views. It seems that even in death, this unnamed character had no claim to dignity or respect. They were mocked to the grave.

T3 E4: „El Oolong Slayer“ und Fat Terry

Fat suits are bad.Here's an entire column explaining why, but the bottom line is that they stigmatize, dehumanize, and perpetuate negative stereotypes and misconceptions about fat bodies. Unfortunately thenine past ninethe authors must have overlooked the memo.

Sergeant Terry Jeffords, played by former football player Terry Crews, is a strong physical presence on the show. He's over six feet tall and weighs hundreds of pounds of muscle. His body cries out for strength, power and discipline. His character is also a gentle giant who undermines everything you would expect from a man of his stature. Terry's backstory adds more complexity to the character as it shows how he used to be the complete opposite. I used to be fat, and fat phobia tells us that fat is the least strong, powerful, and disciplined you can be.

In the fourth episode of the third series, The Oolong Slayer, this backstory returns to haunt Terry. Stressed out by work and the impending birth of his third child, he adopts Boyle's habit of eating a single piece of chocolate every time he closes a box.

Ten days go by and Terry is visibly taller, with bandages all over his body. Boyle seems concerned, saying he wants to "take these things slower": "I don't want to overdo it here, but you look a little...fat." For former fat boy Terry, that's as bad as Boyle put it could. It shouldn't be, but it is. His first reaction is legitimate: “How dare you! You can't comment on my body. It's a workplace!” — but the bruised legitimacy that comes with being judged for his body at work is soon replaced by comical absurdity, as Terry says he feels objectified by Boyle's masculine gaze.

Another 21 days later, Crews is in full gear. He has a much larger frame and the prosthetics make it look like his entire jaw has disappeared. It's practically impossible that Terry's extremely muscular physique could have changed so drastically in a month, but just one slice of a muffin wouldn't have sparked so many laughs, right?

Here Terry claims he is "out of character". Gives a moving speech on resilience; Meanwhile, the cacao nibs fall through a hole in her pocket, quickly dispersing like sand falling through an hourglass. Boyle sees with pity in his eyes what has become of his friend.

The episode ends with Boyle organizing the team to relieve Terry of some stress, pun intended. When Terry Boyle asks how to thank him, his response is "start taking care of yourself again," because obviously someone that size can't take care of themselves, right? Again, all the magic and complexity of the human body and all the ways it can be healthy boils down to one thing: weight.

S6 E2: "Hitchcock & Scully" and the Fat Metamorphosis

something that establishesBrooklyn or orAside from other shows on TV, out of the entire cast, it's straight old white men who get the lowest billing.

Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker) and Scully (Joel Mckinnon Miller) are the laughing stock of the precinct. They make terrible detectives, although they're good with paperwork. They do disgusting things at your table. They are widely derided as unintelligent and socially awkward. Both are fat too.

The sixth season ofnine past nineHe decided to change that perception at least in the second episode. It begins with a flashback to a cocaine bust in the 1980s; A major drug dealer is arrested after two burly, soft-spoken young detectives fire accurate shots. The curveball is revealed just before the title role: the studs are Hitchcock and Scully, back in their glory days.

The story involves an investigation into what they did with the bags of money they found during their arrest. But the real question Jake had on his lips throughout the episode as he found out who Hitchcock and Scully were then and looked at who they are now is, "What happened to you?"

Your question is answered in the final scene. In another flashback, the two are at a chicken restaurant investigating a witness they are helping to protect. They leave saying it's their second time going to the gym that day, but the waitress hands them a bucket. As they settle in, mania grows behind their eyes. You eat more, chew faster, suckle without having to worry about anything. That, we are told, happened. That's how Hitchcock and Scully became a nine-nine embarrassment from the best cops around: they indulged in fried foods, stopped going to the gym, and gained weight.

Explaining these character developments in this way is like putting faces to what food culture tells us about what will happen when you gain weight: that you'll be a loser, probably become bad at your job, and die. Almost every joke involving Hitchcock and Scully is based on their stupidity or some serious, dark illness they have. They are our collective fear of fat personified.

***

Brooklyn or orIt's one of my favorite pieces on TV. It's my background noise; my comforter that I use while I work. I play it to help me sleep. It's very well written, I love the characters and it never gets old. And it's not the only place where inclusive values ​​don't extend to people with larger bodies. But I'm tired of making a fool of myself. Fat people aren't your safe, politically correct punching bag, and if kindness is at the core of your show, it needs to come in all shapes and sizes.