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beccatoriaOkay. I'm willing to acknowledge that putting on *that* much weight in 16 months is unlikely for someone who *was* so physically fit. However, let's go with it and examine the reactions.
I'm really, really surprised by what I've been seeing during my (admittedly unscientific and random) trawling of LJ via![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
galacticanews.
People are really annoyed because apparently his character has been destroyed, turned into a joke where once he was principled and angsty and buff. Apparently it's not enough that they've made Lee fat, his fatness has to be a symbol of ineptitude and that's insulting to fat people.
Yes, that would be insulting to fat people were it true.
I find myself wondering what people's reactions would be if Lee had played those scenes without the make up. Would his objections have been afforded more respect among viewers? Because they're actually fairly decent objections. And during the first scene where Adama insults him, all he's doing is calling Adama on behaviour that Helo is also questioning. On behaviour oddly reminiscent of when he put George Birch up for CAG during Roslin's rebellion. And didn't we all cheer when Dee called Adama on that? Why is it suddenly reversed when Lee tries to do the same because Adama's single mindedness is affecting crew safety out on operations?
Seriously, if that scene were played with Gorgeous!Lee, I so bet more people would be paying attention to what he's saying and not how he looks.
It's not the show that's said Fat = Stupid & Whiny, it's every viewer who watches and laughs instead of listening. Yes, clearly there is some truth to the fact that the show is saying, "This is Lee Adama's way of not-dealing with his issues." But there's a world of distance between that and saying he's become a completely incompetant idiot. There's also a world of difference between saying, "Lee's whiny, Adama's the awesomest most together and sane person EVER, he SO should have insulted his son when his son had a good point!" and what I saw on screen.
So yeah. There's a chance that the show is using weight as a lazy and insulting shorthand for character development. But I think there's also a chance that we, as viewers, are the ones giving power to a weight-centric "fattist" reading of the issue. And you know what - both of those statements can be true.
I'm really, really surprised by what I've been seeing during my (admittedly unscientific and random) trawling of LJ via
galacticanews. People are really annoyed because apparently his character has been destroyed, turned into a joke where once he was principled and angsty and buff. Apparently it's not enough that they've made Lee fat, his fatness has to be a symbol of ineptitude and that's insulting to fat people.
Yes, that would be insulting to fat people were it true.
I find myself wondering what people's reactions would be if Lee had played those scenes without the make up. Would his objections have been afforded more respect among viewers? Because they're actually fairly decent objections. And during the first scene where Adama insults him, all he's doing is calling Adama on behaviour that Helo is also questioning. On behaviour oddly reminiscent of when he put George Birch up for CAG during Roslin's rebellion. And didn't we all cheer when Dee called Adama on that? Why is it suddenly reversed when Lee tries to do the same because Adama's single mindedness is affecting crew safety out on operations?
Seriously, if that scene were played with Gorgeous!Lee, I so bet more people would be paying attention to what he's saying and not how he looks.
It's not the show that's said Fat = Stupid & Whiny, it's every viewer who watches and laughs instead of listening. Yes, clearly there is some truth to the fact that the show is saying, "This is Lee Adama's way of not-dealing with his issues." But there's a world of distance between that and saying he's become a completely incompetant idiot. There's also a world of difference between saying, "Lee's whiny, Adama's the awesomest most together and sane person EVER, he SO should have insulted his son when his son had a good point!" and what I saw on screen.
So yeah. There's a chance that the show is using weight as a lazy and insulting shorthand for character development. But I think there's also a chance that we, as viewers, are the ones giving power to a weight-centric "fattist" reading of the issue. And you know what - both of those statements can be true.
