Let's talk about these body problems Shazam – / Movie

Shazam! continues the pivot of the universe of DC Universe towards a brighter and more joyful entertainment and does so with a big clumsy smile on his face. Honestly, I do not remember the last time I saw a film that felt genetically altered to become the new favorite movie of every 12 years of the public. It's fun, exciting and inspiring, and simply scary enough, reminiscent of the studio films of the times when filmmakers realized that kids like to be tested, that their courage is proven, to the movies. I am not the target audience of Shazam! A film shot in the first place for children, and it's perfect. I like this offer a lot, it is only a warm and fuzzy side effect.

But Beyond Being an Exciting Movie for Superheroes, Shazam! has a gigantic heart, which he wears on his sleeve. Like any movie with a big heart, he has a message that he wants to share. Unfortunately, the message of Shazam! is bothered by a unique choice that will not matter to most viewers, but keeps me out of the way so I have not been able to move since. I saw him. In the midst of one of the most optimistic, positive and inspiring comic films I've ever seen is a single detail that reads not only wrong, but is actually discouraging.

Naturally, this post contains for Shazam! We have to go through the third act to talk about it.

The Idealized Hero

If you're reading this until now, you know the exercise. Billy Batson (Asher Angel), aged 15, receives magical powers from a former wizard. When he says "Shazam", he turns into an adult superhero (hilarious Zachary Levi totally in play) with powers of flight, strength, and more. After an hour of great shenanigans and amusing power abuse, Billy learns the lesson of Spider-Man: a great power carries with it great responsibilities, etc., and he has to use his new abilities to defeat Dr. Thaddeus. Sivana (Mark Strong), a dangerous man with a hefty flea on the shoulder, reinforced by the demonic "capital sins"

This leads to the climax: Billy and his adoptive brothers confront Sivana and his monstrous allies at a Philadelphia fairgrounds. Realizing that his greatest power is not his power but the power to share the power given him by the wizard, Billy grants his new family his magical powers. Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer), Mary (Grace Fulton), Darla (Faithe Herman), Eugene (Ian Chen) and Pedro (Jovan Armand) turn into superheroes, with brightly colored costumes, capes and bright flashes On the chest. Hold a final snap between the new Shazam family and Sivana's army, with adorable quips and adult actors perfectly capturing the joy of their child counterparts.

This sequence is undeniably fun. It's beautiful, even. That completes Billy's bow: he kissed his family and found his team and he understood that choosing to be alone when others want to love you is an act of self-destruction. This affirmation is shared with his adoptive siblings and they also have the opportunity to become their best, to transform themselves into superheroes who reflect their idealized form, to find the cross-haired, the man-in-law. steel, the aquaman, Aquaman, who resides in the heart of every good person. This is a thematic cousin of the beautiful Rian Johnson Star Wars: The Last Jedi : Anyone can be a hero, even a group of people. Adoptive children from the streets of Philadelphia.

been quite positive yet? I think so. Because now I want to talk about what's left in my craw. And it's Pedro.

We are introduced to Billy's foster family with short introductions. Darla is the person who speaks the soonest. Mary is the hard worker. Eugene is the player. Freddy is the fan of superheroes. And Pedro is the big boy, the heavy guy with antisocial tendencies who does not look into his eyes, who avoids conversation when possible. Even with these simple installations, it is possible that everyone in the public can see themselves in at least one member of this household.

Well, I saw myself at Pedro. As a big boy too big, too shy, too anxious and too involved in my own dislike for the shape of my body to make me many friends, I immediately told this kid. I would have killed to have Billy's powers, to be able to say a magic word and turn into a muscular superhero with a square jaw. I dreamed about it. At the climax, when Pedro won the physique of a clbadic superhero straight out of a comic book, I recognized the fulfillment of this dream come true. I knew it in my bones.

But now, years later and maybe a little wiser, I realize how dangerous and misguided this dream was. In presenting the idealized self of a fat child as a clbadic athletic man, Shazam! teaches the wrong lesson.

Erasing the Fat Kid

I am not here to throw my weapon into the culture wars on "fat acceptance". I am not here to say that people's bodies can not change through hard work and perseverance. I would say that people should be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their appearance, because it is the fundamental and humane thing to do. I would also say that, whatever his weight, everyone should at least strive to lead a healthier life.

But here's the problem: I'm a heavy man (that's to say fat). I have always been. I was low in carbs and I was dieting in sixth grade. When I was a young child, I visited specialists to understand why I was growing so fast, why I was so much bigger and heavier than other kids. It was ultimately due to genetics – it's literally impossible for me to be "skinny" in the traditional sense of the word. Regardless of the diet, no matter the regiment of exercises, I have always been a great guy. The general shape of my body is not the one you usually see wrapped in colorful spandex.

Realizing that, as an adult, I was a key part of the puzzle, it's my messy mental health. Accepting dieting and exercising all my life without turning into Henry Cavill in The Steel Man was a sobering achievement, but that was essential. My body is just not built that way. It's written in my DNA. In my metabolism. I can only strive to lead a healthy and happy life and accept the fact that I will always be well around in places that will protect me from the cover of the magazine Men & # 39 Health .

] I know I'm not alone. The stigma towards overweight people is ubiquitous (especially on the hellish landscape of the internet), but many heavier people have no choice. They are great because they are great. For me, it's a genetic entanglement that even the specialists I visited could not clearly define for me. For others, I know, it's PCOS or other disorders that make weight loss difficult under any circumstances. It's hard to live in a world that tells us what our body should look like in every movie, every ad, while being cursed to know that even if you work very hard, you will not look like that.

I admire the heart of Shazam! and his message of discovering your true potential, turning Pedro chubby into a skinny superhero with swollen pectoral muscles is dishonest, an extension of the culture that gives children heavy impression of lee as of shit. day. Watching an overweight child become his ideal of superheroes and the fact that this is the kind of construction we see in all other film and television shows is discouraging, painful reminder that we can not be that in our greatest fantasies. The only way to deal with the fat child is to erase it – we can only be happy if we look like a model.

Is it the fault of Shazam! and director David F. Sandberg for not elaborating a message that speaks explicitly to me and to others like me? Of course not. The movie works and it works well. It's funny. It's funny. This left my heart in a puddle of melted water on the floor of the theater. However, Pedro's transformation seems to be a missed opportunity, an opportunity to present the idealized self and superheroes of a heavy character as a different body type, more realistic and badertive than what we have seen before.

There will also be conversations about how Freddy is no longer handicapped when he turns into a superhero, literally taking flight and leaving behind his crutch after his magic miracle cure. However, this is beyond my salary level and someone more qualified will surely tackle this soon.)

All Kinds of Body

The problem is that the stories of superheroes were rich in characters and that the truth is revealed, most of them only add to the stigma. Think of The Blob of X-Men a character whose obese body is treated as his own superpower. The larger cartoon characters are usually defined by their weight and their weight usually defines their power. The coolest heroes, those who have the upper hand on the cover, are the skinny guys or those who have protruding muscles. The problems mentioned above are commonplace in superhero comics for decades, but what can you expect from a media that is, at its core, a power fantasy for readers?

So, when I saw the chubby Pedro become a superhero in Shazam! I was thinking of the Valiant Comics Faith, a superhero who does not define himself by his weight. In fact, its weight does not define its powers. Revived by a new creative team in recent years, Faith has the power to fly, she is agile and light, while being presented as a plus size woman. Recent stories featuring the character have been critical and commercial hits for a good reason: they are great stories of superheroes, told with heart, but they are also brave enough and bold enough to portray a woman of positive stature, healthy and happy, who achieves his best personality without having to transform unrealistically into a supermodel.

Just look at the image of the modern Shazam family below, the current incarnations of comics from which the new film borrows many of its basic ideas. Look at Pedro, standing in the green suit. Look how clearly he is powerful and fit … but look like he's still a big guy, more power-lifter-shaped than sporty. Hell, just watch all the competitions of the "strongest men in the world" and you will see a variety of body types, including men with a big belly, who perform amazing strength feats.

to be an idealized superhero body, but it is a realizable body, at least realistic, and which says above all: "People have different shapes and not everyone will look like Superman and ok . "At the beginning of the film, it is briefly mentioned that Pedro left one of his weights on the kitchen table, suggesting that he was training and keeping fit despite his heaviness. The film could rely on it, especially with the cast of his superhero character. It's not. And it's a pity.

When the credits expired Shazam! and that the theater was emptied in the lobby, I noticed half a dozen younger children who were spinning in the lobby, arms outstretched, replicating action scenes from the movie. . They liked the movie. Of course they did it. It's a joy. But I was also tinged with a familiar melancholy. Here is a superhero movie that had the opportunity to tell the kids in the audience that they could also be heroes, even if they would never look like Jason Momoa or Zachary Levi. Here is a superhero movie that was lucky for a heavy character to achieve his ideal form and find it, so, himself and not a total fantasy built around expectations typical.

Shazam! is a very good film, a film that I imagine to immerse myself in young minds with its messages of hope, family and self-confidence. And yet, the big kid in me is always sad to know that I will never be a superhero if I look like to .

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