Netflix's 'Tall Girl' explores the problems of body-shaming beyond the typical weight issues
'Tall Girl' is the upcoming 2019 Netflix original comedy about a girl by the name Jodi ( Ava Michelle) who is the tallest girl in school and has never been comfortable in her stately skin. All of a sudden there is a change in routine when she falls for the handsome and equally tall foreign exchange student Stig ( Luke Eisner) who gets Jodi's quirky best male friend Dunkleman ( Griffin Gluck) and his hippie mom as a host family. The plot progresses with Jodi being caught up in a surprising love triangle, which helps her realize that she's far more worth than her silly insecurities her height has made her believe.
There have been many movies wherein an individual is insecure in regards to their body, one such movie that was very popular and falls under the body-shaming category was 'Duff' which read designated ugly fat friend. This movie brought out an issue that is so openly spoken about in the present age of social media and entertainment. The body image that is portrayed on screen through movies and series everything that we watch, read and come across have a typical sort of body image connected to how a woman should look. Not much emphasis has ever been made on the male body type, it is due to this social image stigma that many women feel insecure about their looks and how they feel. The other movie which shone light on body-shaming was Amy Schumer's 'I Feel Pretty'. It shed light on the insecurities one has because of the way society sets its standard of looks. But never has there been a movie based on body-shaming because of height. 'Tall girl's director Nzingha Stewart has tried to bring out this aspect in the story.
The body image standards set by society expects a woman to be a certain way and that is just impossible for every woman to follow and live up to. Scientifically speaking the woman's body is a turmoil of hormones and so many changes that constantly keep occurring as we age. The society knowing this fact refuses to accept it and still have expectations from a woman in terms of how they look rather than who they are personality-wise. The movies that are made sometimes help in killing these insecurities attached to looks. It is sad to know that even today people have the knack of commenting and disregarding an individual based on their body type.
'Tall Girl' highlights the insecurities that Jodi has with being tall and not being able to fit into her age group of people. The peer pressure that teenagers go through in school today as well has an impact on the mentality and stability of the victims of body shaming. There are many negative effects connected to the ideology of body shaming; it has become a prime social issue and can only be rectified with the change in the mentality of the society.
We as human beings idolize certain celebrities and icons because of the way they look and how they present themselves to the world but in reality, their personality is not even considered as a factor. The movie will be another encouragement to show the victims of body shaming that it is okay to feel happy about the way you look and how to get over silly insecurities. An individual's personality is of more importance than the way they prefer to present themselves to the world. In this digital world, everyone tries to be someone they are not and puts up a filter to fit in so that they can be seen and recognized for something they are not. This mentality has to be erased completely in order to have universal acceptance and hence not be bothered about the size, weight, height or looks all together in general.
