Oliviana's Blog

  Making A Change   In my previous blog, I discussed several of the issues with the character of Fat Amy in Pitch Perfect. Although Fat Amy is presented as a confident woman who owns her size, she unfortunately provides an example of the “Funny Fat Friend” stereotype, which may seem positive, but in reality devalues overweight women, and uses their body as a source of humor.   I believe there are a few changes which could be made to Amy’s character in order to transform her into a more three-dimensional person and less of a stereotype.   One possible solution would be to give her an interior life and goals of her own, rather than simply assisting her skinnier, more “conventionally attractive” friends. Furthermore, Amy could embrace her femininity, and not be shunned because of her size. She could perhaps have a love interest of her own and be recognized for the beautiful woman she is. Currently in the film, when Fat Amy tries to flirt with Bump...

  "Fat Amy" The Funny Fat Friend     Pitch Perfect was one of my favorite films growing up and always made me fantasize about going off to college one day, maybe joining an a cappella group and having a fun, supportive group of friends, from many different backgrounds. Reflecting on the film now, however, especially as someone who struggles with body image, I find Rebel Wilson’s character of Fat Amy to be a bit problematic. Although she is a very funny and confident young woman, most of her humor revolves around her weight.        We see examples of this as soon as the character is introduced in the film. When Aubrey, the leader of the Barden Bellas (Barden University's female a cappella group), meets Fat Amy and questions her name, Fat Amy says, “it used to be Medium Sized Amy, but you know… Freshman 50,” a play on the term “Freshman 15,” used to describe the weight some students may gain during their first year of college. ...

 This is a practice post :)