A Look into Anorexia

So, I've been hearing about this new movie called Feed, which is a recent film about Troian Bellisario's battle with anorexia. Troian, from the famous TV series Pretty Little Liars, wanted to portray how there is a separate, controlling voice in the eating disorder victim's head that becomes "safe", or comforting, promising to take care of the victim and convincing him/her that everyone else is against and only wants to inflict harm on him/her. I thought the movie did a good job of showing how this voice becomes overwhelmingly dominant and controlling and difficult to "drown out" or get rid of, which is true in my own experience with anorexia; this voice becomes your best friend and everyone else becomes your enemy, even when the opposite is true. I also liked how it showed the excruciating battle of getting yourself to eat or else being force fed, which is a struggle I've also experienced; most eating disorder facilities do indeed serve the unappetizing meals shown, which, if not consumed within the allotted time frame, result in having to drink a nutrition shake or else, the last measure, having a tube forcefully shoved down a nostril and into the stomach or intestine and feeding controlled by a man-made pump. Medications can, and are often, used to control the victim when the battle to eat becomes too extreme to control. It also does a good job of showing how often, in these facilities, one simply "does what they're told" or says what they know those in authority want to hear in order to simply get out of that "torture chamber", without ever truly getting "rid" of the ED voice. It also does a good job of showing the extreme personality changes which are experienced throughout the battle. One thing, however, I did not like, was the extreme partying atmosphere and the many inappropriate sex scenes, which could have been skipped over, since in my opinion were highly unnecessary. Over all, the movie Feed was a fairly realistic movie and, in my opinion, much better than the recent Netflix movie To the Bone, which was unrealistic, in my opinion. In the movie To the Bone, it shows an unconventional treatment center in which the victim is not expected to eat a set amount and there is also a lack of accountability/authority figures to "watch over" those enrolled. I also didn't like all of the inappropriate sex scenes shown. The movie did do a good job, however, of showing the tension and family dynamic changes which occur from an eating disorder, as it tears the family apart. Each movie had its strengths of at least attempting to personify the torture experienced by one caught within the grips of an eating disorder, but, having experienced it firsthand, I am highly disappointed, as there is still not a movie produced that accurately exhibits the torturous life with an eating disorder. Maybe, however, this is because everyone's experience is so vastly different and cannot be portrayed in a single movie. If you would like to at least get a glimpse of what life is like with anorexia specifically, I recommend Feed (skipping the sex and party scenes) which does a fairly decent job. To the Bone is also another option to see some of the experiences; feel free to check them out for yourself!