Type Cast(E)-Ing: Subversion and Conformity in the Embodied Identities of Fat Male Film And

Type Cast(e)-ing: Subversion and conformity in the embodied identities of fat male film and television actors John Bryans A Thesis In The Department Of Sociology and Anthropology Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts (Sociology) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada ©John Bryans 2018 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: John Bryans Entitled: Type Cast(e)-ing: Subversion and conformity in the embodied identities of fat male film and television actors and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Sociology) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final examining committee: ______________________________________ Chair Dr. Beverley Best ______________________________________ Examiner Dr. Shelley Z. Reuter ______________________________________ Examiner Dr. Valérie De Courville Nicol ______________________________________ Thesis Supervisor Dr. Marc Lafrance Approved by ____________________________________________________ Chair of Department or Graduate Program Director ___________2018 _________________________________ Dean of Faculty iii Abstract Type Cast(e)-ing: gendered fatness/embodied identities of male film and television actors John Bryans Typecasting of actors in film and television based on physical appearance is common as it facilitates the narrowing of an immense talent pool (Zuckerman et al., 2003). Despite its apparent advantages, however, this categorization process has been criticized for participating in the reproduction of heteronormative standards (Dean, 2008). Research on fatness and masculinity in film is scant and tends to focus on issues of representation (Fouts & Vaughan, 2002). Very little research examines the lived experiences of those men whose work is to perform fatness onscreen. Because of the demands of their work, men in the performing arts are uniquely positioned to offer insight into how the fat male body is constructed in light of contemporary shifting ideals of the male body in popular culture (Morrison & Halton, 2009). In many cases, these men are called upon to embody fat masculinities that have the capacity to both subvert and reinforce hegemonic masculinity (Connell, 2005; Buchbinder, 2008; Benson-Allott, 2012). In light of the reductive nature of acting roles for fat men (Gilman, 2004), this research examines how fat male actors negotiate their personal and professional identities and, in doing so, disrupt or conform to heteronormative constructions of the body in popular culture. This thesis draws on findings from a video research project in which fat male film and television actors were tasked with co-creating their own narratives by discussing their experiences as professional actors vis à vis participant-produced video diaries. iv Acknowledgments I would like to extend my deepest thanks to Dr. Marc Lafrance for his instrumental support, guidance, and all-around brilliance. I could not have executed such an ambitious project without his unwavering belief in my abilities and willingness to let me create. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Shelley Z. Reuter and Dr. Valérie De Courville Nicol for their commitment to my project, and for their generous and valuable feedback. I owe a large debt of thanks to Dr. Frances M. Shaver, Dr. William C. Reimer, and Dr. Martin French for the incredible opportunities they have extended to me and for their support during my time at Concordia. Additionally, thank you to the incredible faculty in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. To my fellow graduate students, Nayiri Tokmanciyan and Anne-Marie Turcotte, whose support and input helped me retain my sanity and develop my ideas: thank you. The Department of Sociology and Anthropology are lucky to have an exceptional administrative staff, and I certainly benefitted enormously from their assistance and support. Special thanks to Sheri Kuit, Eve Girard, and Rebecca Hadida. This project began during my undergraduate studies at the University of Manitoba under the incredible mentorship of Dr. Moss E. Norman to whom I am greatly indebted. Thank you also to Colleen Plumton, Dr. Jay Johnson, Dr. LeAnne Petherik, and the rest of the faculty and staff in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Manitoba for encouraging me to take this journey. To my Mum, Dad, Margaret, Jess, Georgia, Janet, Jen, Robin, and all of my friends and family who have loved me and travelled this road with me: I love you. And lastly, to my guys: Jim Armstrong, Constant Bernard, Bob Kerr, and Nick Settimi. Your generosity floors me to this day. You dove into this project willingly and selflessly, without ever having met me in person, and shared intimate details of your life without question. I find it strange to think we have never met in person and yet here I am dissecting your narratives. I hope that I have done them justice. I cannot thank you enough. v Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..1 A Slight Note on the Word “Fat”………………………………………………………...10 Literature Review………………………………………………………………….......................12 Acting as Craft…………………………………………………………………………...13 Industry Labour Conditions……………………………………………………………...16 Typecasting………………………………………………………………………………19 Representations of Masculinity Onscreen……………………………………………….23 Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………………......................30 Symbolic Interaction……………………………………………………………………..31 Performance Studies……………………………………………………………………..35 Gender Hegemony……………………………………………………………………….47 Critical Obesity…………………………………………………………………………..55 Methods……………………………………………………………………………......................61 Part 2 – Results/Discussion The Funny Fat Guys……………………………………………………………………………...75 Presentation of the Self…………………………………………………………………………..80 The Looking Glass Video………………………………………………………………..81 Presenting the Professional Self………………………………………………………….84 Masculinity and Gender Performance…………………………………………………………...89 Fatness/Embodiment/Food/Exercise……………………………………………………………101 Typecasting……………………………………………………………………………………..115 Managing Stigma……………………………………………………………………………….123 Good Fat vs Bad Fat……………………………………………………………………124 Stigma Fatigue………………………………………………………………………….129 The Other……………………………………………………………………………………….134 Progress/Belief in Change/Representation……………………………………………………..142 vi Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………...146 References………………………………………………………………………………………155 Appendix – Research Guide……………………………………………………………………….a 1 Introduction In a December 2014 GQ Magazine interview with Chris Pratt, the lead paragraph of the article trumpeted the actor’s conspicuous display of hyper masculinity (target shooting! beer drinking! dove grilling!) and resoundingly exorcized his former “doughy”, “doofus-y” image (Magary, 2014). The article went on to describe the audition process for the film, “Guardians of the Galaxy”, noting how those charged with casting the film initially considered Pratt’s body “too fat” for the role and felt the idea of casting a fat actor in a leading role to be “insane” (Magary, 2014). Ultimately Pratt was cast in the film against type (read: fat), underwent a considerable physical transformation through diet and exercise to play the role, and wound up with a 2015 MTV Movie Award nomination for “best shirtless performance” (Magary, 2014; Katz, 2015). When asked about his former “doughy” identity Pratt remarked, “I’m done with that.” (Margary, 2014). In addition to the GQ article portraying Chris Pratt’s fluctuating identity in terms of his gender and body, the article also hinted at how his identity was constructed as part of a collaborative undertaking between himself, his colleagues, and the media in response to industry expectations of how a leading man should behave and, more importantly, look (Magary, 2014). While Pratt had already achieved fame with a considerable body of acting work (his role on the sitcom “Parks and Recreation” being his most recognizable at that point), it was his fat body that was being read as an obstacle to securing roles as a leading man in action movies, a genre known for its muscular, hypermasculine stars (Morrison & Halton, 2009; Magary, 2014). Pratt’s fatness had effectively come to signify what Irving Goffman (1963) referred to as a discredited stigma symbol, marking his body as deviant and whose discordance needed to be reconciled for Pratt to be able to successfully market himself as an action star to the film industry. Pratt’s deliberate 2 distancing from his former identity as a funny fat guy (itself a common trope in film and television [Himes & Thompson, 2007]) and altering his physical body into a more marketable “prestige symbol” (Goffman, 1963) allowed him to correct his spoiled embodied identity in order to be read as an action figure and secure the types of acting roles he sought (Magary, 2014). Discourses pertaining to diet and exercise often oversimplify the complexity of fat to a question of energy consumption and physical activity (Medvedyuk, Ali, & Raphael, 2017), and the Chris Pratt story conveniently offers a pat demonstration of how other fat people might also realize successful transformation. We would not be amiss in assuming that Chris Pratt’s self- identity is more nuanced and potentially contradictory than the GQ article implies (GQ, 2014), and yet by adapting his fleshy body to the demands of the industry he was

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