Eating Disorders: Fodder for TV Comedy

Darn, I’m bummed. I missed the premiere this week of FX’s new TV sitcom, "Starved."

In case you haven’t heard, "Starved" is the controversial new TV comedy that has drawn the ire of psychiatrists and eating disorders groups while TV reviewers are wondering if people have an appetite for a comedy about eating disorders.

The new FX show is about four 30-something friends at various stages of eating disorders — a recovering overeater, an active overeater, a bulimic, and a recovering anorexic/bulimic — all of whom belong to a support group called Belt Tighteners.

What clearly makes "Starved" authentic is that its creator — indie actor/director/writer/star Eric Schaeffer ("Mind the Gap") — has dealt with food addictions himself for 22 years. And the other three stars have had food issues, too.

Look, it seems to me that if you’re going to do a comedy about eating disorders, who better to tackle it than someone who’s struggled with it himself?

But the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) and National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) think eating disorders are no laughing matter.

NEDA’s chief executive director Lynn Grefe even told the Los Angeles Times that "Starved’s" "cartoonish" treatment of bingeing and purging "could help those struggling with food issues to rationalize their behavior."

She complained that "it could create a cult. People with eating disorders are not thinking clearly. It will be like, ‘Oh, good. We have our own show now.’"

Eating disorders are "illnesses, not choices," NEDA website explains. "`Starved’ perpetuates the stigma associated with eating disorders by depicting characters with such over-the-top behaviors as to make them appear absurd and pathetic."

Granted, I haven’t seen "Starved" yet — I only saw the very-funny-to-me-promo — but I’m inclined to completely disagree.

In fact, I think it’s high time a TV network tackles this subject, because 10 million women and 1 million men nationwide are battling anorexia or bulimia, and another 25 million folks suffer from a binge-eating disorder.

Look, laughter can be very potent medicine. All you need to do is look at the literature that attests to its effectiveness in overcoming illnesses.

"Starved’s" creator Schaeffer told CNN "I know from my recovery in all areas of addiction that humor is a tremendously, tremendously important antidote to recovery."

I, too, have found that poking fun of my prior sugar addiction is a wonderful way to rise above my sugar-crazed past — which is why I commissioned some silly Connie cartoons.

Furthermore, I believe that it’s very important to get people — whether they have eating disorders or don’t — to talk and think about them. A TV show on the subject could help both sufferers and their loved ones. It could even inspire people to come out of the closet and get help. It could get them to see the absurdity of their behavior.

A sitcom about eating disorders puts an even greater spotlight on the topic than it gets now. And that’s a very good thing. People shouldn’t suffer in secret, as I once did many years ago, when I was too embarrassed to let folks know about my private war. (In retrospect, people around me must have suspected that I was either anorexic or bulimic since I was either 25 pounds underweight or I had swollen glands and bought lots of food, mostly carbs.)

I insist that even all this discussion as to the tastelessness or appropriateness of "Starved" can be quite valuable.

Not to sound trite, but I think these helping professionals should just lighten up. I’ll let you know after I’ve seen "Starved," but I doubt that it glorifies the illness.

But, hey, form your own decision. Check out the decidedly-mixed reviews:

• The Boston Globe calls it "offensive, sick, funny, poignant, and culturally relevant."
• The Boston Herald claims that the show "just might be the most repulsive show to hit the airwaves this year."
• The San Francisco Chronicle notes that "Starved" contains "some dark and twisted stuff," but finds "a real sweetness to this series." Even so, it’s "a tough sell."
• New York Newsday contends that the show "does not exactly engender feelings of comradeship, but is full of bile – real bile and figurative – and quickly becomes a pitiless study of a frightening disorder and the pitiless people who suffer from it." But, reviewer Verne Gay allows that "Starved" is "funny at times, though it is right on the tipping point of comedy or tragedy."
• And the Los Angeles Times describes it as a "troublesome new situation black-comedy. What makes ‘Starved’ particularly vexing is that it’s at once assured and shallow, accomplished and unconvincing, well-acted and empty."

Then look at FX’s fun, but somewhat tasteless "What’s Your Obesssion?" interactive game — in which you can move potato chips, a chocolate chip cookie, a slice of pizza, French fries, a chocolate-coated donut and a slice of bread spread with peanut butter — note, these are all quickie items — into the middle of a plate and then read copy that doesn’t really "get it." (I suspect that Schaeffer didn’t write the copy or it would ring more true.) 

Next, check out this non-scientific "QuickVote," which reflects (as of Aug. 2, 2005) the opinions of only those Internet users who have chosen to participate.

Eating disorders: Too taboo for TV comedy? Yes   37% 1787 votes No   63% 3055 votes Total: 4842 votes

Then let us know what you think. Have you seen "Starved"? Do you like it? Is it fair? Is it tasteless? Do simple carbs play a role in their eating disorders?