Embrace

Documentaries are a great platform for social and political enlightenment and there no limits to their educational power. The Australian-produced film Embrace (2016) is an outstanding example of documentary storytelling with potential to change attitudes towards the perception of women's bodies. Its impact comes from the way it does not preach, it does not lecture, rather it reaches out to both men and women everywhere and asks why is the tyranny of body shaming continuing into the modern era?

Director Taryn Brumfitt created a social media firestorm when she posted 'before and after' images of herself but reversed the order in which people expect them to appear. In other words, the 'before' image represented the idealised female form posing in a bodybuilding contest while the 'after' image represented comfortable self-acceptance after having three children. Expressing pride in her 'after' shape was a simple gesture that shocked millions into thinking about the body image cultural prison that tyrannises women. It also flushed out large numbers of vitriolic trolls whose fantasies were threatened. The global reaction led her to crowdfund a film and travel across several continents interviewing prominent and ordinary women who speak openly about their bodies. Everywhere she goes, media-scapes are dominated by images of underweight women who dare not eat normally but whose images create unattainable role models. In the only scene dominated by a male, Brumfitt subjects herself to an assessment by a cosmetic surgeon who shames and prods her like bits of meat begging for a scalpel. The film records with warmth and sensitivity the views of women who reflect the diversity of the female form, and it is impossible to not be touched by their stories.

As a male, it was a shock to hear that over 90% of women dislike their body and the most common adjective used by women to describe their own is "disgusting". To Brumfitt's credit, she left the elephant in the room unnamed and there is no obvious finger pointing towards the media moguls and the captains of the shaming industries. The globalisation of media has accelerated the problem and even in cultures where once a fuller female form was greatly admired they are now dealing with the long-term emotional scars of shaming bodies into smaller shapes. If Embrace was shown in every high school it would lead to lasting cultural change and contribute towards a happier world. Women may learn little from this film, but men can learn a lot.

The movie had a special showing last night to approximately 100 women at our local theatre, of which I was one of them.

It was one of the best movie documentaries I've seen in a while. It spoke to my heart and soul. I wish every woman had an opportunity to view this remarkable film.

I'm a 45 year old beautiful woman. Even though I see myself as beautiful, I've always struggled with my weight. I do everything right, eat whole organic foods, low carb, absolutely no sugar, exercise 6 days a week, sometimes two times a day, etc. and still the weight remains. I get so obsessed about it... Not because I don't think I'm beautiful but because I want to see results for my years of hard dedicated work. In doing so, I go to extremes, it consumes my life. Every action, every thought is how I can achieve the result I desire. Through the film, Embrace, that I was blessed enough to watch last evening, I think I finally understand that God made me the way I am, and I should just "embrace" it. After all, who would I be if I wasn't the way God intended me to be. I'm Jenn! Apparently I was intended to be a 45 year old, healthy, beautiful, physically fit 5'7" woman and 195 lbs. If I didn't have my struggle, I would not have had the desire to be as healthy as I am today. They say everything happens for a reason, right? In my case, my struggle has turned into my blessing. Today, nourishing my body and exercise is a lifestyle, which is my blessing I received. I just have to learn not go to extremes and be kind and patient with myself. All will be well.

This morning, I wake with a new attitude, reflective of a new path and way of thinking...Thank you!

A must see film for every daughter, sister, mother, grandmother...and for every man. The empowering body image movement needed a credible voice. The thing is, while Taryn herself brings a simple clarity to the conversation, and while she interviews the some of the most compelling, inspiring women of our time, what she has done here is give credibility to that inner voice inside each one of us that whispers that we are all good enough, we are powerful, and we are beautiful.

While there are exceptional films that inspire us to level-up as human beings, rarely does a film inspire me to do an about-face, call me to action. I came home and dumped out my collection of diet pills.

"Embrace" is an unusual documentary in that I wish parents would consider showing it to their children….even though the film has some nudity and language that are likely to offend many. Why would I suggest it? Because the picture does a lot to make women do something very few actually do….to love the body God gave them. Plus, while many parents might be in denial, their kids are very likely already looking at nudity on the internet and I think seeing normal women naked, like you occasionally do in this film, is a lot healthier than seeing many of these other women on the net or on television or in magazines. So what you might want to do, parents, is see the film yourself and then consider showing it to your children. Not just your girls (to whom the film is aimed) but your boys as well…as there is a lot they could learn from it…especially about what beauty really is.

The Australian actress, Taryn Brumfitt, wrote, directed and stars in this documentary. It begins with this mother of three talking about how she used to look long ago and how ugly and disappointed she felt in herself because of the wear and tear on her body after having children. So, she tried dieting and exercising and DID gain back a very skinny body…and still felt miserable! That's when she realized that the ideal she was seeking was really impossible to attain. What follows is Taryn's trip around the world to meet with other women who just didn't feel they looked good enough…and how they have learned to cope with the insane and unattainable ideal look for women. It's an ideal perpetuated by airbrushing as well as fashion designers who are apparently insane and think everyone is a size 2! The result of this is widespread self-hatred and quite a few who pick up eating disorders in order to try to be perfect.

Now you might be thinking that this film consists of a bunch of angry feminists screaming about how they hate society and men…but you get none of this in the documentary. Instead, you see a lot of very confident women who have just decided that this ideal in unattainable…and in spite of this they have learned to love themselves. You also, sadly, meet several beautiful women (such as models) who still manage to feel inadequate! The bottom line is that this affirming film does a lot to encourage women to love who they are and embrace their figures. A few of these ladies have even had serious disfigurements but have come to realize that despite this, they are beautiful. Overall, a very well made film and one that can do a lot of good. See this film with someone you love…or your kids (ha, ha…)…or perhaps as a whole family. You'll most likely be glad you did and there is so much to love about "Embrace".