Dietland

Just finished watching Dietland on amazon. .. The first 5 episodes are hard work but then it changes pace and it's like a bizarre feminist version of fight Club. .. it's actually great. .. I nearly didn't watch it because of the name I assumed it was about some fat girl on a diet but it's a political anarchic drama

New Yorker Plum Kettle (Joy Nash) is depressed, is overweight, attends her Waist Watcher meetings, and needs money for weight loss surgery. Her job is to reply to depressing mail for fashion magazine editor Kitty Montgomery (Julianna Margulies) from her adoring fans in her name. It's a low-paying unsatisfying job. She is befriended by the mysterious Julia Smith at the company who wants the names of Kitty's fan letter writers. She follows an anti-diet book to its author, Verena Baptist, the daughter of the creators of the Baptist weight loss plan which she was once on. Verena offers her a new method and is willing to pay Plum for her to join. Kitty hires former police detective Dominic O'Shea to investigate a security breach at the company. Radical feminist group Jennifer is murdering men for past sexual abuses which leads to widespread chaos.

Plum is rather depressing at the beginning which keeps the early episodes a downer. The plot unfolds in a scattershot way. She needs a co-conspirator who could join her on her journey. That seems to be Leeta at first but she disappears and then comes back and disappears again. That's this show in miniature. Characters come in and then are cast aside. The plot throws some big punches and some of them hit hard. The social commentary is compelling. It can get depressing with some attempts at dark humor. I appreciate the attempt but I'm not sure I even like Plum and I'm not sure I like this show.

I haven't seen the whole series, but I like Dietland. Posters here have objected to Plum's passivity and desire to be thinner, but Plum, in a way, is a stand-in for the audience, who long to be thinner, younger, more glam, etc. but resist looking into the political and cultural systems that marginalize and impoverish them. I like the Brooklyn settings and NYC locale of the show. I hope this dark and well-written show gets a second season. All the characters are interesting and we need to get to know them better.

Putting a mirror to societal norms has never been done with such artfulness, anger and dark humor. This show is a best friend challenging you to look at yourself a little closer. It's extreme and over the top in some ways but it reflects the truth of our times. Juxtaposed against the brash, in your face writing is the delicate, passion-filled vulnerable acting of Joy & Tamara. They are masters of their craft taking risks with their characters. Their performances are examples of what separates good actors from great actors. This show is wild. But the acting is perfection with a cast so well matched that each scene is better than the last. The writing, acting, customs, set...all represent the best of what scripted tv should be. Thank you to each person connected to this production- stand proud of what you created and keep forcing a mirror of provocation in the face of societal norms.

I am a male in his seventies. After sliding into obesity in my fifties, I had sleeve surgery a couple of years ago. It was the best decision I have made in decades. I was able to cancel ankle surgery for deteriorating ankles. Nothing in my motivation was about looking better or being a hunk. Over 70% of type 2 diabetics who have had the sleeve surgery have been able to stop taking drugs.

The series needs to tread carefully on making bariatric surgery a villain. It is not. The body image industry is evil, and has been for my lifetime. I hope the series can continue to make that point without discouraging a medical procedure that can be life changing for many good reasons that have nothing to do with finding a date.