It's an American series created by Eric Schaffear that ran for one series a few years ago
I stumbled across it on you tube last week and was intrigued
It's a comedy that follows the lives of 4 people with various eating disorders
Bille, a petite brunette who has anorexia/bulimia
Sam, the main character who is anorexic and also a compulsive over eater
Adam, a buff policeman who is bulimic
And Dan, an over weight over eater
Basically it is a comedy that deals with a serious issue
And it deals with it in a very blunt and graphic way
The first episode opens with Sam fishing chocolate cake out of the bin and eating it
Hands up if you've ever been there?
I know I have
Chocolate cake is Sam's trigger food
He keeps it in his brief case at all times and his secretary keeps it locked in a safe while he's at work
Billie is in recovery although she seems to be switching from food to alcohol
Adam takes bribes of food from people he arrests and it shows him purging using his truncheon to force the food from his stomach
Dan is on a waiting list for gastric bypass surgery but keeps cancelling his appointment when it comes up
First I have to say that this show is extremely triggering
But that is because it is so true to life
I could identify with every single character
They lie to themselves
Lie to each other
Some are in denial
They all attend a support group called 'The belt tighteners' where they are ridiculed and humiliated by the group leader
Obviously support groups are not really like this of course
But I think it gives an accurate portrayal of what it's like to live with an eating disorder
It does not glamorize it
It does not romanticize it
It shows it as it really is
Sad
Lonely
Disgusting
Messy
Life threatening
Obsessive
Addictive
Compulsive
Insane
All consuming
It really is black humor and I happen to love black humor so this show appealed to me
At first I wasn't sure though
Watching someone purge was almost too close for comfort
Also at first it felt wrong to laugh at this serious subject
But heck, sometimes it's my sense of humor that is the only thing that gets me through the day
I think it's so important to retain the ability to laugh at ourselves
It's something I won't let my eating disorder take away from me
I didn't feel like the show was making fun of people who have eating disorders
I felt it showed eating disorders in all their ugly glory and some of these situations are funny
Other shows that have taken on a serious subject in a comedic way are 'Breaking Bad', 'Weeds' and 'The big C'
It takes great skill to do this
To strike a balance between showing the gravity of the subject and using humour
I have seen other shows and films that just outright make fun of people with eating disorders and that is neither funny or acceptable
But something like this is funny and clever
In Starved I don't think the humor detracts from the seriousness of the issue
It's shows the lengths we go to for food and weight
I myself have found myself in many strange situations due to my eating disorder
I remember a few years ago I was totally addicted to drifter chocolate bars
I literally ate them and little else
I craved them the way I used to crave heroin
I remember my boss at the time gave me a bumper box of 48 bars for my birthday
He knew me well
I ate drifters like they were going out of fashion
And then they did
Suddenly shops stopped stocking them
One day in particular I was looking for them
I didn't drive at the time and I made my mother drive from town to town to find them
I was like a woman possessed
Or obsessed
It wasn't funny at the time but looking back I can laugh at myself
Another time I was eating a certain type of crisps
I used to buy 10-20 bags at a time
I was in a shop where they only had about 5 bags
I asked the shop keeper if he had any more
'How many are you looking for?'
'As many as you have'
'Oh, are you having a kids birthday party?'
'Eh............ yes yes, a birthday party'
I was too embarrassed to tell the truth so I found myself going in great detail about my 'nephews birthday party'
The lies just rolled off my tongue
So yes, I am able to laugh at my own situation but there is a fine line between laughing with someone and laughing at them
I think with Starved I definitely laughed with the characters
Unfortunately it only ran for one series
I'm not sure why although I can see why some people maybe found it offensive and not watched it
But if anything it would have got people talking about eating disorders and that has to be a good thing
If you do get a chance to watch it I'd love to know what you think
But be warned it is triggering
