REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON THE THIN FILM 2
The Thin documentary is a cornerstone representing a multi-faceted campaign designed
with the sole purpose of exploring issues surrounding body image and some of the eating
disorders that affect human bodies. The film has a companion book known as traveling
exhibition and a website. The film revolves around four ladies who have anorexia nervosa and
the struggle they face towards recovery. These four women are admitted to a medical facility in
Florida which specializes in the treatment of women who have eating disorders. The essay
covers a personal reflection of the film about the topic discussed.
I deeply admire these women in the film which sought assistance whether for the first
time or the twentieth and my wish is that every other person living with an eating disorder could
take the same steps. It takes courage to make a call or visit the medical facility for help hence,
making me respect these ladies a lot. For a person battling with an eating disorder, it is easy to
hate the film and its characters. In Thin, the four characters are documented as they go from one
form of treatment to another at Renfrew.
In the film, we encounter four characters. Shelly is in her mid-twenties, and she has had a
feeding tube for over five years, and people view the machine as her budge of honor. Lisa, a
single mother in her thirties with two children, have battled with eating disorder for decades.
Also, Brittany is a fifteen years old girl who got the disorder due to the bad characters of her
eating disorder mother. Finally, Polly who is furthest in the treatment and is doing a lot to
maintain her ideal weight and she acts as the ringleader of the group.
These four women are the main characters in the film but, there are other faces not
introduced in the movie, so many women who are on the brink of death. The film is not an
exaggeration because it is the reality in our society, people lose their lives as a result of
prolonged anorexia, and these women in the film seem a heartbeat away from death. They have
