Ed’s Glorification

For the three-minute documentary, I want to focus on what living with an eating disorder is like. This topic often goes unnoticed and many people overlook it. Throughout our everyday lives, diet culture surrounds us as a society. It is the glorification of thinness. Thanks to the negative influences of the media, it has been engraved in our brains that if you’re skinny, you are pretty because it adheres to societal norms whereas this is simply not the case. 

In this documentary, I want to approach the idea of an eating disorder similarly to Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s King Coal, where coal is seen as the king of the town. In this case, the eating disorder has power over that person. This nonliving vessel helps create understanding for those who may not understand what eating disorders are like. There is a book that I will be incorporating into the documentary called Life Without Ed by Jenni Schaefer. The author approaches her experience with an eating disorder and personifies it. She calls him “Ed” and shares how she is getting a divorce with him. This view takes accountability and provides a whole new outlook on eating disorders.

So far, I’m not sure which direction this documentary will head. I want to focus on ways an eating disorder can affect one’s quality of life. I also want to acknowledge that this documentary will show vulnerability, which can leave an impact on the audience.