thighgap and THINNER (1996)
This month’s pairing plays on the most consuming fear of the day, not being seen. It seems these days everybody is aiming for TikTok stardom, influencer status, or needs an audience to grow their small business. Both the novel #thighgap and the film THINNER focus on lead characters that are physically wasting away. While that alone can be scary, the stories hit on universal fears about finding our place in the world and whether some lives are more important than others.
THINNER is the 1996 adaptation of a Stephen King novel (published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman), directed by Tom Holland. In the film, Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke) hits and kills a Romani woman while driving. Although it was an accident, it was the result of negligence. Yet Billy’s status as a successful lawyer and connections within the community prevent him from facing legal consequences. The local police and judge conspire to exonerate him. In retaliation, the woman’s father curses Billy, the police chief, and judge. Each is cursed in a different way, resulting in both the judge and chief committing suicide. Billy’s curse causes him to start drastically losing weight. In a matter of weeks, he drops hundreds of pounds while still consuming a ridiculously large amount of food. While his wife urges him to get medical help, he instead pursues the man who cursed him.
The novel #thighgap is by Chandler Morrison, the second in the My Dark Library series, and published by Cemetary Gates Media in August 2022. It follows Helen Troy, a formerly overweight (or more likely average) young woman and model. Originally moving to L.A. to pursue a filmmaking career, Helen falls victim to the pressure to conform to impossible body standards. After her weight loss, she starts reaping the benefits of being young, beautiful, and skinny—including a successful modeling career. It’s all great and fabulous except that being thin has become an addiction that she’s willing to die for.
In addition to the main conflict, both stories touch on the issue of prejudice toward certain groups of people. The superficial values of wealthy and successful people are displayed along with the idea that some folks don’t deserve to be seen. In the book, Helen includes her former self in this group of people. Even before her own transformation, she’d internalized messages that she wasn’t good enough because of her size. From the start of THINNER, the Romani people are looked down on by Billy and others in the town.
What I find most fascinating about setting these stories side by side is seeing how big a difference gender makes for each of the characters. Not surprisingly, Helen’s weight loss is celebrated by the people around her and the thinner she is the more attention she seems to get. Meanwhile, Billy feels like he’s being erased. It’s almost like men only matter when they take up as much space as possible.
These two characters couldn’t be more different, they essentially embody the two extremes of disordered eating. And yet they are both struggling with similar issues of control and body image. Despite all their differences they both end up in a similar place. As their stories progress, they spiral further out of control, becoming paranoid, delusional, and even hallucinating. In the end, all their suffering—physical and mental—is caused by their own refusal to change their behavior or their beliefs.
