For those of you who don’t know what “Insatiable” is, it is one of Netflix’s summer tv shows, and before the show even aired, people had issues with it. I, for one, have a few issues with it, but I also oddly enough really enjoyed the show, so here are the reasons I love and hate this show.
Reasons I love “Insatiable”:
1. It has Debby Ryan
Like most people I grew up watching Disney Channel and one of my favorite shows was “The Suite Life on Deck,” so when I saw that this show had Debby Ryan as the main character, I was hooked. I really love Debby Ryan’s acting and she was a familiar face that brought back childhood memories, so, of course, I was gonna watch her newest show. Also, this show was the first non-Disney show I had seen her a part of and was excited as to what kind of role she would play.
2. Interesting plot concept
The plot of “Insatiable” is about a teenage girl named Patty who is overweight and bullied by essentially everyone. When she gets into a fight with a homeless man, she ends up in the hospital with a broken jaw. Since Patty was in the hospital for three months and could not properly eat, she is now substantially skinnier. Now that Patty is skinny, she plans to get revenge on everyone who made fun of her by competing in pageants. Now, if that doesn’t sound like the weirdest but also intriguing plot line, I don’t know what does. I thought it was a new idea and seemed to stand out from some of the other shows I watch.
3. It’s addictive
Every time I wanted to stop watching the show and give up, I would say, “oh just one more episode.” I just kept watching even through the plot holes and the controversy.I couldn’t stop watching this show because I was waiting for things to make sense or maybe hoping that it wouldn’t. The show made me laugh, and as much of a mess the show is,it was ridiculously fun to watch. So if you are looking for a light show to play in the background while you clean or do homework, this is it.
Reasons I hate “Insatiable”:
1.The storyline and characterization doesn’t flow
At the beginning of the show, we are introduced to Patty as a sad overweight teenage girl. We knew from the beginning that Patty could hold her own especially when it came to food. What I never expected was for her to turn into a psychotic teenage girl. Some of the choices the show made to lead Patty’s character up to what happens in the final episode feels forced and wrong. Every time Patty seems to be getting better, her character takes a turn for the worst, and it doesn’t make sense. The show’s tone differs from episode to episode and none of the episodes actually connect until the middle of the season. Halfway through the 12 episodes, we finally get a cohesive storyline, but it doesn’t feel cohesive.
2. It fat shames
The most controversial part of this show is that it seems to fat shame people. Both Patty and, her male mentor and pageant coach, Bob were overweight and are now very skinny. The show is supposed to satirize the stereotype, but it ends up playing right into it the “in order to be happy, you have to be skinny” trope many shows depict. While this was not the show’s intention, this is the way many people view its depiction and representation of their characters “transformations.”
3. The show reinforces the social expectation of women to look perfect
The show not only chooses to fat shame people, but also brings the idea that women have to be skinny and look perfect all of the time. The best example of this is Dixie. Her mother has brainwashed her into thinking she has to look a certain type of way just because she is a pageant girl. Patty is also sucked into the belief that now that she is skinny, she must also dress and act a certain way in order to be accepted by others.