"To The Bone" raises controversy, not awareness

To The Bone director Marti Noxon, left, beams while sitting next to the star of the film, Lily Collins, right. Noxon and Collins both battled eating disorders in their past.

To The Bone, which debuted on Netflix this July, unflinchingly recounts the story of a young woman’s journey to recovery from anorexia. The film is directed by Marti Noxon, who draws from her own experiences with anorexia. Ellen (Lily Collins), after many failed attempts at treatment, enters an unconventional group home for people suffering with eating disorders. The movie portrays eating disorder recovery with heartbreaking highs and lows and sometimes dark humor.

Despite the fact that To The Bone raises awareness for eating disorders, it was mostly met with criticism from those who felt like the images and scenes shown could be triggering to susceptible people in recovery. Eating disorders are one of the most prevalent and widespread mental illnesses, yet they receive the least amount of funding and awareness. Making a movie about such a traditionally uncomfortable topic is bound to cause controversy.

Keanu Reeves as Dr. William Beckham, left, discusses Ellen's, played by Lily Collins, right, admission into treatment for her eating disorder.

Throughout the film, characters swap advice on how to continue their disordered behaviors while remaining in recovery. This can be extremely dangerous for vulnerable viewers, according to Taylor Bowman, a senior at Converse College who has been in recovery for an eating disorder more than a year. “I even felt triggered during the movie because I saw how much pleasure the people in treatment were getting from tricking the system, and I started having thoughts myself of ways to hide disordered behavior from people,” she said.

That being said, showing disordered behaviors or eating disorder habits could also aid in raising awareness for the warning signs of an eating disorder. If loved ones and friends are aware of these behaviors, then help could be sought out sooner for those in need. To The Bone, although not delicately, portrays several common behaviors that are not depicted in media as the usual practices of those suffering with eating disorders. For example, several scenes focus around Ellen compulsively checking the width of her arms, which is a common behavior in the eating disorder community called body checking.

“I didn’t even realize that was a symptom until someone pointed it out to me as I did it, and then I saw it again in the movie. This definitely signaled to me that I should not continue this behavior," said Allison Owens, a junior at Converse College. "I’m especially glad I saw the movie because that was relevant to me, and I wouldn’t have had that awareness otherwise. Who knows what could have happened.”

Quite a bit of the film focuses solely on anorexia nervosa, the disorder from which Ellen suffers. However innocent this decision is, the perception could be skewed by susceptible minds. Media outlets, in particular, focus mostly on anorexia because of how shocking the physical appearance of the illness can sometimes be. Additionally, media is notorious for using this shock value to grossly capitalize off of a serious mental illness.

Noxon's choice to put anorexia in the spotlight while other eating disorders like bulimia, binge eating, Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) and many more lie in the background, perhaps unknowingly places more “value” on anorexia and labels it as the only life threatening disorder, which is simply not true.

“Your body doesn’t have to look a certain way for your life to be in danger. Eating disorders look different for everyone, and reinforcing the idea that everyone with an eating disorder has anorexia is incredibly dangerous and could convince someone who’s suffering that their illness isn’t bad enough to seek help,” said Owens.

Furthermore, To The Bone presents anorexia as a specifically white, female problem, when in reality, mental illness does not discriminate. The film makes a half-hearted attempt to include diversity in its characters, featuring one woman of color and one male patient. Despite these efforts, it is still not enough to make countless unrepresented voices feel as if they are being heard.

13 Reasons Why stars Dylan Minnette as Clay Jensen and Katherine Langford as Hannah Baker. The controversial series was released to Netflix in March 2017.

Until recently, mental illness has typically been stigmatized and ignored. Beginning with Netflix’s release of the contentious series 13 Reasons Why earlier this year, mental health has become more of a focal point in mainstream media. According to Jillian Stelow, a junior at Converse College, 13 Reasons Why lacks the behavioral depth behind mental illnesses that To The Bone depicts. She said, “The show [13 Reasons Why] doesn’t make it clear that depression is the reason the main character commits suicide. It reinforces the stereotype that there has to be external reasons for someone to take their own life.”

In contrast, To the Bone successfully portrays the daily internal struggle of someone with an eating disorder. In the film, the counselors at the facility treat eating disorders with the knowledge that it is a mental illness and an addiction. Research shows that one concrete reason behind eating disorders does not exist. It is not an issue of vanity or being skinny enough.

People who have eating disorders likely suffer from other mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder [OCD]. Patients have often experienced some sort of significant trauma as well. One of the female counselors in the film accurately describes the mental process of someone with an eating disorder. "What you crave is the numbing of the thing you don't want to feel," she said.

To The Bone is not a perfect movie. Eating disorders are not pretty or glamorous, and it is nearly impossible for them to be shown in a way that is not triggering; however, something has to be done to hold people’s attention. These topics are uncomfortable, yet just by talking about them, an important conversation about awareness is being sparked. That alone is a step in the right direction.

If you or someone you know is suffering with an eating disorder, please visit the National Eating Disorders Association [NEDA] website or call the NEDA Helpline to seek help.