THIN is in.

i love my friends. they know my heart (and neuroses) so well.

three of them have sent me info about the new HBO documentary THIN by photographer Lauren Greenfield. it premiered last night on HBO. unfortunately, i gave away my television about a year ago, so i didn't get to watch it, but i've already added the DVD to my amazon.com wish list (ahem). if you do have a television and HBO, check your listings, as i'm sure they'll be airing it a number of times in the near future. (probably not, however, the film to sit down and watch after Thanksgiving dinner with the fam or...maybe it is...with an entire pumpkin pie in one hand and a can of Redi Wip in the other).

if everything i've read about it is true, it promises to be an incredibly powerful piece that not only explores the struggles of individuals with eating disorders, but also sheds a harsh light on the dysfunctional, often enabling environments of the clinics that claim to cure them. it's a complicated disease, and i'm not sure putting a bunch of eating disordered girls/women together is the best way to hasten healing. isn't it sort of like sending the "bad kids" to the military academy when everyone sends their "bad kids" to the military academy? they often come back worse having adopted a whole new set of "skills" from the other inmates.

anyway...

the best part is, the film is just part of a larger project -

THIN is the centerpiece of a multi-faceted campaign designed to explore issues surrounding body image and eating disorders, including a companion book, traveling exhibition of Greenfield's work and a website. An educational resource guide for the documentary THIN has also been developed to accompany the film for use by individuals, educators and community groups nationwide. It will reach approximately two million high school students and 15,000 college professors directly with a downloadable guide available online. For more on the THIN campaign - the book, exhibit, educational guide and DVD - visit hbo.com or thindocumentary.com.

guilty, ridiculous confession:

i have to say, i did experience the tinklings of jealousy when i first read this. i mean, this is MY PASSION! this is MY MISSION. I'M supposed to save every single solitary young woman from lifetime of eating disorders and a screwy body image! now, HBO's gonna save everyone, and i have to find a new Life's Meaning. fuuuuuuck. this is so not fair. i mean, i already had my epitaph written and everything.

good lord. get over myself. unfortunately, there's plenty of work to be done. one film won't do it, and neither will one weeny little one-woman show.

check it out.