I don't think this kind of topic has ever been in the comedic spotlight before, primarily because it's very hard to make any kind of eating disorder hilarious unless it comes from something external from a character and their own biology/psychology.
Why Disney thought they could is beyond me.
Either way, there's now an open writing position within the Disney company now, who wants it?
To be honest, I just do not see the problem here. I would consider it in poor taste if the joke made fun of people's sufferings, or if it somehow implied that people with eating disorders are inferior; but as it is, it's nothing like that at all.
The laugh track going on continuously in the background is vastly more offensive, as far as I am concerned.
edited 30th Dec '11 10:16:35 AM by Carciofus
But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.With Carc.
I'm hideously used to eating disorder jokes really...They make up a good portion of the jokes in the Sailor Moon Abridged series. Oh bulimia jokes...
I and my family regularly make them as well. Often times in regards to my cat (when stressed she refuses to eat for days on end and it's really quite distressing) and myself (I've been having great difficulty eating lately and when stressed I can't keep anything down save soup). So in that fashion they're coping mechanisms. "LET'S LAUGH IN THE FACE OF SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BECOME AN EATING DISORDER TO MAKE IT LESS SCARY".
I have more tact around strangers though. Unless they are in an area in which I am already comfortable.
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan ChahThis is nothing new. I could name plenty of other books/movies etc that have made a similar joke.
Let's see, Maskerade by Terry Pratchett. Devil Wears Prada. That joke sign that pops up sometimes saying 'Please Don't Feed the Models'.
I always thought the joke was on excessive dieting rather than an eating disorder.
Be not afraid...![]()
I think that laugh tracks are generally offensive too. A cheap way of telling the audience to laugh at things that aren't funny. Anyway, eating disorders are just like anything else - impossible for those to understand for those who have no firsthand or even secondhand experience with them. A little sensitivity couldn't be too demanding, could it?
Do not obey in advance.I think the problem is that the comment clearly isn't a joke, because otherwise it'd be funny.
This just continues to show that not only does Disney have the worst writing staff, but also no spine at all when it comes to defending their material.
I'm pretty sure the concept of Law having limits was a translation error. -WanderlustwarriorOffensiveness is subjective by its very nature. I bet many, if not most, of the people indignant at this joke might be inclined to use jokes that I might find offensive.
"The Daily Show has to be right 100% of the time; FOX News only has to be right once." - Jon Stewart

Seriously, Disney should be ashamed of itself for having its show Shake It Up say, "I could just eat you guys up... you know, if I ate."
http://www.care2.com/causes/disney-jokes-about-eating-disorders-apologize.html
Oh, and here's a scene with the joke, which I don't think is anything wrong, but if there is, it's not a joke about the model who doesn't eat.