The most inclusive shows and movies on TV
Looking to see yourself up there on the big screen? This season’s top television and streaming picks will surely help you get there
Image courtesy of Bob Mahoney / Netflix / IMDb
Dumplin’ on Netflix
This feature-length film follows the story of Willowdean, played by Danielle Macdonald, as she tries to navigate the world of beauty pageants and teenage angst. Based on a YA novel of the same name, we follow her on a journey of self-discovery – one where the fat girl finally plays the lead.
Half futuristic fairy tale, and half an honest portrayal of what it’s like to come-of-age over a size 14, this sugary-sweet story captures the very essence of what it’s like to grow up the ‘dumplin’ in a world of dieting girls. Light-hearted, but loaded with meaning, this film does just as much good unpacking body confidence for its teen audience as it will for you.
Available to download and stream on Netflix, both online and through the app.
Image courtesy of @channel4 via Instagram
Naked Beach on Channel 4
Late-April saw the debut of Channel 4’s latest docu-series, Naked Beach. A show centred around increasing body confidence across the nation, it sends a cohort of body-painted, body positive men and women over to Greece for a month. While there, a number of under confident guests visit their villa to learn all about self-acceptance, body confidence and how different your life can truly look when you start loving your body. The diversity of the bodies seen in this show – and seen naked, to boot – will surely encourage us to feel the same. And, hopefully, might even encourage the rest of the media to follow suit.
Marketed as the perfect opposition to current reality TV offerings, Naked Beach truly presents a cast of women you’ll want to meet – and you’ll see yourself in them too.
Available via Channel 4 catch up services and to stream through www.all4.co.uk.
Image courtesy of Michael Parmelee / Warner Bros. / IMDb
Isn’t It Romantic on Netflix
Starring Pitch Perfect’s Rebel Wilson as its leading lady, Isn’t It Romantic is a rom-com like no other. Named “one of the most uplifting comedies this year” by HITC, it sets out to challenge everything we, as women, have been taught about who deserves love in this world. Wilson’s portrayal of ‘Natalie’ – a struggling architect, robbed on the New York subway who wakes from the accident in an alternate universe where she’s deemed attractive – provides a timely reboot of traditional female leads. It presents the everyday woman as one who’s worth just as much as the stereotypically beautiful one typically cast in these roles.
Liam Hemsworth, Priyanka Chopra and Brandon Scott Jones comprise main roles alongside Wilson, and compliment the intelligently comedic nature of the storyline well. Somehow, it manages to poke fun at the idea of romance as our only feminine interest, while still delivering a story about love – only this time, it’s a love affair with yourself you’ll be yearning for.
Available to download and stream on Netflix, both online and through the app.