Fresh off of the controversy surrounding teenage suicide-drama 13 Reasons Why, Netflix has found itself the center of conversation once again.
This time, the chatter is all about the new Netflix original film To The Bone, which chronicles a young girl’s battle with anorexia.
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The first trailer for the film, directed by Marti Noxon and starring Lily Collins, debuted online last week. While some people praised the message of the film, and its bold choice to tackle such a difficult subject, many people took to social media to bash the project.
Folks were calling out Netflix for ‘glamorizing’ a mental illness. There are some who believe that To The Bone is a trigger for those with an eating disorder. They believe that a film like this will leave a negative impression on young people who struggle with these issues.
Netflix’s ‘to the bone’ is just a massive trigger to anyone with mental health problems or any form of eating disorder, it is not helpful
— morgan (@mxrganmc) June 20, 2017
The calls against the film are claiming that these kind of pieces skew the perception of people with mental illnesses. To The Bone is being viewed by some as a romanticism of certain disorders and illnesses, and that it’s becoming a problem.
Netflix’s To The Bone is a prime example of companies exploiting severe mental illnesses, using the same old white manic pixie trope.
— Jemimah Eden Vaughan (@jemimahvaughan) June 20, 2017
A similar situation unfolded after the release of 13 Reasons Why, as people believed that the TV series would glorify suicide for young people.
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Despite the negative reactions, both Noxon and Collins have openly spoken about their struggles with eating disorders in the past. The star and director of the film have been through what the character in To The Bone is going through.
Noxon released a statement on her personal Twitter account, saying that the issues this movie highlights are very personal to her, and that she wants to do justice to those who have battled eating disorders. Noxon also revealed that the creative team worked with survivors of the illness, as well as Project Heal, in order to make To The Bone as real and respectful as possible.
#ToTheBone @netflix pic.twitter.com/ULlsJco3oV
— marti noxon (@martinoxon) June 23, 2017
To The Bone will be released on Netflix on July 14.