# New Disney Movie demigod obesity controversy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2016, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769 "2016-06-30T12:15:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/21 "2016-06-30T16:17:00Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Why should I give a shit about what some nobody says? Why would I give a shit about what you give a shit about? They said Maui looked like a rugby player and I just mentioned that the one listed complainer was himself a rugby player. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/22 "2016-06-30T16:25:37Z")
He looks like a large Samoan gentleman to me (the animated image, not the rugby player). Not fat. Somebody who could clearly crush your car with you in it, should he feel so inclined. On the other hand, I could see persons of Samoan ancestry objecting portrayal of the character. Maui acts like he’s about 6. Not to beat a dead horse, because I’m all about the horses, next to Maui Moana looks even more like a toy than an actual person. Would it kill them to just once put a little muscle on a female? They got away with it, sort of, in Frozen because everyone was bundled up. I, naturally, will be seeing this movie and likely buying it as well. Apparently, I can hold my nose and eat popcorn. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/23 "2016-06-30T16:30:13Z")
He reminds me of [Miko Brando](http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/60c1f1287581474787d2e946c957fd43/miko-brando-the-benchwarmers-premiere-westwood-los-angeles-usa-02-bk1nnw.jpg), Marlon’s Tahitian son who has been a bodyguard for Michael Jackson and other celebrities. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/24 "2016-06-30T16:34:04Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Why would I give a shit about what you give a shit about? Because I am a Somebody. I am a denizen of The Dope. Therefore I am a wise intellectual who is very smart and brainy. My opinions are always right. My opinions are fact. My opinions are like buttholes. They always speak the truth. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/25 "2016-06-30T16:58:15Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Don’t know if this changes anyone’s opinion but obesity is actually a pretty big concern in Pacific island countries/region. In that case, let’s bulk up the princess! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/26 "2016-06-30T17:00:51Z")
I read the story yesterday. (I did not click on the link on the OP.) This occurred to me: By complaining the character is fat, people are sending the message to fat kids that they should be ashamed of themselves. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/27 "2016-06-30T17:02:24Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I read the story yesterday. (I did not click on the link on the OP.) This occurred to me: By complaining the character is fat, people are sending the message to fat kids that they should be ashamed of themselves. And? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/28 "2016-06-30T17:04:14Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > And? And they are being just as insensitive as Disney is. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/29 "2016-06-30T17:04:46Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Oh. Good. God. > > Some people would bitch if their ice cream was cold. Aha. A locution I can use when “Some people would bitch about a wet dream” would be socially inappropriate. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/30 "2016-06-30T17:16:52Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > And they are being just as insensitive as Disney is. How insensitive would that be? A lot? ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/31 "2016-06-30T17:19:34Z")
I haven’t read the article, but it might be worth asking whether this sentiment is actually widespread. For example, the recent Mad Max movie had “men’s rights activists” calling for a boycott. Every single article I saw about the movie mentioned this, even though in the end the entire “boycott movement” turned out to be exactly one guy. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/32 "2016-06-30T17:34:31Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > How insensitive would that be? A lot? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/33 "2016-06-30T17:54:19Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Oh. Good. God. > > Some people would bitch if their ice cream was cold. I hate when my ice cream is over-frozen, it’s just way to hard to be enjoyable :D. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/34 "2016-06-30T17:55:27Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > The guy who the BBC referenced as not liking it happens to be a rugby player so I would guess he disagrees. I can’t believe a Samoan rugby player is complaining about someone who is built like that. Samoa has way more players in the NFL than expected from its population. [A lot of them look like that depiction of Maui.](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b6/c2/0e/b6c20e441baa501131b092e779c4860c.jpg) Maui is built exactly as you would expect a big powerful guy from Samoa would look. Of course, this guy is claiming that Maui was a real person who discovered both Hawaii and New Zealand, so his connection with reality is not that strong. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/35 "2016-06-30T18:06:06Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > I haven’t read the article, but it might be worth asking whether this sentiment is actually widespread. For example, the recent Mad Max movie had “men’s rights activists” calling for a boycott. Every single article I saw about the movie mentioned this, even though in the end the entire “boycott movement” turned out to be exactly one guy. Well, not exactly. There were [at least](http://www.returnofkings.com/63036/why-you-should-not-go-see-mad-max-feminist-road) [two](https://voxday.blogspot.com/2015/05/skip-mad-max.html) well-known MRA/misogynist spokesmen blogging that men shouldn’t see the movie. More to the point, there were a lot of their followers agreeing with them. I agree that the _Fury Road_ “boycott” wasn’t anything like organized or significant enough to actually impact the box office (except perhaps positively, if anti-misogynists who otherwise might not have seen the movie heard about the “boycott” and decided to push back). But that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t actually representing a genuine and vocal segment of public opinion (albeit a comparatively small one), not just “exactly one guy”. Likewise, AFAICT the Maui “controversy” does have [several public figures commenting](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/27/disney-depiction-of-obese-polynesian-god-in-film-moana-sparks-anger), including one New Zealand MP of Tongan heritage, although the critical views are by no means monolithic or majority. > [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > or do we just get to hear about it more because of mass communication? That, and we’ve also got a widespread media attitude that differences of opinion on media portrayals of, e.g., minorities and women count as important news. Almost every fictional character could be, and probably has been, criticized by somebody as an unflattering or stereotypical “portrayal” of some ethnic/gender/whatever category that that character happens to belong to. But because nowadays we’re more aware how such portrayals historically played into traditional prejudices, it’s a good topic for getting our attention. News media like topics that are good at getting our attention. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/36 "2016-06-30T18:26:00Z")
The people who’ve made specific complaints are saying that they don’t think this particular character/person (in the case of the guy who thinks he’s real) looked or should look that way. Those specific points should have made it into the article, instead of or in addition to putting it in the video. Maybe that’s not how he’s usually depicted. That’s not an unreasonable point, the way complaining about obese characters, in general, would be. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/37 "2016-06-30T19:07:31Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > The people who’ve made specific complaints are saying that they don’t think this particular character/person (in the case of the guy who thinks he’s real) looked or should look that way. Those specific points should have made it into the article, instead of or in addition to putting it in the video. Maybe that’s not how he’s usually depicted. That’s not an unreasonable point, the way complaining about obese characters, in general, would be. See, _that_ makes some sense. It’d be like depicting Jesus as looking like Larry the Cable Guy. Not offensive, but a bit strange. On the other hand, big barrel chested dude with a fat face is funnier than a traditionally handsome one and I bet his physicality will lend itself to the story / jokes. Either way, nothing to get one’s grass skirt in a bunch over. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/38 "2016-06-30T19:20:42Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Yes. So Disney was horribly insensitive and people were horribly insensitive to note it. Nice. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/39 "2016-06-30T19:24:26Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > So Disney was horribly insensitive and people were horribly insensitive to note it. Nice. According to some, Disney is horribly insensitive. But these people are fat-shaming real kids. Were you ever a fat kid? Did you ever ridicule a fat kid? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769/40 "2016-06-30T19:28:28Z")
One of the comments on one of the articles about this was claiming that Samoans were not fat until “first world food was shoved down our throats”. I was completely unaware that we were force feeding these people. Shameful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-disney-movie-demigod-obesity-controversy/758769.md?page=3)