I think not being American and being too young in the 2000s saved me from watching the disaster I now discover to be "The Biggest Loser." A show that humiliated people with obesity issues for television, "The Biggest Loser" ran for 17 seasons and had a huge impact on American reality television. As someone who has never been into reality TV, I hadn't even heard of it before I was recommended to watch the documentary "Fit For TV: The Reality Of The Biggest Loser" on Netflix.
The documentary revisits some of the many iconic faces that appeared on the show's 17 seasons and puts them in front of the cameras decades later to talk about what life was like back then. But that's not all; it also features two producers, a trainer, and the show's doctor, giving us different perspectives on who thought what about the show. Because of this, I'm not sure what their intentions were.
When it comes to reality TV, the one thing we should remember is that it's always about entertainment, even if it means sacrificing people's mental health, well-being, and even lives. Sometimes it feels like we've been living in a dystopian world for ages, but we need an outsider's eye to truly understand how bad things can get. The documentary gives everyone a chance to explain themselves: producers, contestants, doctors, and trainers. Bob Harper, the show's trainer, who has never worked with overweight people before, is seen talking in the most unselfconscious way about real people struggling with themselves, making every moment he's on screen infuriating.
I don't know if the documentary intentionally portrays him as a villain, or if it's just my personal opinion, borne of watching the man in the documentary for five minutes, which made me realize he might be a jerk. Apparently, "The Biggest Loser" came about when one of the producers saw a poster in the gym where an obese person was pleading for help to save their life and desperately looking for a trainer.
If the intention was good, this was the last thing we saw. Sure, the idea may have seemed brilliant at the time, but the way the show was executed, you'd never imagine this was the story behind it. The documentary gives us an insight into how some of the contestants felt about being reprimanded on the show, not for the purpose of motivation, but to entertain the millions watching. Sure, from the outside, it seemed like these people who voluntarily participated in the show were motivated to get fit and healthy, but in the end, it not only caused them physical damage, but also mental damage for the rest of their lives.
But the documentary isn't meant to give us a definitive view of the whole thing. We're expected to form our own opinions based on what all these different voices have to say about this pivotal experience in their lives. I guess there's a gulf between the words "reality" and "truth," even for a show like this. At first, I thought they could be interchangeable, considering that, in this context, "reality" would basically mean revealing the truth. But the problem is that each person believes their version of reality is the absolute truth, so we're left with unreliable sources and an unclear outcome. This is what confuses me the most. It starts off strong and makes you realize how terrible the show's idea was from the start. But soon, it tries to change your mind through the perspectives of a producer and a coach on the show, which completely unravels.
What irritated me most about watching this documentary, however, was the number of times we had to endure the original show's sensationalizing. Personally, I found it very difficult to watch the clips from "The Biggest Loser" because it specifically highlights the most humiliating or traumatizing parts, not only for those who experienced it, but also for the viewers. Obviously, there are people you empathize with more, while others you dislike for their ego and their behavior on the show, despite knowing they were wrong.
Now, you might be asking, "What's so relevant about this show now?" Well, according to the show's own statistics, the percentage of Americans struggling with obesity has increased significantly since it aired, but more importantly, current trends have nothing to do with what people were doing back then, and the way we view the problem has completely changed. In the 2000s, a show where we saw obese people vomit while exercising was fine, but today, many would rather see them go through Ozempic and witness a dramatic transformation.
In the end, the documentary is only three episodes long and doesn't really offer much. I suppose if you looked up some of these people, you'd get all the necessary information, but the truth is, Netflix thinks we love anything sensationalized, and we watch it for no real reason. This is the perfect kind of show to put on in the background while you work (or exercise) or do something else. It's short, to the point, and has a few unexpected twists that keep you coming back for more. I suppose if I had some kind of connection to "The Biggest Loser," I might have been a little more interested in this documentary, but since I haven't followed it, I was pretty disappointed. I'd give Fit For TV 2.5 out of 5 stars, simply because despite not caring, I was somehow interested in what was going to happen next.
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