Feed Movie Review

Troian Bellisario is a young woman who produced a movie in 2017 displaying her own experience battling an eating disorder. “Feed” is based on a young woman named Olivia who loses her beloved brother in a car accident. The audience perceived that after the death of Olivia’s brother, Olivia has a hard time functioning. As a result, Olivia starts to imagine her brother always beside her. This backfired when Olivia’s imaginary brother started to control what she was eating, resulting in Olivia being sent to a hospital. As research shows that most eating disorders are based upon emotional and psychological issues, being admitted to a medical facility does not solve the problem. Rather receiving therapy and someone to communicate with would help Olivia achieve effective recovery. I will prove this by examining Olivia’s behavior before and after being admitted into the medical facility, the changes in her diet, and the way she observes food.

Olivia was admitted to a hospital after her parents discovered her saving food and placing it in a plastic bag under a tree. Olivia was placed in a medical facility and given orders not to miss her meals because she would be force-fed if she did. Olivia was forced to eat through a tube on multiple occasions. She wanted to get out of the facility, so she began eating and drinking on her own and began to show signs of improvement from the treatment she was receiving. Her progress was noted by the doctors at the Hospital Centre, and she was sent home. At the end of the film seated in a restaurant, choosing a meal, and shortly after she sees her brother again. She then finds it difficult to consume her meal. In the end, Olivia learned how to put on a performance after being taken to the medical facility. More specifically, the medical facility did not help Olivia in any way. She had difficulties both before and after being taken to the medical facility. Therefore, there was no positive change shown in Olivia’s behavior after being sent to the medical facility.

Olivia's diet was non-existent before her visit to the Medical Centre. She never ate, preferring to place food under the tree. She became critically malnourished because of this. Once Olivia was admitted to the medical institution, her diet was adjusted and was given nutritious meals to complete.  However, the Medical Centre did not improve Olivia's eating habits because at one point in the film, when Olivia was given the option of choosing a meal—while dining with her boyfriend in a restaurant— she chose a salad instead of a burger. Her decision to choose a salad shows that she became more aware of what she was eating and even though she began eating a variety of foods, it was only a pretense so that people could comment "Yeah, she is eating now".This demonstrates how the Medical Centre had no good impact on her eating habits.

More specifically when Olivia gets a salad while sitting in a restaurant with her boyfriend, and you can see her boyfriend eating and enjoying his food while Olivia sits there watching him eat throughout the sequence. She looks at her food but doesn't take a bite. She then looks at her boyfriend's food and keeps an eye on him. Olivia stares at her salad, and zones out when her boyfriend notices and says, "Hey if this is too much, we can go." Olivia answers, "No, I'm fine," while closing her eyes. This scene in the film effectively depicted Olivia's awareness of her eating habits and her fear of the food placed in front of her.

Finally, the three scenarios chosen to depict how a medical facility might fail to cure Olivia's situation are all based on a single scenario from the movie's ending. This scenario was stunning because everyone had expected Olivia to be fully recovered, yet nothing had changed in this scene. This final moment was a significant plot twist since everything you thought as the movie progressed altered at the conclusion. After being released from the medical facility, Olivia showed no signs of progress in the three scenes. She could still see her brother, and she was having trouble eating because he was observing her. Out of all the other options, including a burger, she chose to eat a salad. This displays her awareness of her eating patterns and her desire to consume as little as feasible. She chooses the salad solely to fool her partner into believing she has improved her eating habits. She has trouble eating the salad even after it has been prepared, and she is stressed by the sight of it. The medical institution was completely ineffective. Instead, having someone with whom she could converse and express her concerns would have made her feel safer and more at ease with eating. Forcing someone to eat is not positive reinforcement; rather, it is negative reinforcement.