The thing that really irks me about the people giving Ninjiani such a hard time is that he didn't get that much bigger-he just got in shape and achieve optimal definition. It's not like he even increased in bulk by 20%. And he's definitely not sporting the same size body as Chris Evans or Pratt.
He fully owns the fact that he achieved his physique with the help of doctors, trainers and a diet all paid for by Marvel. He said he could NOT achieved that on his own and that he was going to do his level best to maintain his form. I recall him getting praise about his honesty about how hard it was to achieve that shape. He also stated that if his body regressed back, there's no way he could start over from scratch on his own.
Further let's go back to 15 years ago and the Snyder film 300 and people went agog about how they got all these actors to be buff and super cut. I know it inspired scores of male costumers to tackle the film's extreme training regime just so they could parade around in a harness and leather underwear at conventions. Yet that was as extremely unhealthy regime as you can get. When a reporter asked that film's star Gerard Butler if he was able to maintain the workouts, Butler wasted no time saying "No Way!" and stated he missed burgers too much. And yet again here's a bunch of white guys not getting any grief since viewers were too busy drooling.
Hello, Flirty Tab! My ginger boy is also a flirt, and it always winds up being a trap and with my belly-rub hand getting bunny-kicks :).
Minor quibble: Cavill was actually in two Superman movies, if you include “Superman vs Batman”, but I get your point that he’s totally wooden and cannot carry a movie as the lead actor, whereas Hemsworth is so charming I could watch him read a phone book.
Interesting topic today! The rapid weight loss/ muscle gain/ slim down/ build it back up routine that some male action actors put themselves through is something I’ve always cringed at, because I have to believe there is some long term damage being done. And I just don’t think male or female actors should have to look like the whacked-out comic book ideals of human (or Asgardian…) physiology. What happened to Kumail Nanjiani was gross and unacceptable, and your analysis of it is spot on. At the time I couldn’t tell if it was born out of the nerd community thinking he (somehow) betrayed them by getting buff, or the insecurities/jealousy of everyone else. Maybe both.
I wonder if Simi Liu will experience the same type of reaction. I think perhaps not because he was already pretty buff, so the transformation to superhero may not be as surprising (?) to people. I think it's sad that so many people feel the need to express themselves negatively online. Bullying is not subtle, and that's pretty much what such verbal slashing is.
I think an even better parallel to highlight the hypocrisy and racism is comparing Ninjiani to Paul Rudd. He got buffered up as well for Antman and ended up with a slimmer build and result. Yet people drooled and didn't give him crap. The noteworthy part is that Antman did not need to be all toned and buffed.
So thoughtful! I have always been a fan of a buff look with fine guns, but my goodness does Hemsworth’s giant arms look really out of proportion with that tiny waist & hips. ...it looks uncomfortable. I must admit, I had never known until recently how unhealthy the regimen needed to achieve these looks, I’ll definitely consider this in the future.
I agree the backlash against Ninjiani was *crazy* , I agree that it was born of racism and Julie’s point regarding the nerd community & insecurities.
I did find the reaction to Nanjiani's transformation bizarre and it didn't dawn on me at the time that it could be racial but it make sense in a sort of twisted way. It's obvious that a lot of actors who go through this are going through a process that may not be the healthiest (even if they like to say they did it with a doctor/nutritionist). I remember an interview with Alexander Skarsgård about a movie he did and had to get in intense shape for and a story about how his trainer took him out to dinner one night for a pasta dinner as a treat because up to that point it had been all lean fish/meat and veg. And yes, when women do this sort of body transformation thing there's so much trash talking or suspicions as to how they achieved the look and whether or not it was healthy or not. I see comments on some of the skincare channels I follow from folks who want to know how they can change this or change that because they think they are ugly. It's sad because they're comparing themselves to some ideal that in a lot of cases isn't real...
This was really well laid out. I think we definitely need to have the conversation about how it was criticized for Nanjiani and not any of the white dudes. I think it was probably a lot of unconscious bias for a majority of people. Which is why stuff like this pointing it out is super important, to help us do a little self-reflection about our own reactions.
I would like to quibble that I think Cavill is extremely charming in interviews, but somehow it's not getting transferred onscreen. I hated the writing enough in the DC movies to cut him some slack.
I wish we could just go for healthy as possible. Including mentally. That's pretty attractive. But Tab Hunter is still the handsomest of all! How does he do it?
I didn't understand why they gave Ninjiani so much grief for his transformation - people need to just shut up sometimes. It reminds me of when there were all the whispers about Chadwick Boseman's weight loss before anyone knew he was sick - it's shameful. That said - I wonder who is fueling this type of physique to become so popular again? Yes - the Avengers and the X-men certainly played a part - but we had superhero movies before that were popular and the actors didn't look like that.
As a women - I don't even find it attractive. I'm a huge Hugh Jackman fan - I've seen him twice on Broadway and I prefer his thin "Boy From Oz" physique over his Wolverine one. And apparently - so does his wife - from the interviews that I have read. It sounds exhausting to keep up - but we shouldn't hassle anyone if they choose to make that choice.
great article, i have never thought abt the pass that we give guys who do the ripped thing for film- women gets tons and tons of q's if they do an extreme body change/fitness change for a film, and i haven't really paid attention to this discourse re men's bodies. you're totally right!
also tiny quibble but the Asian actress in Star Wars is Kelly Marie Tran, and she plays a character called Rose. I think that was the mixup in names!
The thing that really irks me about the people giving Ninjiani such a hard time is that he didn't get that much bigger-he just got in shape and achieve optimal definition. It's not like he even increased in bulk by 20%. And he's definitely not sporting the same size body as Chris Evans or Pratt.
He fully owns the fact that he achieved his physique with the help of doctors, trainers and a diet all paid for by Marvel. He said he could NOT achieved that on his own and that he was going to do his level best to maintain his form. I recall him getting praise about his honesty about how hard it was to achieve that shape. He also stated that if his body regressed back, there's no way he could start over from scratch on his own.
Further let's go back to 15 years ago and the Snyder film 300 and people went agog about how they got all these actors to be buff and super cut. I know it inspired scores of male costumers to tackle the film's extreme training regime just so they could parade around in a harness and leather underwear at conventions. Yet that was as extremely unhealthy regime as you can get. When a reporter asked that film's star Gerard Butler if he was able to maintain the workouts, Butler wasted no time saying "No Way!" and stated he missed burgers too much. And yet again here's a bunch of white guys not getting any grief since viewers were too busy drooling.
Hello, Flirty Tab! My ginger boy is also a flirt, and it always winds up being a trap and with my belly-rub hand getting bunny-kicks :).
Minor quibble: Cavill was actually in two Superman movies, if you include “Superman vs Batman”, but I get your point that he’s totally wooden and cannot carry a movie as the lead actor, whereas Hemsworth is so charming I could watch him read a phone book.
Interesting topic today! The rapid weight loss/ muscle gain/ slim down/ build it back up routine that some male action actors put themselves through is something I’ve always cringed at, because I have to believe there is some long term damage being done. And I just don’t think male or female actors should have to look like the whacked-out comic book ideals of human (or Asgardian…) physiology. What happened to Kumail Nanjiani was gross and unacceptable, and your analysis of it is spot on. At the time I couldn’t tell if it was born out of the nerd community thinking he (somehow) betrayed them by getting buff, or the insecurities/jealousy of everyone else. Maybe both.
I wonder if Simi Liu will experience the same type of reaction. I think perhaps not because he was already pretty buff, so the transformation to superhero may not be as surprising (?) to people. I think it's sad that so many people feel the need to express themselves negatively online. Bullying is not subtle, and that's pretty much what such verbal slashing is.
I think an even better parallel to highlight the hypocrisy and racism is comparing Ninjiani to Paul Rudd. He got buffered up as well for Antman and ended up with a slimmer build and result. Yet people drooled and didn't give him crap. The noteworthy part is that Antman did not need to be all toned and buffed.
So thoughtful! I have always been a fan of a buff look with fine guns, but my goodness does Hemsworth’s giant arms look really out of proportion with that tiny waist & hips. ...it looks uncomfortable. I must admit, I had never known until recently how unhealthy the regimen needed to achieve these looks, I’ll definitely consider this in the future.
I agree the backlash against Ninjiani was *crazy* , I agree that it was born of racism and Julie’s point regarding the nerd community & insecurities.
I did find the reaction to Nanjiani's transformation bizarre and it didn't dawn on me at the time that it could be racial but it make sense in a sort of twisted way. It's obvious that a lot of actors who go through this are going through a process that may not be the healthiest (even if they like to say they did it with a doctor/nutritionist). I remember an interview with Alexander Skarsgård about a movie he did and had to get in intense shape for and a story about how his trainer took him out to dinner one night for a pasta dinner as a treat because up to that point it had been all lean fish/meat and veg. And yes, when women do this sort of body transformation thing there's so much trash talking or suspicions as to how they achieved the look and whether or not it was healthy or not. I see comments on some of the skincare channels I follow from folks who want to know how they can change this or change that because they think they are ugly. It's sad because they're comparing themselves to some ideal that in a lot of cases isn't real...
Hello Tab Hunter. You are a cute one.
As much as I enjoy Chris Hemsworth this is a bulging arm too far for me.
Thoughtful post about the pass that we do give white actors for this kind of transformation.
Tab Hunter is absolutely adorable
https://www.vulture.com/article/kumail-nanjiani-eternals-profile.html
This was really well laid out. I think we definitely need to have the conversation about how it was criticized for Nanjiani and not any of the white dudes. I think it was probably a lot of unconscious bias for a majority of people. Which is why stuff like this pointing it out is super important, to help us do a little self-reflection about our own reactions.
I would like to quibble that I think Cavill is extremely charming in interviews, but somehow it's not getting transferred onscreen. I hated the writing enough in the DC movies to cut him some slack.
I wish we could just go for healthy as possible. Including mentally. That's pretty attractive. But Tab Hunter is still the handsomest of all! How does he do it?
I didn't understand why they gave Ninjiani so much grief for his transformation - people need to just shut up sometimes. It reminds me of when there were all the whispers about Chadwick Boseman's weight loss before anyone knew he was sick - it's shameful. That said - I wonder who is fueling this type of physique to become so popular again? Yes - the Avengers and the X-men certainly played a part - but we had superhero movies before that were popular and the actors didn't look like that.
As a women - I don't even find it attractive. I'm a huge Hugh Jackman fan - I've seen him twice on Broadway and I prefer his thin "Boy From Oz" physique over his Wolverine one. And apparently - so does his wife - from the interviews that I have read. It sounds exhausting to keep up - but we shouldn't hassle anyone if they choose to make that choice.
Mr. Tab Hunter looks absolutely adorable :)
great article, i have never thought abt the pass that we give guys who do the ripped thing for film- women gets tons and tons of q's if they do an extreme body change/fitness change for a film, and i haven't really paid attention to this discourse re men's bodies. you're totally right!
also tiny quibble but the Asian actress in Star Wars is Kelly Marie Tran, and she plays a character called Rose. I think that was the mixup in names!