'I'M a Child Anorexic' Documentary Analysis
‘I’m a child anorexic’- Review by Georgia Morris
‘I’m a child anorexic’ is a documentary taking an in-depth look at a clinic called Rhodes Farm, working to help adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder in which people fear and witness an unrealistic weight gain, leading to self-starvation and a large distortion of body image. Victims will limit their food intake to extreme and life threatening levels. ‘Anorexia is the most life threatening of psychiatric illness’, left untreated one in five will die’. Rhodes Farm has an intake of 30 to 35 girls the youngest being 12 years of age. This mixed narrated documentary leads its readers into the dark issues of this deadly disease. Confronting but motivating ‘I’m a child anorexic’ puts into perspective a child’s mind and issues children are faced with today.
The director of ‘I’m a child anorexic’ uses observation in order to communicate every day life at Rhodes Farm. Observation is when a scene in the documentary is filmed, pretending the camera is not actually there. By capturing what is usually unseen and making it still appear that way, viewers are truly able to understand and connect with a situation. The camera observes the girls at meal times; the audience sees how staff speaks to the girls about how to eat their food. Also close ups of the girls faces show their emotion toward meal times, highlighting the struggle and the disgust they have for food. This may be something that viewers cannot fully understand, but they learn to sympathize for the girls.
This documentary also uses the feature of interview, from both the girls and the staffs’ perspective. Interview is almost self-explanatory in that subjects of the documentary answer questions communicating individual points of you on the topic. This creates a contrast between how these two groups feel about the disease and the healing process. One of the staff members of Rhodes Farm speaks about when girls flatly
‘I’m a child anorexic’ is a documentary taking an in-depth look at a clinic called Rhodes Farm, working to help adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder in which people fear and witness an unrealistic weight gain, leading to self-starvation and a large distortion of body image. Victims will limit their food intake to extreme and life threatening levels. ‘Anorexia is the most life threatening of psychiatric illness’, left untreated one in five will die’. Rhodes Farm has an intake of 30 to 35 girls the youngest being 12 years of age. This mixed narrated documentary leads its readers into the dark issues of this deadly disease. Confronting but motivating ‘I’m a child anorexic’ puts into perspective a child’s mind and issues children are faced with today.
The director of ‘I’m a child anorexic’ uses observation in order to communicate every day life at Rhodes Farm. Observation is when a scene in the documentary is filmed, pretending the camera is not actually there. By capturing what is usually unseen and making it still appear that way, viewers are truly able to understand and connect with a situation. The camera observes the girls at meal times; the audience sees how staff speaks to the girls about how to eat their food. Also close ups of the girls faces show their emotion toward meal times, highlighting the struggle and the disgust they have for food. This may be something that viewers cannot fully understand, but they learn to sympathize for the girls.
This documentary also uses the feature of interview, from both the girls and the staffs’ perspective. Interview is almost self-explanatory in that subjects of the documentary answer questions communicating individual points of you on the topic. This creates a contrast between how these two groups feel about the disease and the healing process. One of the staff members of Rhodes Farm speaks about when girls flatly