Filmmaker Faith Pennick's cinema verité documentary takes an inside look at Big Adventures, a SCUBA certification and diving program founded by California therapist/social worker Liz Nickels, catering to a specialized clientele—plus-sized women. Although the medical profession would label her “morbidly obese,” Nickels leads an active life and declares that her cholesterol readings and vital signs are normal, while also pointing out that our appearance-obsessed society tends to marginalize and ignore ample females such as herself. The film follows Nickels and three customers (two have never dived before but are hoping to become certified divers) during a Hawaiian training session and excursion. The large ladies in their cumbersome gear are a striking contrast to svelte bikini girls strolling on the beach, but beneath the crystal waters, the subjects' bulk is no longer an issue, but rather a liberating experience. Usually when a project like this leaves out professionally detached, white-lab-coated observers to expound on the topic at hand, the omission is welcome; but here the material might have been improved by including bariatric physicians or representatives from the mainstream diving community to offer their views on Big Adventures and the function it serves. Nonetheless, this interdisciplinary documentary touching on sports, women's studies, and health is a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)
Weightless
(2010) 39 min. DVD: $50: public libraries & high schools; $225: colleges & universities. New Day Films. PPR. ISBN: 978-1-57448-074-0. Volume 27, Issue 1
Weightless
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