Agency to Autophagy: Exploring the Representation of Eating Disorders in Swallow and In My Skin

Abstract

Disordered eating has become a common trope in film, television, and literature, and it is often associated with the horror genre.  Both Marina de Van's In My Skin (2002) and Carlo Mirabella-Davis's Swallow (2019) explore eating disorders characterized by a lack of personal agency and control.  Although these films' female protagonists react to their respective situations in differing ways, the films offer viewers a vicarious experience immersed in the symbology of disordered eating.  Employing scholarship from a variety of fields, including film studies, eating disorder research, and body horror theory, this study addresses the phenomenon as represented in both films.  The behaviors of Esther in In My Skin demonstrate an experience of bodily mutilation deeply connected to that of those suffering from eating disorders; those of Hunter in Swallow display similar elements, though differences abound in her "style" of disordered eating.  Ultimately, lack of agency and control are the catalysts for both characters' bouts of disordered eating, as evidenced through their careers (or lack thereof), their male relationships, and their female relationships.  These elements reveal that lack of bodily awareness and disassociation, particularly in moments of consumption, can lead to disordered eating behaviors.