Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson made headlines a few days ago after receiving a standing ovation in Venice for his latest film, The Smashing Machine.
However, the standing ovation took a back seat to Dwayne’s physical transformation. The actor is a mountain of a man, so large that accusations of steroid use have haunted him for decades.
So, imagine everyone’s surprise when he sauntered onto the red carpet in Venice, 30 or so kilograms lighter. Dave Bautista’s recent transformation was even more drastic. The 56-year-old was barely recognizable after shedding an estimated 75kg.
One assumes that Dwayne has adopted Dave’s philosophy of dieting and training for longevity as opposed to appearance. You can’t maintain Dave or Dwayne’s previous physiques without consuming thousands of calories daily and dedicating hours to intense training.
The human body has a limit to the amount of strain it can absorb and recover from as it ages. Or maybe Dwayne’s role in The Smashing Machine demanded the physical transformation. Either way, the actor’s appearance in Venice has sparked that tired debate about Hollywood and the unrealistic body standards it continues to perpetuate, primarily because The Rock’s weight loss has threatened to overshadow the reaction to his latest film.
Carrie Fisher once took issue with Disney for asking her to lose weight for The Force Awakens. She added her voice to the bizarre argument that Hollywood had created unrealistic beauty standards for women.
Feminists worldwide have kept that conversation going for decades. Hollywood applies those unrealistic beauty standards to everyone, not just women. More importantly, Hollywood is not trying to represent reality. Movies are fiction.
Studios are building appealing fantasies for the masses to enjoy. And the masses like beautiful people. Why do you think you have seen so many posters of Chris Evans posing with a techno phone all over Kampala?
Some lady somewhere will buy a techno phone because they can’t stop drooling over the actor. Hollywood is merely feeding your body’s basest desires. They know that audiences are more likely to visit their local cinema if they cast Ana de Armas in a film.
It is also worth noting that Hollywood’s biggest actors have repeatedly admitted that their physical transformations are not realistic for normal people. Christian Bale survived on black coffee and an apple for months to prepare for The Machinist.
Patrick McElhenney from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia adopted a routine that involved sleeping nine hours, running three miles a day, lifting weights six days a week, and avoiding food after 7pm.
He also noted that a studio paid for the seven-month undertaking. Kumail Nanjiani made a similar admission. After gaining significant muscle for Eternals, the comedian pointed out that his transformation was only possible because Disney paid first-class chefs and trainers to get him in shape. He did nothing but eat well and train for months.
Henry Cavill was dehydrating himself for hours at a time, and then doing dozens of push-ups in the seconds before stepping in front of a camera to shoot minute-long scenes. In other words, he does not look like that on most days.
Therefore, don’t berate yourself because you have tried and failed to look like your favourite celebrity. Most of you have neither the time nor resources to reshape your bodies, and those who do, should be ready to invest years of hard work.
Doctors will tell you that the drastic physical transformations celebrities undergo within weeks and months are not healthy. Don’t allow the fiction you see in movies to warp your understanding of health and nutrition. Remember that your favourite celebrities are selling you a fantasy. The sooner you learn to differentiate between fact and fiction, the happier you will be.
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