Warning: This article contains content which may be triggering to some people
A new Netflix teen drama is set to create more controversy for the streaming service with it focus on recovery from severe anorexia and body dysmorphia.
The trailer for To The Bone was released today, giving a look at lead actress Lily Collins playing a young, anorexic woman reluctantly entering a treatment program for her last chance at survival, where she bonds with others battling eating disorders.
Written and directed by Marti Noxon, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it was bought by Netflix for a reported US$8 million.
Following the trailer's release, users of prominent online anorexia recovery board MPA posted their fears over the triggering nature of the film.
"Personally, I believe it will be hella triggering but I am definitely going to watch it... Hopefully, no one will be triggered like I was when I watched 13 Reasons Why when they watch To The Bone," one commenter wrote.
"I just saw the trailer on Facebook and was about to make a post, omfg i am so incredibly triggered," said another.
Noxon, who directed the last seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and UnREAL, says To the Bone is based on her own experiences with eating disorders and recovery.
"What I'm trying to do is bring understanding and compassion to an issue that touches way more people than we realise," she wrote in a blog post after the movie's premiere.
"And I want more people to talk about how much food and body image affect men and women and keep us from loving the moment we're in."
Blind Side actress Collins also has spoken publicly about her own struggles with eating disorders in the past. The 28-year-old was under medical supervision as she lost a significant amount of weight for the part, according to a report by People magazine.
However, Collins told Refinery29 earlier this year that while it was a "scary process", it was "incredibly rewarding".
"It was something that I thought is risky, because there's a fine line between facing something head-on and succeeding, or falling back into it. But I knew that, this time, I would be held accountable for it," she said.
"I would be [losing weight] under the supervision of a nutritionist and surrounded by all these amazing women on set. So, I knew that I would be in a safe environment to explore this."
Netflix already copped controversy this year for releasing 13 Reasons Why, a series about a teen girl who takes her own life and blames her classmates. It featured graphic scenes of suicide and rape and became the only show to be given an RP18 rating by NZ Classification office, due to fears over triggering.
- NZ classification office gives 13 Reasons Why an RP18 rating
- Teen suicide show 13 Reasons Why defended as outcry rages
To The Bone will premiere on Netflix on July 14.
Where to get help:
Lifeline: 0800 543 354
EDANZ: 0800 2 EADNZ or (09) 5222679
Newshub.
