I am just refining a chapter on Paraíso ¿Cuánto pesa el amor? (Mariana Chenillo, 2013). It’s currently available in the UK and Ireland on Netflix as Paraíso [Paradise]. Dark humour characterises Chenillo’s approach. The women in her films have non-standard and disruptive bodies that present challenges to the social constructions of wellness and women’s agency.
Paraíso ¿Cuánto pesa el amor? is an adaptation of a short story about a couple, Carmen (Daniela Rincón) and Alfredo (Andrés Almeida), who move from the suburbs of Mexico City to a middle class neighbourhood. Both start out proudly fat and, isolated and feeling pressured by the metropolitan elite, they have to decide whether losing weight is the route to happiness. It is affecting and largely uplifting. I read it with reference to Ignacio Sánchez Prado’s (2014) work on neoliberalism and Mexican film and I draw on some of the cultural studies work carried out on fatness.
While research this it has been interesting to find the digital traces of Daniela Rincón, the writer of the short story, Julieta Arévalo, and the Music supervisor, Lynn Fainchtein. Paraíso ¿Cuánto pesa el amor? is Daniela Rincón only role in film. Subsequently, she has moved into the online wellness blogosphere as a blogger and vlogger. Her ‘About me’ section gives a sense of her personal philosophy and reasons for communicating with others on this topic:
Tomé la decisión de adentrarme en el mundo del Body Positive y trabajar en mi alimentación y mi condición física. De eso han pasado casi 20 kilos, un Canal de Youtube y la identificación con miles de mujeres que, al igual que yo, quieren amar a su cuerpo tal y cual es y trabajar para encontrar su salud sin importar la apariencia física. (http://www.danielarincon.com/)
[I decided to get into Body Positivism and work on my diet and fitness. Since then I’ve said goodbye to 20 kilos, created a YouTube channel, and have connected with thousands of women who, like me, want to love their bodies as they are and work to find health without worrying about their how they look. Translation mine]
In my chapter I reflect on the relevance of her online persona and how it can inform our reading of the role in Paraíso ¿Cuánto pesa el amor?.
Julieta Arévalo is a little known writer who appears to only have one book of short stories, Paraíso y otro cuentos incómodos [Paradise and Other Uncomfortable Stories]. She can also be found via an old LinkedIn profile and, from what I can verify, as the winner of an award to travel around New Zealand. Curiously, it’s difficult to be totally sure of this last detail. I would love if it were.
The final person is Lynn Fainchtein. She’s an experienced music supervisor with a well-developed page intended for those looking to employ her. It is finessed, professional, detailed, and helped me understand her trajectory given the few interviews that have been published with her.
This brief insight gives a sense of the different online interventions and the distinct online labour required of them as creative workers in the film industry and elsewhere.