the ultimate underdog

lately, i haven't really felt the urge to blog. but while i was watching tv tonight ( ANTM & Glee) i had this sudden realization that the thematic element of the "underdog" was being thrown in my face. maybe it's the recession. ANTM's season was devoted to short models. Glee's episode was all about the underdog: the gay, the handicapped, the mentally challenged, the dumb jock, etc. but what really got me were the commercials for two upcoming movies.

precious & the blindside

warning: i am about to write something that may be viewed as completely absurd.

after watching multiple commercials for these two movies, in between the hour long avatar commercial (james cameron: are your metaphors supposed to be that obvious?), i realized that there seems to be an ultimate underdog in american cinema and maybe pop culture.


the poor youngish black person, wait, correct that, the poor youngish black overweight person.

can someone explain this to me? honestly. because i really can't pin point why exactly poor fat black people produce more tearjerkers than poor people of any race. seriously. and it feels like the more obese they are, the more tragic their story has to be. do you know how much i've cried just watching these previews.  slumdog millionare can't compete with this shit.

maybe this is an extension or combination of the: "mystical negro" and "whatever you would call the opposite of the sassy black friend" trope in films (google it). it's ironic that this comes from the same society that constantly tells us that we need to be thin.

and for those who think this idea is absurd here are some examples:
-effie in dreamgirls
-michael oher in the blindside
-precious in precious
-oprah (when she was coming up)
edit: bubba-forest gump; that dude in the green mile

also note that 3/4 of these examples are (based on) true stories. i am not sure if that is a factor or not.

i'm going to go research this now to see if anyone has actually looked into this idea.