But Dewey’s gradual transformation into a better, more self-aware version of himself is wholly divorced from his fat, which remains on his person, as permanent as his love of Black Sabbath. Fat can’t be a sign of sloth and self-indulgence if it remains when those characteristics disappear. More importantly, Dewey’s successful performance at the Battle of the Bands, where he careens and showboats all over the stage, proves that rock need not be attached to a scrawny, screeching rock-monkey aesthetic but can come in any size.

Inkoo Kang’s 2013 article for Badass Digest looks at fat tropes, specifically with regards to its chubby protagonist rocker Finn (Jack Black), in Richard Linklater’s 2003 comedy School of Rock.  It’s a short piece; one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog is because, after reading it, I very much wanted the conversation to continue.