"I need to know that I have done one thing right with my life!" the protagonistMain character. sobs. It is a devastating scene in a film which tries to represent an experience rarely treated sensitively on screen: obesity.

The Whale centres around a morbidly obeseFor adults, obesity is defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more. A BMI of 25 or more is classed as overweight. English teacher, Charlie, trying to reconnect with his adolescent daughter.

Often, overweight people are treated as an object of mockery in films or their characters are badly written. Director Darren Aronofsky claims that The Whale was intended to humanise people who suffer with obesity.

But the critics have been unsparing. One accused the director of treating Charlie as an "unsightly object of pity", while writer Roxane Gay described it as "exploitative and at times cruel".

Most of all, the film has been described as "fatphobic". It is a term increasingly popular. Specialists describe fatphobia as more casualised than other forms of discrimination, although it is all around us.

Studies show that people who are fat are more likely to face bullying, to have their health problems dismissed by doctors, and to be convicted by juries. In the workplace, overweight people are hired less, have a lower average salary, and receive fewer promotions.

One study even suggests that for every six pounds gained by an American woman, her hourly rate of pay drops by 2%.

Where have these views come from? Beauty standards change century by century. Oldest records show that our first beauty standard was larger bodies, but since then different eras have turned body size into a continually changing trend.

Some say this proves that no single body size is "right". Yet there is still a startling ignorance about the many effects of fatphobia.

"Stories have an impact. They contribute to perception," Roxane Gay says. But telling them in the right way is harder than it may seem.

Yes: The important thing is that obesity is being dealt with on screen. People with obesity are often treated as invisible in the media and this representation could be a step towards featuring more of their stories.

No: Perhaps if the film had been more humanising, it could have touched on some important issues with sensitivity. However, this film did not hit the mark and has probably done more harm than good.

Or... We should not be looking to films at all to get rid of fatphobia. Each of us needs to work on our own individual prejudices and on campaigning to stop people with obesity from being discriminated against.