Contrary to the popular belief of the time, Morgan Spurlock’s amateur documentary “Supersize Me” pushed reform in both fast food culture, and eating habits of citizens, being one of the first catalysts in a new movement in America. This 2004 film, being the first of his works to establish Spurlock as a filmmaker, focuses on Spurlock’s 30 day journey in which he vowed to eat solely McDonalds for three meals a day, and track his overall mental, physical, and social changes over this span of time. Throughout the film, Spurlock consults three doctors (a gastroenterologist, a cardiologist, and a general practitioner) as well as a nutritionist to monitor physical change and gather quantitative data supporting his claim. The film often exhibited …show more content…
Although this movie has both persuasive pros as well as large flaws, I feel that the overall idea that there was/is a desperate need for reform in all aspects of the food industry was successfully conveyed, and, at least in my opinion, is also an easy thesis to agree …show more content…
For the most part, the straight forward thesis used multiple successful techniques for it’s support. One of these tactics being Spurlock’s combination of different filming styles. He utilizes a large range of film techniques from factual, statistical data to interactive, cartoon-style animations and pop-culture soundtracks. Spurlock also often interviews a multitude of different people, films his own “home-video” style shots from in his car or apartment, and even show clips of an open liposuction surgery to broaden his targeted audience, and appeal to the average person . With each additional film style Spurlock adds to his final product, he is adding new views on the same issue; that change needs to come and reforms need to be made. Thus bringing me to my next thought. This film does an exceptional job at indicating that much of these unhealthy options are coming from increased advertising. Though to some it may seem as though Spurlock is only targeting McDonalds, he is really arguing that unhealthy choices are flooding our culture, not only for the adults, but also the youth through a profound amount of advertising. Everything from commercials on T.V. with fun characters and catchy jingles to large, flashy billboards, Spurlock suggests that this has a large impact on many people. And as A. O. Scott says in his review of the movie, “anyone
"Type 2 diabetes used to only affect adults, now it is affecting children in epidemic proportions" The use of such logos was very effective in getting the viewer to think and sway to agreeing with Kenner. After this scene where he spoke of the facts and statistics on obesity I found myself thinking about where big food corporations came along and contributed to the epidemic of child hood obesity. The multiple facts used in this film really get the viewer to contemplate the grim reality of having a corrupt, unhealthy, and careless food system in place.
Supersize Me is a movie where Morgan who goes on a diet for 30 days with McDonald's only. His health deteriorates throughout the 30 days of eating McDonalds only. His doctors was wrong with the outcomes of Morgan’s health. His health decrease dramatically after his diet. Not only his health decrease dramatically, his relationship with people decrease too. His emotions vary sometimes throughout the month.
Morgan Spurlock decided to make this documentary to investigate the fast food companies, and the effects of certain fast food chains products, particularly McDonalds, on the health of society. This Documentary explores the United States growing epidemic of obesity and diabetes as well. Morgan decides to eat nothing but McDonald's food for thirty days. He must eat one of everything on the menu at least once, and when asked to super size his meal he must do so. Another stipulation of Morgan's experiment is that he can only take 5,000 steps a day to replicate the exercise that most average Americans get on a daily basis. He must also eat three meals a day, no exceptions and if McDonalds doesn't serve it
Fast food is unhealthy and does not provide the necessary nutrients needed for a daily diet, however Mcdonald's, a fast food empire claimed in a 2004 lawsuit against them that fast food can be a part of a healthy diet. The court ruled that the plaintiffs would have a serious claim if they could prove that eating fast food for every meal is dangerous for the person and their health. Morgan Spurlock, writer, director, producer, and star of 2004 documentary Supersize Me set out to prove that fast food is dangerous for a person's health. The documentary follows Morgan on his 30 day challenge of only eating fast food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Through Morgan's challenge his weight skyrockets, his health declines and feels terrible all the time. Many people believe that fast food companies are to blame for America's obesity but the individual must take responsibility for what they put into their bodies instead of blaming fast food companies for their unhealthy eating habits .The documentary explores the idea that people should avoid eating fast food because Fast food, although more convenient and easier is worse for you than making your own meals. Fast food leads to many health risks and is not a good substitution for traditional meals. People should avoid eating
I am so ashamed that I had not known most of the information that was shared in Food, Inc. I definitely agree that we need to have a policy change regarding our food, it should be cheaper to buy carrots than chips at the grocery store. I, like many college students, want to eat healthy but it is expensive and most of us are on a “ramen budget”. There also needs to be tighter laws regarding the illnesses that can come from improper handling of the meat and crops. I believe that there needs to be a huge change in the agricultural world, the farmers should not have to be scared of losing money or being sued because of big companies, such as Monsanto. The huge companies are going to be making money no matter what without much work. Whereas a farmer puts in work day in and day out and sadly they do not make much money. I also believe that the film had an extremely negative outlook on how modern farming practices in agriculture are. I believe that Food, Inc. focused on the negative outlook of modern farming but did not mention about the different practices or how they have also positively impacted our
There has been a strong concern, however, that unhealthy fast-food has been served and advertised at cafeteria in public schools nationwide and legislation against serving and promoting these foods may be necessary to solve the problem. Schlosser revealed in his book ten years ago that “nation’s food chains are marketing their products in public schools” (Schlosser 52) and points out that “about 30 percent of the public high schools in the United States offer branded fast food” (Schlosser 56). In Super Size Me, the director and performer Morgan Spurlock also shows that many public schools serve innutritious fast food at cafeteria (Super Size Me). In 2005, the Institute of Medicine recommends
McDonald’s is killing Americans, at least that is what Morgan Spurlock believes. In his documentary Super Size Me he embarks on a quest to not only describe and use himself as an example of the growing obesity trend, but to offer the viewers with base-line nutritional knowledge that will allow them to draw their own informed conclusions. Spurlock's primary intention is to prove through self-experimentation that eating solely McDonald's food is dangerous. His secondary intention is to denounce the rising obesity rate in American by using statistics, his own research, and the opinions of experts. His broader message is for a general audience while he tailors select chapters towards more specific demographics such as parents or McDonald's
The viewers were able to witness the pain that he was going through and the emotional toll the challenge had on him. Spurlock told Newsweek when the film was released, “My body just basically falls apart over the course of this diet.” (Lambert, 2004). It was also effectively shown in the documentary how Spurlock’s relationship and sexual intimacy with his girlfriend was affected by the challenge, so again, the viewers were able to feel the emotion that he was feeling. As if these were not enough, the documentary also showed how being overweight can have such a big impact on people’s lives as there are around 400,000 deaths associated with obesity illnesses annually (Spurlock, 2004). Spurlock was effective in appealing to viewers when he stated that diabetes is now more common in children every year as a result of fast food and the numbers will just keep rising if nothing is done to stop
Morgan Spurlock’s motivation to create his documentary emerged from a certain court case, in which two teenage girls sued McDonald's for selling them products that resulted in them being obese for their age group (Spurlock). McDonald’s testimony stated that the girls could not fully prove that it was the McDonald’s product that were making them overweight and that eating their products for every meal would be seemingly dangerous (Spurlock). Spurlock to this statement into his owns hands and a decided to conduct a month long experiment, in which he would go on a thirty-day long binge of McDonald’s food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to prove if and how fast food can make a person obese (Spurlock). It is well known within the general public that fast food in not a healthy option for a meal but for many, fast food is the only
Spurlock subjected himself to eat a three time day McDonald’s meal for thirty days without exercising to prove why obesity is an epidemic in America. Throughout the
For the previous couple decades, Americans have been misled by the government and health professionals, who were implementing inaccurate dietary standards that led to the promotion of certain items as “healthy”, has actually resulted in a nationwide obesity epidemic of vast proportions. This unprecedented surge in obesity has affected everybody from children in elementary schools, to retired seniors, and has contributed to the single largest rise in diseases, the world has ever known. Obesity has actually reached the number two cause of preventable death in the United States (Healthaliciousness), thus created the first generation of children ever in history which is predicted to have a shorter lifespan than their parents. The documentaries Fed Up and Forks over Knives are both in support of creating a healthier America for all individuals. Although they both share a similar concept on how fast-food is extremely harmful, but both take quite different approaches to support their claim. In the documentary Fed Up, Stephanie Soechtig allows us to follow the lives of four families who are struggling with a childhood obesity problem. Throughout the film she has various “experts” express their opinions to help combat the epidemic, but their selection of “experts” is mainly through politicians, political leaders, and journalist, but not so much on nutritional scientist. On the other hand,
Spurlock’s appeal to logos shows the audience the severity of obesity with fact based information from doctors and professionals, research studies, and shows the counter arguments being made. With his film, Spurlock hopes to inspire change among people who eat fast food, the fast food companies who manipulate their customers, and create a healthier country with less preventable
The filmmakers deliver a compelling analysis which brazenly divulges that our food industry is not what it seems. Many Americans take pride in the idea that their government works in their best
In a society that is facing numerous problems, such as economic devastation, one major problem is often disregarded, growing obesity. As the American society keeps growing, so does growth of the fast food industry and the epidemic of obesity. In order to further investigate the main cause of obesity, Morgan Spurlock, the film director and main character, decides to criticize the fast food industry for its connection with obesity in America. In his documentary Spurlock performs a radical experiment that drives him to eat only from McDonald's and order a super-sized meal whenever he is asked. By including visual and textual techniques, rhetorical appeals, and argumentative evidences, Morgan Spurlock was able
In 2003 Morgan Spurlock launched on an experiment of sorts to fully understand the effects that fast food, in this case specifically McDonald’s food can have on one’s physiological and mental health by eating nothing but McDonald’s food for thirty days. Before embarking on this quest, Spurlock visited a general practitioner, a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist, a dietician, and an exercise specialist. He began his McDonald’s journey with exceptional health, by the end of the thirty days he had suffered serious health consequences both physically and mentally. From an addiction to McDonald’s food to a major increase in cholesterol levels there is no doubt that Spurlock’s health greatly declined in the month long period. Spurlock documented his journey in a film entitled Supersize Me, which has served as a call to action for the years since its release.