Documentary Analysis: Super Size Me

Danielle Okuly
Professor Annario
English 1100
21 March 2016
I Need A Double Cheeseburger Have you ever realized how much fast food you have consumed in one week? More and more American’s eat out and are paying for it, not only with their wallets but with their waist lines. Throughout the documentary, Spurlock uses several techniques such as statistics, sarcasm, and persuasion to grab viewers’ attention to the issue of obesity and fast food in America. In 2004 the documentary film, Super Size Me, was created by Morgan Spurlock. Spurlock went on a 30-day McDonald’s diet and noticed extreme changes to his body and health, as the time passed. Not only did this diet affect his physical health it changed his psychological well being, as well.

Spurlock ate McDonald’s three times a day, eating every item on the menu at least once. Spurlock knew that he needed serious medical supervision so he got a cardiologist, gastroenterologist, and general practitioner, as well as a nutritionist and personal trainer. Starting out Spurlock weighed in at 185 pounds and had no problems. The doctors ran several medical tests and found that he was in great condition. Spurlock had to follow the specific rules: fully eat three McDonald’s meals per day, consume every item on the menu at least once, must Super Size the meal when offered, and walk about as much as the typical citizen. Throughout the documentary, Spurlock’s health definitely got worse as time went on. He started getting mood swings, depression, and slowly became addicted to eating McDonald’s. One night, Spurlock woke up in the middle of the night because he couldn’t breathe and

He uses sarcastic tones when he states facts. An example is when Spurlock sarcastically stated, “America has the fattest people in the world, congratulations!” While stating this, he uses pictures and videos of obese people sitting down or eating, which could be considered another technique Spurlock uses to prove his point. Spurlock specifically uses these images and clips to show that America is lazy and obese by eating fast foods. Another way Spurlock entertains us is by using songs that make fun of fast food restaurants and those who eat it. At the beginning of the documentary, Spurlock has a scene of children singing “McDonalds, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and a Pizza Hut,” which implies that children even know what fast food restaurants are. In another scene, Spurlock shows obese people sitting and walking while the song “Fat Bottom Girls” is playing in the background. It is obvious what Spurlock is trying to say