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.

Super Size Me explored the fast food industry and how it encourages poor nutrition.

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

considered stopping the experiment. By the end of the experiment he weighed in at 210 pounds and felt terrible, psychically and psychologically. His girlfriend put him on a vegan diet and it took him over six months to lose the weight that he had gained from the experiment. Spurlock’s goal was to inform and spread awareness of obesity throughout America, in which the Surgeon General declared as an “epidemic” and several lawsuits brought against McDonald’s.
Spurlock uses numbers and statistics by using bold and large fonts, which allows viewers to easily pick up information quickly. Spurlock informs us that Mississippi is the fattest state in America where one out of every four people is obese. Since the documentary is based on fast food, mainly the Golden Arches, Spurlock uses a lot of facts about McDonald’s that a lot of people probably don’t know about. “McDonald’s alone has 30,000 joints in 100 countries on 6 continents and serves over 46 million worldwide each day,” claims Spurlock. These statistics provide viewers with a better insight of how fast food can harm your body.
Not only is this documentary full of information, it is also very entertaining.

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

here.
Spurlock’s goal is to persuade his audience that corporations like McDonalds and other fast food restaurants are the main cause for the rising epidemic. Spurlock states that the portion sizes are expanding and fast food restaurants are adding more fattening choices to the menu. When asked to “super size” his meal, Spurlock has to take the biggest portion available and eat all of it. Spurlock makes sure to highlight the number of times he is asked to super size his meal. He also verifies the court case made against McDonald’s. With that being said, it seems that Spurlock’s goal is to bring down the corporation. Spurlock also persuades his audience by interviewing the general surgeon. Though McDonald’s and other fast food places make it easier for people to gain weight and become obese, it is not the main cause. Bringing down a corporation will not stop everyone from eating there. It may be true that McDonald’s and fast food restaurants allow people to gain weight but no one is forcing over-weight people to eat there.
Although McDonald’s and other fast food places are not very healthy or nutritional, they are trying to add healthier choices to the menu. According to McDonald’s Newsroom, “By 2020, McDonald’s will reduce added sugars, saturated fat and calories through varied portion sizes, reformulations and innovations.” They are getting rid of their supersized options like fries, drinks, and sandwiches. Now on the menu are chicken wraps, salads, and apples, which are healthier choices. The Newsroom also states, “The impact will be an estimated 20 percent reduction in calories of the most popular Happy Meals, also reducing fat in those meals. We are also exploring alternatives to the automatic apples, such as other produce or low fat dairy items.” If McDonald’s adds healthier choices on the menu I think it will reduce obesity and make people less likely to eat unhealthy.
Spurlock’s documentary is very persuasive when stating the dangers of eating fast food. There are some things that Spurlock said and did that were very inaccurate. If someone eats McDonald’s for thirty days straight they are prone to get sick. This documentary argues that fast food is not only unhealthy but the leading cause for health problems. Spurlock uses statistics, sarcasm, and persuasion to highlight the issue of obesity.