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Documentary filmmaker and hero, Morgan Spurlock, created ‘Supersize Me’ to accentuates the dangers of fast food and the consequences upon the human health. Spurlock was inspired by a failed lawsuit of two girls who, attempted to sue McDonalds for their health issues; obesity, hypertension and diabetes. The suit failed as the judge ruled that was no primary evidence their sufficient health issues were caused by eating from McDonalds. Spurlock was inspired to take a stand on behalf of the girls and their families. He conducted an experiment (to eat nothing but McDonalds for a maximum of 30 days) to investigate the impact of fast food on his health. He believed if he could prove it was the cause of his ill health then the girls would have been …show more content…
proved correct. During the documentary, the audience went on the horrendous journey with Spurlock, witnessing the gruesome changes to his body and mental health. In this feature, Spurlock helped prove the two victims, Girl A (aged 14) and also Girl B (aged 19) who both, had serious health issues due to eating fast food, in this case, McDonalds.
Around 1 in 4 Americans are physically, moreover also physiologically unwell due to junk food. However, Multi National Business Mc Donald’s was the highlight Antagonist of the film. Because of this particular company and other fast food chains “America currently has the fattest people in the world. Congratulations!” Stated Spurlock in a sarcastic tone, this sets the mood by getting the audience to feel guilty for what they have done to their own country. The filmmaker made sure to show a disgust side of the antagonist, giving onlookers a side of revulsion of McDonalds, making the audience think the company’s behaviour is absurd. This provided nausea for the audience as the original footage was …show more content…
shocking. As said in an interview after the premiere of the movie, Spurlock thought they were crazy, adding that the company’s response irritated him much more "A spokesman for McDonald's comes on TV and says listen, you can't link our food to these girls being obese.
Our food is healthy, it's nutritious. So I said, well, if it's that good for me, shouldn't I be able to eat it for 30 days straight with no side-effects? To live the all-American diet of over-eating and under-exercising, and be fine?" (The Guardian 2004). The feature provided the audience with shock and disgust. The images used within the documentary revealed were abominable, opening the film with children d who seem young as 7-9, singing about fast food chains such as “Pizza Hut”, “KFC” and also “McDonalds”, watching the children’s facial expressions, it seemed quite normal for the children. This is quite upsetting, as a society we want children to be healthy and make good choices. During the film, shown on the second day, showing an unpleasant sight, he vomits graphically out of his car window, a tilt shot is taken to highlight that Spurlock upchucked, the filmmaker showed the vomit to accentuate the feelings of disgust. In the same interview, he added the footage for the kids (The Guardian 2004), to give those watching, a sense of disgust as seeing something horrendous as that can make one lose their appetite and may not eat fast food again or for a period of
time. Technical language is focused on and this substantiates that the audience believes Spurlock as he is accurate and scientific. The language reflects the outcomes of what McDonalds can do to your body, these words were used to describe the people who were the aftermath of eating out at fast food chains, the purpose of the technical language was to give the audience impact and realize the differences if words such as ‘fat’ were used, technical words draws the attention to the audience, this can make the issue seem more deeply interesting. One of the key items in documentaries are original footage, original footage shows the truth from the filmmakers point of view, giving the audience first hand on the topic, Spurlock uses handheld footage to show the perspective of the body changes that would be happening. Film shots such as mid shots were used when he would have his examination, it shows from torso upwards zoomed out, Spurlock would show disgust by using zoom in shots to show the revulsion of what the food looks like. The filmmaker uses many different types of film shots to express the topic in a way the audience can relate to. Supersize me was a documentary created to prove his experiment revealed the dangers what fast food chains can do to harm the body, his outcome proved positive results of the harm it can cause. The impact of fast food can change your body and mental health. The moral of the documentary is that fast food can seriously affect your body if too much is taken in.
Fast food, while a quick alternative to cooking, has always been known to be less healthy than traditional preparations, but the extent of its health benefits or detriments was not known until a lawsuit came out which inspired documentarian Morgan Spurlock to engage in a 30 day experiment. The resultant documentary specifically targeted McDonald’s, the largest fast food chain in the world, which also happens to be a major recipient of lawsuits linking obesity and their food. Spurlock endeavored to spend a thirty day period eating nothing but food that came from the golden arches, with the rules that he would supersize only when asked, and every time he was asked, and that he would have everything from the menu at least once. In the 2004 film Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock explores the concept that McDonald’s contributes to the nation’s obesity problem through the utilization of statistics and scientific evidence as a logical appeal, comedy and repulsive qualities as an emotional appeal, and s...
McDonald's is one of the multiple fast food restaurants that serve greasy and oversized meals that are harmful to the human body. Throughout a thirty day McDonald's only diet, Spurlock surrounds himself with logos, ethos, and pathos to impact the viewer's opinion on the true cost of eating fast food
The negative representation of Spurlock is revealed in many instances in Fat Head. Firstly, Naughton mirrors Spurlock’s 30-day fast food binge, which he uses as a means of demonstrating the faults in Super Size Me. Another error the director analyses is Spurlock’s daily consumption of more than 5000 calories. By displaying the calculations on the side on screen as Naughton’s criticises the errors, the director accentuates the fact that none of the meal combinations that Spurlock could consume contain 5000 calories. He also manages to construct Spurlock as sinful, dishonest person, which is symbolised by the red background. While Naughton explains his calculations, the lyric ‘Something here doesn’t seem to add up’ is played in the background. This song works together perfectly with Naughton’s commentary of Spurlock’s errors, since it further emphasises the director’s biased argument, that is, Spurlock is a prevaricator. This ensemble of v...
America has always been about being the biggest nation: the biggest houses, the biggest cars, biggest cities and unfortunately the biggest bodies. There is no doubt that fast food is causing major health problems for many Americans today. In his documentary, Super Size Me, released in 2004 Morgan Spurlock decides to eat only food from McDonald’s for thirty days to see how it would affect his health. Spurlock starts out healthier than the average man for his age. Throughout the film, we can see that his health gradually degenerates and reaches a critical point, before his thirty days are over. Super Size Me is very persuasive in showing the negative effect in fast food restaurants by using logos, pathos, and ethos.
While the film Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock replicates the eating habits of what he believes are “average” americans, Fat Head by Tom Naughton on the other hand dives in deeper into the physiology behind the ingestion of food and replicates a more believable eating habit of an average American. Both films try to teach people about nutrition and change issues about either the government or companies such as McDonald’s, however one film proves to be more accurate and honest out of the both films. Fat Head not only disproves Morgan Spurlock’s film, but also shows how the government has been lying to all the American consumers the whole time by showing what professionals know about nutrition and showing facts to support his claims.
Super Size Me begins with Director and actor Morgan Spurlock being 32 years of age at the time of filming in 2003. Spurlock is recorded as being physically above average, which is attested to by several doctors as well as a nutritionist and a personal trainer. He asks these professional to track his health and wellness during the “McDiet”. Spurlock’s McDiet is a test where he will eat only food from McDonald’s for thirty days to see how it would affect his health. Throughout the filming of Super Size Me, Spurlock’s health g steadily degenerates until it eventually reaches a state of critical danger for himself, even before the experimental thirty days have concluded. While Spurlock is testing his McDiet, he also investigates further into particular
We must do something about fast food products, to stop from affecting children and leading them to obesity. Is what reflect David Barboza’s article “If You Pitch It, They Will Eat.” School’s, Parent’s, Policy Makers, etc… Should take the lead in this action, by reducing many unhealthy food products from school’s, store’s, and place’s close to home. There should be limit’s that stop’s food companies from promoting themselves as appealing when in reality their food products are a hazard to our bodies. As Barboza states in his article “There is a need to set specific standards on what is marketed to children…” we are in agreement that, what ever kids see on T.V. or being marketed, they want it!
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 Morgan can't eat it.
This documentary takes a look at how our school’s lunch programs and government play a role in the spread of obesity across the nation. The film really attempts to drive home the idea that our children are being immorally brainwashed into wanting unhealthy foods. At some points of the film, it appears that the director uses big companies and school lunches as a scapegoat for our nations crisis. It is a valid point that our nation’s children are being
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 to help viewers know the risks of fast food and how it has caused America to be the world's “fattest country”.
Many people in America love to get greasy, high calorie fast food from many places such as McDonalds and its competitors, but in the article “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko, he reveals the health problems associated with these fatty, salty meals. His articles are affective with its well organized layout, rhetorical appeals and tone which give it a very convincing argument. As you read through the article the author reveals the underlying problems with eating fast food and how there are no warnings of such problems posted. As a former obese child who grew up to diet and watch what he ate he sets a credible stance for the argument.
In the documentary Killer at Large, former Surgeon General Richard Carmona remarked that “Obesity is a terror within. It’s destroying our society from within and unless we do something about it, the magnitude of the dilemma will dwarf 9/11 or any other terrorist event that you can point out…” Carmona is indeed right, with the rapid increase of obese children, America is on the fast track to producing a generation with a life expectancy shorter than their peers. One of the main factor is the media representation of obesity (Greenstreet 2008). In today’s society parents are not only worrying about televisions influence on their kid’s behavior but their weight and health, too. According to study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, that researched the role of media in childhood obesity, stated the obesity increased by 2% for every hours of television in adolescent’s ages 12 to 17. The advertisement of food and beverages present a very strong influence on the children. Most of the products being advert...
Crouse, Janice Shaw. "The Fast-Food Industry Intentionally Markets Unhealthy Food to Children." Fast Food. Ed. Tracy Brown Collins. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.
... food would be good for them, and they could eat this without having to second guess themselves. However, something like this documentary comes and shows that in reality McDonalds does not care if we get fat or incur future health problems. They will still get their money either way. This documentary could be used as an eye opener to educate the youth on how nutrition and working out can lead to a longer life span, less health problems, and stronger bones. I fully support this documentary and everything it shows; it can lead to a healthier future and Americans should this use chance to make a healthier tomorrow. Super-Size Me gives a detailed look behind the scenes at the biggest fast food chain in the world, and gives the audience a cautionary look at the future.
One example of how the food industry is ruthless is when one of the CEOs of a fast-food chain states they are part of the problem is hired immediately. Though I don’t not find this wrong because if I was a stock-holder with my life savings invested within his company I would without a doubt have him fired for placing my money at risk. That is the harsh reality of economics, you cannot place you company in shock by either a damaging statement or bad executive move. I found most disturbing about the movie was how a case was being made against McDonalds that two obese teens did not know fast-food was unhealthy (Spurlock). Regardless of how they lived word of mouth had to have taught them fast food is not healthy, and if that didn’t health education has been in place for years now teaching us