As Steven Spielberg once said, "documentaries are the greatest way to educate an entire generation" (Azevedo, 2013). In Morgan Spurlock's documentary Super Size Me, audiences are informed and shown the dangers of consuming fast food everyday. Spurlock has a camera follow him for one month as he consumes McDonalds for each meal thus exposing one to the unhealthy affects of the lifestyle. Relying on images, interviews, and statistics the viewers are informed of how processed fast foods begin to affect people starting from a young age. This documentary style film shapes the perception of the spectator through the use of visual and narrative techniques.
Morgan Spurlock's film Super Size Me is representative of the idealized version of film known as documentary style due to its formal properties and structure. As the film begins the audience is shown a group of children singing about turkey, fried chicken, Pizza Hut, and McDonalds. The camera unsteadily pans out allowing one to instantly see that it is being filmed on a hand-held camera. Much like the first scene, the doctors appointments, trips to McDonalds, and interviews are all taped though a "hand-held camera [with] live synchronized sound" (Cornell, Lecture #12).
Before Spurlock begins his month long McDonalds only diet the viewers are presented with the reason behind the experiment. His "position in regards to the subject" of fast food takes into consideration world statistics on obesity (Cornell, Lecture #12). Various facts and figures are read off to viewers through voice over narration as they watch multiple shots of obese men, women, and children. The audience learns that 100 million people in the United States are either overweight or obese, every one out of four America...
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...use of visual and narrative techniques. Spurlock has a hand-held camera follow him around for one month as he goes on a strict "McDiet" in which he only eats and drinks items sold by McDonalds. As a documentary, Super Size Me, incorporates many different elements of the style including filming people in uncontrolled situations, removing biases, and provoking responses. The film manages to reach out to a wide range of viewers as it reports and informs them of the dangers of eating fast food regularly.
Works Cited
Azevedo, Luís. "20 Stephen Spielberg Quotes on Film." N.p., 2013. Web. 14 Dec. 2013. .
Cornell, Julian. "Lecture #12: Cinema Véritè: Documentary As A Style." PowerPoint presentation.
Super Size Me. Dir. Morgan Spurlock. Perf. Morgan Spurlock. Roadside Attractions, 2004.
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
...lly has a critic. To strengthen the arguments and persuade viewers to their side of the debate, film makers tend to present only one side of the story. Specific placement of an object, the choice of words and the selection of scenes are possible elements that could be woven into documentaries to shape viewers’ perspectives on certain issues. Fat Head is a great case in point, which is likely to convert some public opinion about the ideology of healthy eating. Documentaries may contain biases that mislead the viewers; presenting ‘facts’ but perhaps not revealing the entire picture. Therefore, in a sense, documentaries can be truthful, but also fallacious. It is imperative to evaluate the techniques used in documentaries, in order to distinguish readily from what is fantasy. It could be concluded that Fat Head and Super Size Me are two version of the same reality.
Documentary films have become a very popular in the last few years with the success of Michael Moore’s films fueling interest to learn while being entertained. Two filmmakers have benefited from this new interest in the non-fiction film movement, including directors Morgan Spurlock and Lee Fulkerson. The two filmmakers both made documentaries regarding healthy eating, or the lack thereof, in North America. Spurlock’s film, Super Size Me was about a healthy man who wanted to see what would happen to his body if he ate nothing but items from McDonalds for an entire month. On the other hand, Fulkerson’s Forks Over Knives is about a man on a quest to improve his health by consuming a plant and whole food based diet only. Despite the differences in their respective journeys the films of Spurlock and Fulkerson both combine several modes of documentary cinema including, the expository mode's use of narration, reflexive mode's use of the filmmakers on screen presence and the participatory mode in that they are both on a personal, and thus relatable, quest for knowledge.
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
Obesity and opposition are the two main issues of this film. The issue of obesity, treated lightly in the beginning of the film and then severely by the end, reflects society’s approach to weight loss. To ...
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.
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 themselves.
Hungry for Change is a thought provoking documentary produced by James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch that delves into the implications of eating a modern diet. Using pathos, facts and figures, and association, Hungry for Change delivers a meritorious performance that engages viewers and leaves them questioning their own diet and lifestyle choices. The film’s use of rhetorical and advertising strategies and its ability to captivate viewers make this an effective, life changing documentary.
However, the image displayed in the Time Magazine's September 30th 2002 issue, is an image that is hard to decipher and, most importantly, is an image that is hardly a likeness to the icons imprinted in the minds of fast food lovers across the nation. The catchy illustration invades an article tentatively titled, "Can McDonald's Shape Up?" The cartoon portrays an obscenely rotund Ronald McDonald pacing stressfully on a treadmill. The editorial cartoon is not for everyone to understand, yet it still seems to be generally humorous in its own context. At first glance, the cartoon seemingly pokes fun at the growing obesity in America. This observation is perhaps due to the rewarding conveniences of fast food.
Obesity has become an epidemic in today’s society. Today around 50% of America is now considered to be over weight. Fast-food consumption has been a major contributor to the debate of the twenty-first century. Chapter thirteen, titled “Is Fast-Food the New Tobacco,” in the They Say I Say book, consists of authors discussing the debate of fast-food’s link to obesity. Authors debate the government’s effects on the fast-food industry, along with whether or not the fast-food industry is to blame for the rise in obesity throughout America. While some people blame the fast food industry for the rise in obesity, others believe it is a matter of personal responsibility to watch what someone eats and make sure they get the proper exercise.
Obesity in America can be considered to be at an all time high, and this is particularly evident in the documentary. One man was brave enough to take on the challenge to show America what they were actually putting into their bodies when eating fast food. By using ethos, logos, and pathos, “Supersize Me” became one of the most watched documentaries in the history of United States film and shocked people throughout the nation. Without the use of these rhetorical appeals, this documentary quite possibly would not have had the effect that it did on its audience. The documentary was very successful in getting its’ main thesis across. The audience left the documentary with a different view on the fast-food industry and the growing problem of obesity in the United States. Essentially, the director achieved his goal of influencing a nation.
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.
Director Morgan Spurlock was present all throughout the documentary Super Size Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004.) Morgan Spurlock was the centerpiece to this puzzle of a documentary. Morgan Spurlock was included in almost every scene. The film focused on the body's reaction to consuming nothing but Mcdonald's for 30 days, and the director was involved in the whole experiment. There is no star bigger than the director in this mid 2000’s documentary, other recurring characters include his girlfriend (Alex Jamieson) and the doctors that helped him along the way. The way Morgan Spurlock conducts this documentary is very interesting, he was involved in mostly everything hands on. He interviewed people, asked doctors for questions,
McDonald’s, one of America’s fastest growing fast food restaurants, has made more than its share of money within the last twenty years serving more than 46 million people daily. They have twice as many restaurants as Burger King and more restaurants than KFC, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell Combined. Often children have the dream of eating fast food for every meal of every day. Well, Morgan Spurlock took the challenge to see how dangerous it would be to eat McDonalds for every meal. He also took the challenge in response to a lawsuit against McDonalds by a family whose children became obese by the contents of its meals. Directed and starring Morgan Spurlock, who is married to a vegan chef and a healthy man for his age, Super-Size Me is a film that followed Spurlock for 31 days as he follows certain rules set by a series of physicians. He was only allowed to meals off the McDonalds menu including water. Also, he couldn’t exercise but had to walk the same amount of steps as the average American. Filmed all over the United States, Super-Size Me was made to inform the public on the manufactured foods they consume daily. The film also raises awareness on the dangers of what manufactured foods do to the body. Super-Size Me showed how one of the most popular fast food restaurants around today may be leading future generations to severe health problems.