Last year seemed to be a battle between FARENHEIT 9/11 and SUPER SIZE ME for winner of the most controversial documentary award . I know Moore's style , I know Moore's agenda but knew nothing of Morgan Spurlock . Right from the opening scenes of Spurlock's documentary I was impressed by his style , he does engage the audience without resorting to polemical opinion disguised as fact and for that we should be thankful . Spurlock decides to find out why Americans are becoming obese by living on nothing but a menu from a certain fast food chain
So far so good , but is he missing a point I wonder ? American fast food chains are notorious for serving processed food with an incredible high fat high sugar content which probably won't do you any good health wise . But they also serve food in very large portions which is also very good value for money . Think about it for a moment - You go into a fast food chain with a couple of dollars and have a meal high in fat and sugar but the meal itself is relatively cheap . Would you rather spend 50 dollars getting a single meal in an expensive restaurant and leave the table still wanting ? I think most people visit a fast food chain to kill the hunger pangs and still have enough money to pay the bills . Watching Spurlock vomit because he's eaten too much is a kind of back handed compliment to a certain food chain for selling extra large portions
Unlike Moore Spurlock doesn't appear to have an axe to grind and does try to be objective . He makes the point that the high rise in obesity may be down to the fact that many American states don't have a compulsory sports syllabus in schools . Certainly this doesn't help to keep children in good health but he then points out another fact that one of the few states that does have compulsory school sports - Illinois - has the third highest rate for childhood obesity in America . Cause and effect ?
The problem I do have with SUPER SIZE ME is that Spurlock doesn't exactly hammer home one very valid point - Perhaps the only valid point - as to childhood obesity and that's parenting . When you were a child what was your parents attitude to what you eat ? I know what mines was : If you didn't like what was put down in front of you then too bad and I think perhaps in the Western world this attitude has disappeared , parents are far more likely to give into their children's demands nowadays in search for an easier life . If they like chomping on burgers then so be it if it keeps the little ones quiet . Remember what I said about big portions and cost ? It doesn't really matter if the food itself is far from nutritious as long as it's plentiful and affordable which means for a lot of parents on low incomes it's a practical choice . Over here in Britain the government are actually discussing putting a tax on junk food . Would hitting parents in the pocket change their attitude ? Is it morally right for a government to do this anyway ? Why is healthy organic food infinitely more expensive than unhealthy processed muck ? Just a couple of points that aren't addressed
So SUPER SIZE ME is an interesting documentary but a rather flawed one that often works better as entertainment than as a serious film making . It can be informative but doesn't really come up with any answers and blames fast food companies rather than parents for childhood obesity .
So far so good , but is he missing a point I wonder ? American fast food chains are notorious for serving processed food with an incredible high fat high sugar content which probably won't do you any good health wise . But they also serve food in very large portions which is also very good value for money . Think about it for a moment - You go into a fast food chain with a couple of dollars and have a meal high in fat and sugar but the meal itself is relatively cheap . Would you rather spend 50 dollars getting a single meal in an expensive restaurant and leave the table still wanting ? I think most people visit a fast food chain to kill the hunger pangs and still have enough money to pay the bills . Watching Spurlock vomit because he's eaten too much is a kind of back handed compliment to a certain food chain for selling extra large portions
Unlike Moore Spurlock doesn't appear to have an axe to grind and does try to be objective . He makes the point that the high rise in obesity may be down to the fact that many American states don't have a compulsory sports syllabus in schools . Certainly this doesn't help to keep children in good health but he then points out another fact that one of the few states that does have compulsory school sports - Illinois - has the third highest rate for childhood obesity in America . Cause and effect ?
The problem I do have with SUPER SIZE ME is that Spurlock doesn't exactly hammer home one very valid point - Perhaps the only valid point - as to childhood obesity and that's parenting . When you were a child what was your parents attitude to what you eat ? I know what mines was : If you didn't like what was put down in front of you then too bad and I think perhaps in the Western world this attitude has disappeared , parents are far more likely to give into their children's demands nowadays in search for an easier life . If they like chomping on burgers then so be it if it keeps the little ones quiet . Remember what I said about big portions and cost ? It doesn't really matter if the food itself is far from nutritious as long as it's plentiful and affordable which means for a lot of parents on low incomes it's a practical choice . Over here in Britain the government are actually discussing putting a tax on junk food . Would hitting parents in the pocket change their attitude ? Is it morally right for a government to do this anyway ? Why is healthy organic food infinitely more expensive than unhealthy processed muck ? Just a couple of points that aren't addressed
So SUPER SIZE ME is an interesting documentary but a rather flawed one that often works better as entertainment than as a serious film making . It can be informative but doesn't really come up with any answers and blames fast food companies rather than parents for childhood obesity .