At the time of its release, Morgan Spurlock's documentary, "Super Size Me", was hailed by the media as a film that pulled back the curtain on the fast-food industry (mainly McDonalds) as the major cause of obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle. What the media did not cover was how many people questioned Spurlock's so-called findings, or that stating the obvious can still rake in a lot of money if you point your arrows at the right subject, which in this case is McDonalds.
Here's the premise of Spurlock's documentary. If you eat 5000 calories a day in fast food (or again, McDonalds) for 30 days and do not exercise (or do as little exercise as possible) you will gain weight. Of course, using common sense, one can deduce that if you eat 5000 calories a day of fast food and do not exercise, you'll end up gaining some weight. What Spurlock fails to tell his audience is that if you eat 5000 calories of any food (health food or otherwise) and do not exercise, you will gain weight. The audience, though, wanting to pass of personal responsibility for their decisions, gladly gobble up Spurlock's so-called finding of "if you eat fast food, you'll get fat".
When Spurlock's documentary had gained its notoriety, nutritionalists recreated Spurlock's "test conditions" and found that they could not achieve the same results as Spurlock. These nutritionalists found that although some did gain a small amount of weight, the majority of them simply went about life as normal with no physical change to their health. These nutritionalists also found that there was no "addiction" to fast food as Spurlock claimed happened to him after 30 days of eating fast food. Whereas Spurlock claimed to have some withdrawals when he stopped eating fast food, the nutritionalists simply stopped eating fast food and had no side effects. Unlike Spurlock's doctor claims that Spurlock's fast food diet was "pickling" his liver, the nutritionalist (and others) found no unhealthy reactions to their diet other than slight fatigue from eating too much.
Also, the nutritionalist (and others) who wanted to recreate Spurlock's so-called experiment requested copies of his "food logs" that he stated he kept during his fast food dietary test. They wanted to see how he was able to achieve the 5000 calorie mark. Spurlock refused to release is "food logs" to anyone (including the media), which raised the question of if he was even consuming 5000 calories a day, or what he was actually consuming. This difficulty of obtaining Spurlock's "food logs" is even documented in Tom Naughton's "Fat Head", a documentary which pretty much debunks Spurlock's findings, as well as calls into question Spurlock's motives.
Another important note of information that Spurlock fails to include in his documentary (and fails to tell his doctor) is that during the time of filming "Super Size Me", Spurlock, by his own admission, was a full blown alcoholic. It is safe to assume that his sickness from eating fast food was conditional to the fact that he was slugging booze during the day and night as well (according to Spurlock, he had been drinking since the age of 13). The infamous scene of Spurlock vomiting in the parking lot only after being on his fast food diet for two days wasn't from the fast food, it was from the hangover from the alcohol he guzzled (as well as not prepping for the fast food diet.... Spurlock was a strict vegan prior to the diet).
Is Spurlock's "Super Size Me" a good film. Technically, yes. It is filmed well, and keeps you entertained. But is Spurlock's "Super Size Me" a good documentary. Absolutely not. Not only was Spurlock not forthcoming about what he was actually eating (not releasing food logs), and was not open about his alcoholism, which obviously had an adverse affect on his general health (which skewered his physical exam results), but Spurlock's documentary is condescending to its audience. The message that the film conveys is that people, in general (and especially poor minorities), pretty much have no common sense, cannot make proper decisions or smart life choices, and are to the point in their lives that they need a higher power (the government) to make their choices for them so they can lead healthier lives. In other words, when you watch "Super Size Me", you are being told that you are unable to control yourself, so someone should be monitoring you.
"Super Size Me" fails as a documentary simply because it negates personal responsibility in favor of creating a villain to blame (and profit from). It purposely ignores the importance of taking responsibility for oneself, that individuals are allowed to make choices in determining their health. The film simply blames the fast food industry for everything, and advocates for the government to oversee the industry. Instead of the film honing in on the importance of education, critical thinking, discipline, and taking responsibility to lead a good life, it simply says "You're fat because McDonalds made you fat".
Although "Super Size Me" fails as a documentary, it does succeed as a propaganda film. At the time of the film's popularity, "Super Size Me" was having impressive box office receipts, and the critics praised Spurlock's efforts in "exposing" the fast food industry. Spurlock, realistically unknown prior to the release of his film, was now a celebrity, appearing on talk shows, giving interviews on radio shows, and smiling for photo-ops at film premiers. In response to the film, the fast food industry went through a phase of offering "healthier" options on their menus (which were eventually phased out because no one ever ordered the "healthier" options). Frankly, Spurlock wanted to do a "hit piece" on McDonalds and was successful as doing so, even if he had to distort the facts to do so.
"Super Size Me" is not a noble documentary. Although it did momentarily make the fast-food industry jump through hoops to give an image that they were producing more healthier fast-food (which, in itself, it a contradiction in terms), the documentary is a farce. It is an MTV moment to make Spurlock more popular. People were looking for a demon to point at and blame for their fatness, and Spurlock delivered, even if he had to distort the truth to do so.
In the end, "Super Size Me" fails at standing the test of time, and it is now looked upon more for entertainment and embarrassment. Spurlock for the most part has step out of the spotlight, and that's for the best.
Here's the premise of Spurlock's documentary. If you eat 5000 calories a day in fast food (or again, McDonalds) for 30 days and do not exercise (or do as little exercise as possible) you will gain weight. Of course, using common sense, one can deduce that if you eat 5000 calories a day of fast food and do not exercise, you'll end up gaining some weight. What Spurlock fails to tell his audience is that if you eat 5000 calories of any food (health food or otherwise) and do not exercise, you will gain weight. The audience, though, wanting to pass of personal responsibility for their decisions, gladly gobble up Spurlock's so-called finding of "if you eat fast food, you'll get fat".
When Spurlock's documentary had gained its notoriety, nutritionalists recreated Spurlock's "test conditions" and found that they could not achieve the same results as Spurlock. These nutritionalists found that although some did gain a small amount of weight, the majority of them simply went about life as normal with no physical change to their health. These nutritionalists also found that there was no "addiction" to fast food as Spurlock claimed happened to him after 30 days of eating fast food. Whereas Spurlock claimed to have some withdrawals when he stopped eating fast food, the nutritionalists simply stopped eating fast food and had no side effects. Unlike Spurlock's doctor claims that Spurlock's fast food diet was "pickling" his liver, the nutritionalist (and others) found no unhealthy reactions to their diet other than slight fatigue from eating too much.
Also, the nutritionalist (and others) who wanted to recreate Spurlock's so-called experiment requested copies of his "food logs" that he stated he kept during his fast food dietary test. They wanted to see how he was able to achieve the 5000 calorie mark. Spurlock refused to release is "food logs" to anyone (including the media), which raised the question of if he was even consuming 5000 calories a day, or what he was actually consuming. This difficulty of obtaining Spurlock's "food logs" is even documented in Tom Naughton's "Fat Head", a documentary which pretty much debunks Spurlock's findings, as well as calls into question Spurlock's motives.
Another important note of information that Spurlock fails to include in his documentary (and fails to tell his doctor) is that during the time of filming "Super Size Me", Spurlock, by his own admission, was a full blown alcoholic. It is safe to assume that his sickness from eating fast food was conditional to the fact that he was slugging booze during the day and night as well (according to Spurlock, he had been drinking since the age of 13). The infamous scene of Spurlock vomiting in the parking lot only after being on his fast food diet for two days wasn't from the fast food, it was from the hangover from the alcohol he guzzled (as well as not prepping for the fast food diet.... Spurlock was a strict vegan prior to the diet).
Is Spurlock's "Super Size Me" a good film. Technically, yes. It is filmed well, and keeps you entertained. But is Spurlock's "Super Size Me" a good documentary. Absolutely not. Not only was Spurlock not forthcoming about what he was actually eating (not releasing food logs), and was not open about his alcoholism, which obviously had an adverse affect on his general health (which skewered his physical exam results), but Spurlock's documentary is condescending to its audience. The message that the film conveys is that people, in general (and especially poor minorities), pretty much have no common sense, cannot make proper decisions or smart life choices, and are to the point in their lives that they need a higher power (the government) to make their choices for them so they can lead healthier lives. In other words, when you watch "Super Size Me", you are being told that you are unable to control yourself, so someone should be monitoring you.
"Super Size Me" fails as a documentary simply because it negates personal responsibility in favor of creating a villain to blame (and profit from). It purposely ignores the importance of taking responsibility for oneself, that individuals are allowed to make choices in determining their health. The film simply blames the fast food industry for everything, and advocates for the government to oversee the industry. Instead of the film honing in on the importance of education, critical thinking, discipline, and taking responsibility to lead a good life, it simply says "You're fat because McDonalds made you fat".
Although "Super Size Me" fails as a documentary, it does succeed as a propaganda film. At the time of the film's popularity, "Super Size Me" was having impressive box office receipts, and the critics praised Spurlock's efforts in "exposing" the fast food industry. Spurlock, realistically unknown prior to the release of his film, was now a celebrity, appearing on talk shows, giving interviews on radio shows, and smiling for photo-ops at film premiers. In response to the film, the fast food industry went through a phase of offering "healthier" options on their menus (which were eventually phased out because no one ever ordered the "healthier" options). Frankly, Spurlock wanted to do a "hit piece" on McDonalds and was successful as doing so, even if he had to distort the facts to do so.
"Super Size Me" is not a noble documentary. Although it did momentarily make the fast-food industry jump through hoops to give an image that they were producing more healthier fast-food (which, in itself, it a contradiction in terms), the documentary is a farce. It is an MTV moment to make Spurlock more popular. People were looking for a demon to point at and blame for their fatness, and Spurlock delivered, even if he had to distort the truth to do so.
In the end, "Super Size Me" fails at standing the test of time, and it is now looked upon more for entertainment and embarrassment. Spurlock for the most part has step out of the spotlight, and that's for the best.