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Negative impact of media on food habits
Super size me film review
Media effects on eating behaviour
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Documentary Critique: Super Size Me The indie film Super Size Me, directed by Morgan Spurlock, is a documentary in which Spurlock examines the visible and invisible changes that take place in his body while maintaining a diet of food strictly from the McDonald’s fast-food restaurant. This documentary was relatively easy to find, as I only had to search for it on my Netflix account and found it right away. In making this film, Spurlock appeared to have a clear agenda of finding out what exactly happens to a person’s body when they only consume food distributed by the fast-food giant, McDonald’s, three times a day, for one month. His reason behind conducting this experiment comes from a lawsuit filed against McDonald’s by two overweight girls, …show more content…
This is apparent through changes in marketing and advertising even though McDonald’s resists admitting the film affected their business or had any impact whatsoever. One very obvious change that came to McDonald’s because of this film was the introduction of the “Go Active” menu, which was added one day prior to the release of this film. McDonald’s did this prior to the release of the film so they could claim that their campaign to go healthy happened before the film and the documentary had no affect on their decision-making. The lawsuit brought against McDonald’s by the two overweight girls was turned down and the fast-food giant remained visibly unscathed even after the release of the film but this is only because they refuse to admit their wrong doing. Regardless of their denial, they indeed faced major changes after the suspicion of their products surfaced even if they never showed it. To improve consumer protection from companies like McDonald’s, I would recommend increased oversight and regulation from government or some other entity because the problem with McDonald’s food lies within it’s production, fast-food made
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 very popular in the last few years, with the success of Michael Moore’s films fueling interest in learning 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.
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
Throughout the film, various companies are exposed for promoting products in a manner that depicts the products as a healthy alternative. The ultimate exposing is done on the government and the USDA. The government is exposed for making deals with food companies to not demonize companies that sell unhealthy food. Even Michelle Obama 's "Let 's Move" campaign against childhood obesity started out bringing unhealthy companies to the light but died down by emphasizing exercise and not talking about food.This is largely in part due to a deal made with major corporations who weren’t too pleased with the original approach of “Let’s Move”. In addition, the USDA is exposed for promoting products such as cheese, milk, and high fructose corn syrup in a fictional way. They provided no information that they were unhealthy in the
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.
The United States of America has long been considered a “big nation”, whether is has the biggest cities, houses, and on a negative note, biggest people. In 2003, Morgan Spurlock, a healthy-bodied film director, set on a quest to show America the detrimental effects of the fast food industry and raise awareness on the controversial issue. He produced the documentary “Supersize Me”, where McDonald’s meals were consumed for every meal of the day for thirty days. His film was released to movie theatres so that people could understand the devastating effects of McDonald’s on his body in a very short time span. At the end of his experiment, Morgan gained twenty-five pounds, developed a thirteen percent body mass increase, cholesterol skyrocketed immensely, and fat accumulation in his liver rose to. He became depressed and he only felt happy and in no pain when he was eating the fast food. By using ethos, logos, and pathos, “Supersize Me” became one of the most watched documentaries in the United States. Without these appeals, this documentary would not have developed the effect that it did.
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.
These sources include a research on obesity from 1989-2004 and the help from a cardiologist, gastrologist, and general practitioner. Utilizing these sources help boost Morgan’s credibility by showing that he has done research and the information he provides are professional. In addition, Morgan also utilizes his project of eating Mcdonald's for a month to portray the devastating effects of fast food places such as by listing how he has gained 24 lbs and 8% of body fat. By including these statistics, Morgan is able to display to the audience the terrible effects of eating fast food constantly and set an example of what would happen if they don’t stop. Thoroughly by utilizing these sources, the claims of America being the fattest country and fast food being unhealthy for the regular body can be seen as very true, as his results and research has thoroughly proved his
Super Size Me is a polemical documentary created by Spurlock that looks to uncover the impact of eating only food from restaurant giant McDonalds, for every meal over a 30-day period. Representing the ‘average’ citizen, Spurlock consults a number of expert doctors and nutritionists before deciding to use his own body as a science experiment and creating the ‘rules’ surrounding it. Eating 5,000 calories per day and attempting to match the average New Yorker in terms of exercise (5,000 steps per day), Spurlock must ‘super size’ his meals only when offered, and he must consume every item on the menu, at least once. The documentary attempts to discover first hand the effects of the overindulgence of fast food, whilst drawing attention to the growing statistics of obesity within the United States and the responsibility of corporate giants such as McDonalds regarding the consumption of their
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
David Zinczenko states numbers and facts that open the eyes of his reader along with state his position of how fast food states no warnings that it could make someone obese or develop type 2 diabetes. His first statement is telling his readers a little background about how fast food affected his life and how he was once obese because he consumed such meals. Zinczenko explains how the increase in diabetes (specially type 2) were linked to the high consumption of fast food meals. He then goes on to address how much money is being spent to help take care of the mass amount of children with type 2 diabetes, showing how the price has gone up substantially over the past couple decades. The author then claims how the restaurants don’t give any healthy alternative and how its easier to find a McDonalds in American than an healthy alternative such as fruit. To wrap up the article he shares how he feels that obese kids who sue these fast food restaurants have good ground to do so since these places don’t put warnings on their foods; From Zinczenko himself “I say, let the deep fried chips fa...
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.
When researching McDonald’s through online sources, it is clear that nutrition is a major concern of the public visiting the fast-food chain. Secondary research conducted shows that there are several case studies and other secondary source searches around the same topic. McDonald’s has often been the center of nutritional attention within the fast-food industry. Secondary research shows that the restaurant has recently made changes to the American Happy Meal to reduce the amount of French fries offered and replace the portion with fruit (Strom, 2011). In a study conducted by McDonald’s a secondary source reports the meal cuts calories by 20% for the children’s meal (Strom, 2011). This is a critical move by the organization on children’s obesity is currently a hot topic within food chains and attention is driven by the Obama administration. Secondary research also shows that although the public has major health concerns with the food chain, profits are increasing during a high point of an economic recession (Dahan & Gittens, 2008). Acco...