super size me essay

Obesity in America: “Super Size Me” Essay

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Introduction

“Super Size Me” is a movie directed by Morgan Spurlock addressing the obesity epidemic that American faces. The movie is a documentary on an experiment conducted on filmmaker Spurlock by himself so as to reveal the effects of eating fast foods. The inspiration for the movie was a number of legal suits that had been brought against the fast-food giant McDonalds. In the suit, the food giant was accused of selling unhealthy foods to the population with dire health consequences for the plaintiffs.

Spurlock sets out on an all McDonald diet for a whole month so as to demonstrate the effects of fast foods. He purposes to eat his thee meals each day from the McDonald menu with no outside food sources. To begin with, Spurlock has his health checked by three medical specialists: a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist, and a GP. The tests confirm that his fitness is well above that of the average person. In addition to this, Spurlock has a dietician monitoring his progress as he conducts his fast-food experiment.

As the days progress, Spurlock’s weight increases dramatically and his health deteriorates. The movie makes it very clear that these changes are a result of his eating habits. In the cause of the experiment, Spurlock engages a number of professionals who discuss the effect of fast foods. The interviews with these professionals also aim to find out why fast foods are slowly becoming the number one food served to school-going children. The movie concludes by authoritatively stating that fast foods are hazardous to the health of the consumer.

What impressed me most about “Supersize Me” is the movie’s use of facts to make its point. While the movie is centered on Spurlock’s attempt to live off fast foods for an entire month, it makes use of authorities on the subject. The movie contained a lot of scientific information that had an even greater impact as a result of the physical evidence that Spurlock’s experiment presented. Obesity has been on a steady increase in the US resulting in a decline in health since people who are obese are at increased risk of physical as well as psychosocial health consequences.

The movie is laced with statistics and interviews from experts in the health industry therefore reinforcing the message that the movie is trying to make. The results from Spurlock’s test are enough to jolt any person into taking a closer look at their eating habits. The ignorance exhibited by most people is also highlighted through interviews with people who turn out to be clueless as to concepts such as calorie intake and a balanced diet.

The reason why the informative nature of the movie impressed me the most is that obesity is an epidemic that has afflicted America. Over the past few years, research indicates that the prevalence rate of obesity has actually increased. This movie addresses this issue by highlighting the fact that while obesity can be a result of different reasons, the condition is mostly limited to people who overindulge in unhealthy food and exhibit limited activity.

The movie reveals that in addition to the physical effects, unhealthy eating also causes psychological distresses such as stress and depression. The movie also takes a wider look at the subject and highlights the lack of government involvement in mitigating the dietary crisis that Americans face. The movie’s emphasis on taking personal responsibility is evident from Spurlock who ridicules individuals who make lawsuits against McDonald’s for their overweight issues.

Without a doubt, the movie “Super Size Me” by Morgan Spurlock had a profound impact on me. While I have previously heard information suggesting that fast foods are detrimental to a person’s health, I always ignored these messages. To me, fast foods were an integral part of my life. After watching the movie, I have come to a greater understanding of the effects of fast foods on my general health.

From Morgan Spurlock’s documentary, I witnessed how fast foods could transform a healthy person into an unhealthy person in a matter of weeks. While I acknowledge that Spurlock’s diet is extreme in nature and that no one in their right mind would indulge in it, Spurlock uses the extremes to highlight the point that fast foods are dangerous. I am now keener as to the foods I consume and try to stay away from fast foods whenever possible.

The movie “Super Size Me” is arguably one of the most thought-provoking movies that I have ever watched. The movie addresses a topic that is of great importance to the people and sensitizes everyone on the dangers of unhealthy eating. I found this movie not only entertaining but also very informative and empowering. In my opinion, the movie’s ability to use humor to pass on a very serious message further increased the impact of the movie on the audience. It is my sincere hope that every other person who watched the movie was deeply impacted by its message and is making positive changes in their eating habits just as I am.

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Super Size Me

Food conciousness: super size me as an effective case study danielle elizabeth mather 10th grade.

“Our society needs more heroes who are scientists, researchers, and engineers. We need to celebrate and reward the people who cure diseases, expand our understanding of humanity, and work to improve people’s lives." - Mark Zuckerberg

People need qualitative research to further improve the lifestyle that they are living, as well as to advance the technology and the environment that they are surrounded in. Through quality research, society is able to gain a better knowledge of today’s most current and pressing problems. By using information that is derived from research, individuals make better life decisions. In the documentary Super Size Me created by Morgan Spurlock, viewers follow the case study of a man determined to find the results of eating only fast food for an entire month. Upon finding that approximately sixty percent of all adults living in the United States are overweight or obese, Spurlock himself goes on a thirty day McDonald's-only diet. As the true, underlying issue of McDonald’s food holding no significant nutritional value becomes clear, Spurlock attempts to dig deeper and question whether or not the fast food industry is to be blamed for the “obesity epidemic”. Through a 30-Day McDonald’s diet analysis,...

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Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Supersize Me — Analysis of Persuasive Techniques in the Film Supersize Me

Analysis of Persuasive Techniques in The Film Supersize Me

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Published: Sep 1, 2020

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Morgan Spurlock, Documentarian Known for ‘Super Size Me,’ Dies at 53

His 2004 film followed Mr. Spurlock as he ate nothing but McDonald’s for a month. It was nominated for an Oscar, but it later came in for criticism.

By Clay Risen and Remy Tumin

Morgan Spurlock, a documentary filmmaker who gained fame with his Oscar-nominated 2004 film “ Super Size Me ,” which followed him as he ate nothing but McDonald’s for 30 days — but later stepped back from the public eye after admitting to sexual misconduct — died on Thursday in New York City. He was 53.

His brother Craig Spurlock said the cause was complications of cancer.

A self-described attention hound with a keen eye for the absurd, Mr. Spurlock was a playwright and television producer when he rocketed to global attention with “Super Size Me,” an early entry into the genre of gonzo participatory filmmaking that borrowed heavily from the confrontational style of Michael Moore and the up-close-and-personal influences of reality TV, which was then just emerging as a genre.

The film’s approach was straightforward: Mr. Spurlock would eat nothing but McDonald’s food for a month, and if a server at the restaurant offered to “supersize” the meal — that is, to give him the largest portion available for each item — he would accept.

The movie then follows Mr. Spurlock and his ever-patient girlfriend through his 30-day odyssey, splicing in interviews with health experts and visits to his increasingly disturbed physician. At the end of the month, he was 25 pounds heavier, depressed, puffy-faced and experiencing liver dysfunction.

The film, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, grossed over $22 million, made Mr. Spurlock a household name, earned him an Academy Award nomination for best documentary and helped spur a sweeping backlash against the fast-food industry — though only temporarily ; today, McDonald’s has 42,000 locations worldwide, its stock is near an all-time high, and 36 percent of Americans eat fast food on any given day.

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