SUPER SIZE ME
(With Rose Pacatte FSP)
US, 2004, 100 minutes. Colour.
Morgan Spurlock, Bridget Bennett, Dr. Lisa Ganjhu, Dr. Darryl Isaacs, Dr. David Satcher, Dr. Stephen Siegel
Directed by Morgan Spurlock
With the steady rise of obesity noted by the U.S. Surgeon General declared an “epidemic� and a lawsuit filed against McDonalds? where two overweight girls alleged that eating Mc Donalds had made them overweight (Pelman vs Mc Donald’s Corporation), Morgan Spurlock observed how McDonald’s? restaurants were up-selling customers by asking them if they would like to “super size� their orders for the chain’s fast foods. Spurlock wondered what the effect of a month of super-sizing could have on a person who ate three meals a day at McDonald’s?. So from February 1 - March 2, 2003, Spurlock began his experiment.
After visiting three doctors to establishing his weight and cholesterol for a baseline, and deem his health to be outstanding, he proceeded to eat every menu item at least once over the course of a month and if the McDonald’s? employee asked him if he would like to “super size� the item or meal, and he did so nine times during his experiment. He walks about 5,000 steps a day to various Mc Donalds restaurants in Manhattan and Houston and eats nothing that is not on the Mc Donalds menu, including water. After five days he has gained 9.5 lbs and various other ailments begin to emerge as the days go on, including depression and heart palpitations. The drinks were sugared and Spurlock did not other exercise during this time. His cholesterol level shot up to 230.
By the end of the month Spurlock had gained 24.5 lbs and it took him 14 months to lose the weight by eating a managed vegan diet prepared by his wife.
Morgan Spurlock won a Best Director award from the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 “Super Size Me� was nominated for an Oscar in 2005 for Best Documentary but “Born into Brothels� won instead. Though well received by critics, some accused Spurlock of lack of total transparency regarding his food consumption, others thought it was stating the obvious that fast-food is bad for you, and others that Spurlock’s comedic presentation diminished the message, though thought-provoking.
The two over-weight girls who sued Mc Donalds lost their lawsuit and six weeks after “Super Size Me� premiered, McDonalds? halted their “super size� program.
Comedian Tom Naughton’s 2009 documentary Fat Head launches the most criticism of Super Size Me by questioning Spurlock’s data and asserting that no one is forced to eat fast food, not even the urban poor who may not have grocery stores available to them. Naughton then goes on to a scathing criticism of the pharmaceutical industry in the U.S. for over prescribing statin drugs for high cholesterol caused by the high sugar content in processed food, not fat. In July 2013 the United States lost its first place status as the world’s most obese country with Mexico taking its place.
Other films that deal with the down side of the fast food industry in the U.S. are Fast Food Nation (2008) and Food, Inc. (2006)
Gluttony is not the most attractive deadly sin to contemplate. It is often physically disgusting. It is also morally disgusting as we realize that it is a sin for people who live a comfortable, even pampered life, while millions around the world suffer from malnutrition or starvation. Statistics continually bombard us with reminders of how many people are obese, eating unhealthy food and not doing proper exercise. We are also bombarded by commercials and advertising for all kinds of food and drink (not only for ourselves but for our pets). If we do not take notice of this, then “the writing is on the wall�. “Super Size Me� is an audiovisual exercise in warning, providing images that can serve as writing on the wall concerning eating and drinking habits.
Chronicling the effects of this fast food gluttony, as well as the greediness of the corporations who exploit the consumer, he not only puts his warning writing before us, he guides us how to interpret it. The basic message is that is unhealthy, even inhuman and that too many people are chewing their way to death.
It is somewhat ironic that in English we use the same word in two very different senses: fast. It is used for fast food, the kind that can be super-sized. It is also used to describe the voluntary abstinence from food, the kind of ascetical exercise associated with spirituality in the major religions. Morgan Spurlock, after his McMonth? would be advocating some fast from food instead of fast food.
1. The children singing the fast food song at the beginning; the law suit and reasons why Spurlock undertook his experiment, how and why he framed the project, visiting the doctors to establish a baseline for his vital signs and over all health; his girl friend’s concerns.
2.The beginning of his month of eating only Mc Donald’s food; the first time he is offered a Super Size option; the moments when he starts to fell unwell and depressed; the statistics about McDonald’s?, its locations and menu; the profit motive; his weight check-ins;
3.The conclusion of Spurlock’s experiment, his weight gain and other physical changes; his conclusions about fast foods and their addictive qualities
4. As the film states, we know that processed fast food is bad for us, so why do we eat it anyway? Is the issue really about gluttony for everyone who eats too much fast food? What about those live in low-income areas and do not have fresh food options for shopping, or parents who work and may not have time to cook? Even though fast food corporations have begun offering items that seem to be healthier, is this enough?
5. The film also asks: Where does personal responsibility end and corporate responsibility begin with regard to food that is sold to people or targeted at children? School lunch programs have begun to change what they offer children to eat and children don’t always like the healthy options. What accounts for this do you think?
6.What are the personal dimensions of food consumption, the spiritual dimensions, the social, corporate and political as well? In 2011 the U.S. Congress declared that pizza is a vegetable because it has tomato paste on it, thus making it suitable for school lunches and keeping the processed food industry satisfied. What remedies can you contribute to so as to help resolve a situation like this that can feed into gluttony and food-sugar addiction for children especially? If you or someone you know is addicted to food, what steps can you take?
