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Morgan Spurlock's Film, Super Size Me Essay

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As Steven Spielberg once said, "documentaries are the greatest way to educate an entire generation" (Azevedo, 2013). In Morgan Spurlock's documentary Super Size Me, audiences are informed and shown the dangers of consuming fast food everyday. Spurlock has a camera follow him for one month as he consumes McDonalds for each meal thus exposing one to the unhealthy affects of the lifestyle. Relying on images, interviews, and statistics the viewers are informed of how processed fast foods begin to affect people starting from a young age. This documentary style film shapes the perception of the spectator through the use of visual and narrative techniques. Morgan Spurlock's film Super Size Me is representative of the idealized version of film …show more content…

One can see that Spurlock believes that fast food industry is responsible for the rise in obesity hence the reason for his experiment. Through narrative and editing Spurlock removes any biases that may alter the results of his experiment (Cornell, Lecture #12). He films himself as well as others in "uncontrolled situations," the audience is put into his shoes as they watch these situations unfold just as he once did (Cornell, Lecture #12). Spurlock sets rules to control the experiment for more accurate results. These rules include eating three meals at McDonalds each day, only eating or drinking items that are sold by McDonalds, super sizing meals only when asked, and trying everything on the menu at least once. Rather than visiting the same McDonalds and dealing with the same employees, he travels around to different cities and states. In the beginning of his experiment, Spurlock travels to Houston, Texas which is known for being the most obese city in the United States. On his first trip to a McDonalds in Houston he is automatically asked if he would prefer to super size his meal. Throughout his entire 30 day experiment he is asked to super size his meal nine times, five of those times are from employees in Texas. Questioning a vast array of people in schools and on the street, Spurlock attempts to "provoke responses in subjects" being interviewed as well as the audience (Cornell, Lecture #12). Due to the lack of direction and script the questions, answers, and

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