supersize me

1. Media Essay- Supersize Me
American society has dedicated themselves to a bigger way of living instead of seeing the bigger
picture; their weight. Looking in depth at the situation of healthy living the documentary film
‘Supersize Me’ presented by independent film maker Morgan Spurlock in 2004 showed many cons
and few pros towards fast food and more specifically McDonald’s. His intention for making this
documentary was to show all fat fast food feasters what could happen if they carry on their binge
eating ways. The 30 day high calorie diet, eating nothing but McDonalds in a daily routine for
breakfast, lunch and dinner has shown American society in quiet a negative light in terms of food.
In Mississippi alone 1 in 3 children face obesity and the ubiquitous fact is Manhattan is home to the
most McDonalds in the world, shocking I know. As Morgan investigated further he discovered that
not only was nutrition virtually non-existent but hidden away from the public eye. Nutrition booklets
were pushed aside as deep fried fries became the new vitamin A. Another 1 in 4 people visit a fast
food joint each day. I think the importance of highlighting the key issues and elements of facts is to
show the audience the importance of how real this issue can affect people in the American society.
One positive effect in this bizarre experiment is that it helped many state schools in America make
the difficult conclusion of banning soda machines and fatty foods in their cafeterias. This decision
wasn’t easy as promoting unhealthy food in schools kept the money for the institution rolling in, one
principal argued ‘yes money would decrease in this field but it’s not about the money it’s about the
ready to learn more motivated attitude emplaced in the kids after they eat’. Facts show that this
school for unruly kids is benefitting in better grades and attitude to learning in result of the new
healthy eating regime. However baring that it in mind some American folk in society who are
concerned about their weight are represented as lazy as they use popular diet plans and weight loss
tablets as opposed to losing the weight, cheating their way to better health.
What’s engaging is the fact that Morgan uses conventions of sounds through his voiceover to
connect the aesthetically pleasing visuals in the shot.
The content is mainly shown through the presenter, who acknowledges the connection he must
portray to the viewer. This same technique is shown through vox pop, where everyday people were
stopped and asked questions about their food choices. The handheld shots were significant at this
point because this camerawork makes everything seem more realistic and involving when
responding not only to the questions but to the viewer, who may have a similar argument. Morgan
goes out into the street and asks questions to the public about McDonalds and how much they eat
each week. Because Morgan isn’t seen whilst there giving their answer at times only heard, we act
like we are now in Morgan’s brain. This creates meaning for the audience as it makes us question
how much we eat each week also.
When Morgan shows up at the doctor’s surgery, we then become the fly on the wall again. We see
Morgan having a two way conversation in his almost interview feel conversation. Throughout the
whole documentary Morgan is mostly seen through a technique called piece to camera, commonly
known where the presenter is directly talking to the viewer. This is done solely so we can feel close
to him and connect with him as if we were there.

2. The whole documentary was a linear narrative structure. Starting a storyline from the beginning and
following it through to the end. The jump cut editing shots really helped to shorten the length of
every detail but was still able to help the viewer keep on track with the motifs used like title pages
stating the time, place and date with animation graphic effects to make it more aesthetically
pleasing. It is also structured with each frame shown in the rule of thirds so we never lose track of
what’s happening throughout.
So this condractitory investigative documentary is seen to leave us with our own answer to the
questions raised.