A2 Media Studies - Textual Analysis of Super Size Me Print Work

1. Super Size Me – Textual Analysis
I have done a textual analysis on the print work of the documentary
'Supersize Me'; it covers the theme of fast food - a topic which I have
listed under my favourite ideas for my own documentary.
Supersize me is a successful documentary, created by the American
filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, which was released on May 7th 2004.
The documentary has been one of the most successful
documentaries of it's time, raking in $29,529,368 at the box office.
The documentary follows a 30 day period from February 1st to
March 2nd, 2003, during which Morgan Spurlock only ate food
produced by the fast food company McDonald's. The aim of the film
was to document this lifestyle's drastic effect on Morgan Spurlock's
physical and psychological health. The documentary also explores
the fast food industry and how companies such as McDonald's
encourage poor nutrition for their own profit.

2. The red and yellow colour scheme
used throughout the poster is
consistent and links in with the colour
scheme of the fast food company
McDonald’s. This therefore helps to
connote the main topic of the
documentary. These colours are also
bold which helps to make the poster
more eye-catching.
A white background has been used in
contrast with the other bold colours
on the poster. This works well with
the high-key lighting by helping the
man to stand out and be portrayed to
the audience as the protagonist.
A close up shot of the protagonist, Morgan Spurlock, has been used to direct
your attention to his shocked facial expression. This expression of shock on
his face connotes that the subject matter of the film was surprising and
possible difficult for him to experience . He is looking directly at the camera
which suggests that the narrator/protagonist will be directly addressing the
audience.
The use of a real life image, in opposed to an animated image, helps to make
the documentary seem more realistic by connoting that it is a real life story.
This is important; the portrayal of realism is a key convention of
documentaries.
The man pictured in the
background (Morgan
Spurlock) is the main focal
point of the poster; he is
portraying to the audience
what the documentary is
primarily about. This is a
common convention of
documentaries; they usually
focus on a specific topic or
subject. The vast amount of
chips has been positioned
inside the man’s mouth to
give a visual understanding
of what the film is going to
include by strongly relating
to the subject matter. The
chips connote that the
documentary is going to be
about him living off a large
amount of unhealthy foods
and connote how he will be
forcing himself to eat them.
This use of iconography
once again links in with the
topic of McDonald’s; chips
are a product which is sold
by the company.

3. Nominations, awards and accolades of the film
have been positioned all on the same line, below
the title and subtitle to help connote the success
of the documentary and give a good sense of
balance. The individuality of each award is also
maintained by the design surrounding them,
helping to separate them and show how each one
is different. These have been written in a small
black font; they do not link to the narrative and
are not key features of the poster.
The bold font and use of
capitalisation has been used to help
emphasise the title ‘Supersize Me’.
This bold and large font dominates
the poster and helps to draw your
eyes to the title. The title also has a
shadow and embossed appearance
to ensure it stands out against the
picture behind. The word ‘Me’ has a
larger font than the rest of the title;
this creates a link between the man
on the poster and the title, by
connoting that the documentary’s
narrative focuses on him and his
story. The titles have been spread
out evenly so that you are still able
to see the protagonist’s face.
The poster uses McDonald’s world famous slogan ‘I’m
lovin it!’ to connote to the focal point of the
documentary to the audience. It has a humorous link
to the subject matter and been used to mock the
company McDonald’s , emphasising how it is going to
‘supersize’ the protagonist. The thinner smaller font
means that it does not detract attention from the title
below, however the bright colours ensure it doesn’t
fade into obscurity.
Two positive quotes from
audience viewers, such as ‘Two
thumbs up!’ have also been
positioned in an eye-catching
and location next to the
protagonist in yellow font to
help connote the
documentaries overall success.
These 2 quotes have been
symmetrically positioned; the
two quotes being on the same
horizontal level helps to create
a sense of balance.

4. The poster’s subtitle uses a pun on
the word proportions by stating ‘A
Film of Epic Portions’. This helps to
connote the reoccurring theme of
food.
The web address for the
documentary is slightly larger and
brighter than all the other forms
of text on the protagonist’s t-shirt,
ensuring that it stands out.
It’s centralised placement at the
bottom makes it the last thing
that people will read on the
poster, helping to ensure that it
stays with them.
The billing card information has been set against a
bright red background. This means that the black
font used will slightly stand out. However it’s small
size means that it does not dominate the poster or
make it appear cluttered.
Production companies of the
documentary have been made easily
identifiable by showing their logos,
rather than being written out in text
format. Their small size and
positioning allows them to be
present on the poster without being
distracting.

5. Audience
As fast food appeals to all ages, this poster has a mass target
audience of both children and adults. Due to this, it is also
designed to appeal to a vide variety of demographic groups,
such as different nationalities and both genders.
The poster uses the uses and gratifications theory by
suggesting that the documentary is going to educate and
inform the audience about the dangers of fast food, as well
as entertain them by allowing them to see what will happen to
the protagonist.
The poster does not portray Morgan Spurlock, the protagonist as
a role model to the audience; fast food is often negatively
viewed upon by society and when excessively eaten can be
extremely bad for ones health.