supersize meh

1. What are the main codes and conventions of the documentary genre used
in ‘Super Size Me?’How is modern American societyrepresentedin the
documentary?
“Super Size Me” is a documentary from 2004 directed and written by
Morgan Spurlock as he attempts to show the truth behind American
society and their attitude towards healthy eating through a month long
challenge which consists of him eating McDonalds 3 times a day for a
whole month. As well as this he also explores other issues within
American society and what they’re doing/not doing to resolve the health
crisis which has become one of the many issues in current day America.
The documentary uses various micro elements as well as typical
documentary codes and conventions to make this a successful and
meaningful documentary.
The use of cinematography is one of the micro elements which is focused on in
documentaries, camera shots are used most effectively in documentaries with interviews,
interviews are one of the main codes and conventions that we are likely to see in a
documentary. In formal interviews, usually of experts, the shot is usually a mid-close up of
the expert, this is so that the background can also be used to effect and also because we do
not need to see any particular facial expression. The camera is positioned in a fixed position
usually to the right or left hand side of the
interviewer and at or just above eye level in
terms of height; this is because the expert has
the instrumental power in this interview as he
is the expert, therefor the camera doesn’t
need to show him as powerful, this also gives
a more formal interview. The expert also
does not look at the camera but at the
interviewer, again giving a sense of
professionalism, this is a very common
convention in documentaries. The mise-en-
scene is also a very important aspect in a
formal interview as like I said before the camera shot is a mid-close up so that the
background can be used to effect, the backgrounds will often consist of mise-en-scene which
is associated with that experts profession, this makes them seem more professional because
we see them in their working environment, mise-en-scene is also used for the experts clothing
as they will be dressed formally giving the same effect and making the overall interview
formal. Titles are also used to make the expert seem more professional, just by showing who
the expert is and what they do on screen changes the way the viewers look at them as they
now know that they are an expert. The purpose of these professional, formal, expert
interviews is so that the viewers have some expert advice rather than just being told or shown
issues by non-experts, like the presenter or Vox Pops.
Vox-Pops are another common feature that appears in almost every documentary, they are
used to give the average person’s insight on the topic of the documentary, they can be added
for affect as the things they say are often shocking, for example in “super size me” they
interview the everyday person asking them how often they are eating fast foods and the
majority said something shocking like “every day”. Vox pops are often used to manipulate

2. the audience by only including the vox pops that are shocking. In vox pops the subject is
filmed out on the street to emphasize the fact that they are normal people, the background
sound of people talking or cars going past are also left into the vox pops for the same effect.
These are two of the differences to formal interviews, some of the others are that in vox pops
the subject is usually standing up, and also in vox pops the subject wears casual clothes, the
reason for the differences is to manipulate the audience in who to believe and who to laugh
at, as a viewer you feel more incline to believe a professional rather than a person off the
street.one example of Vox pops being used in “super-size me” is when he interviewed two
young black males on the street, throughout the interview they are laughing and joking with
the interviewer and also saying how they always go to McDonalds and always super-size,
because of their behaviour and what they’re saying they seem stupid and irresponsible,
manipulating the audience so that we laugh at them.
A presenter is often a must have in a documentary, there a two main types of presenters that
documentaries use, one is the onscreen presenter, this means that the presenter is visual to the
audience, a benefit of this is that we get a much more personal documentary and we also
understand what the presenters point of view is, another benefit of this is that we can also get
a journey documentary where the presenter themselves are also learning as we do. The other
type of presenter that we get is the off screen presenter, this is much less personal and we
understand less about the presenters thoughts and feelings on the topic, however this creates a
much less biased documentary. It is also possible to have no presenter at all and just create a
story by using interviews, real life footage and also things like animations, this however is
very rare to see in a documentary as it is less entertaining and harder to do. In “Super-size
me” they have chosen to use an on screen presenter, this person is also the director and the
writer of the documentary, Morgan Spurlock. This is a must have in “super-size me” because
of the whole main point of the documentary, where the presenter goes through his month long
challenge, this allows us to experience it besides him and see how he is feeling or what he
looks like. Morgan Spurlock as a presenter comes across as a very average person, he dresses
in casual clothes and his presenting style is very informal and chatty, this makes the
documentary more entertaining and more personal, it also makes him easier to connect with
and trust as he is more like the audience. He is also one representation of a modern American
man, giving the audience some other sides of the representation of modern American society
as his is represented positively whereas some other people in Vox pops are not.
Background footage is used in every documentary; it is used to illustrate what the narrator is
saying and back it up with real life footage, animations or still images. It is important for a
documentary to have background footage because it makes the documentary more
entertaining rather than just listening to what the narrator is saying there are also images on
screen to keep the audience entertained. The main use of background footage is quick cuts
between short clips, for example in “super-size me” whenever the presenter is talking about
how many obese people there are in America the background footage will often be of various
overweight people doing everyday things, this is also often comical, this is again for
entertainment purposes. Another way background footage is used in “Super-size me” is
animations, this is often done to help explain things, this backs up what exactly the narrator is
saying but it is made into an animation so that it is easier to follow and less boring for the
audience. One specific use of this in “supersize me” is when Spurlock is explaining how
much money is spent on advertising from different companies in the US, the animation that
goes with this shows different overweight men pulling money out of their pockets with the
amount of money written on screen, this is done comically as they are also representing
America as overweight powerful white males.

3. In terms of sound, music is a very common feature in documentaries; in “Super size me”
music is used throughout the entire documentary. It is used for completely different effects
throughout, one example of its purpose is for comedy as numerous times throughout the film,
funny music about fat people, McDonalds and just fast food in general are used, this is
always a direct relation to the subject of the documentary and the lyrics are the things that
make the songs comical, to the audience this is comical, but we are basically laughing at
people making fun of Americans or how stupid the songs are. The most common use of
music is the constant lively tune in the background, this contrasts with what exactly the
presenter is saying or the whole documentary in general, as their point is that Americans are
not lively at all, this makes the overall point of the documentary more powerful as we hear
the lively music while were looking at the opposite making it seem more extreme. One
particular scene where contrasting music is used in “Super size me” is a scene where a man is
having a operation, we see images of the operation on screen, this is quite disgusting and
disturbing however the music that is used is peaceful and relaxing which is the opposite of
the actual surgery, this use of music however takes the seriousness away from the scene and
makes it more bearable to watch.
Editing is the most effective of the micro elements in a documentary as it can manipulate the
audience into thinking a certain thing, this is done through selective editing as the director
only chooses to include the parts of footage that back up the documentaries point. In
supersize me the editing is quick and it is constantly cutting to random parts of a Vox pop
where the person being interviewed says something shocking it also cuts up formal
interviews and leaves in the bits important to the documentary. One example of this being
used in supersize me is when various experts are saying to Spurlock how dangerous things
are happening to him, however all these interviews have been cut down, the original footage
could have included the expert telling Spurlock that he should be okay to carry on with the
challenge however he only includes the parts which say the dangers of what he’s doing.
In terms of the representations of American society in “Super size me” it is clear that the
main representation is negative. There are a few main arguments that are made throughout
the documentary, one is that American society do nothing to help themselves eat healthier
and because of this it creates a cycle of unhealthy people in America, one specific example of
this is in the scene where Spurlock is looking for nutritional information in various
McDonalds restaurants, he cannot find this information in a lot of them, the point that he is
making is that no one is giving the people of America the nutritional information that they
need to make healthy decisions and understand about healthy eating. Another point which is
made by Spurlock is that fast food companies are brainwashing the children in America
through advertisements, essentially making fast food companies one of the most powerful
companies in modern American society as they are already targeting the next generation. This
is shown in the scene where Spurlock shows children different images of people they should
know (e.g. George Washington and Jesus Christ) and people they shouldn’t necessarily know
(e.g Wendy and Ronald McDonald) all of the children knew who Ronald McDonald where
none of the children recognised Jesus Christ, making a clear point of how fast food
companies are targeting young children. Although there are many negative represetnations in
“Super size me” there are also a few psoitivew ones, they are mainly about how America is
changing in some places and trying to be healthy and promote healthy eating and excersize,
the main example of this which is used is when Spurlock goes to a high school in America for
troubled teens, in this high school they have introduced a new healthy lunch, where they
make most of the food by hand. in an interview with the headteacher of this school she says
that the healthy food is having a positive effect on the teenagers and making them better

4. behaved. The point that is being made here is clearly a positive one in that there are actual
examples where people are changing and the effects are positive. Even though there are also
positive representations it does not balance out the negative representations it only backs
them up by showing that doing things like exercising and eating healthy has positive results
and makes the people who are represented badly seem even worse.
To conclude “Super size me” uses typical documentary codes and conventions to manipulate
the audience, Spurlock uses formal interviews, vox pops, cinematography, editing and sound
as well as the use of an on screen presenter all to tilt the audiences perception in the
documentaries favour. American society is represented in an overall negative way, showing
them as lazy and showing America in general as dominated by fast food companies.