Morgan Spurlock's documentary "Supersize Me" follows his 30 day experiment eating only food from McDonald's. Over the month, his health severely declines as he gains weight and his cholesterol and liver enzymes rise. The documentary examines the manipulative marketing tactics of fast food companies and their role in America's obesity epidemic. It also explores personal responsibility versus corporate responsibility in influencing people's health. Overall, the film is a cautionary tale about the dangers of a fast food-heavy diet.

1. SUPERSIZE ME

2. of documentary as it includes
interviews, observations, and there are
elements of mise-en-scene. Most
members of the cast acknowledge the
presence of the camera making it an
example of a participatory
documentary.

3. KEY THEMES
• Obesity
• Manipulation
• Fast food
• Profits/money
• America
• Health issues
• Children’s diets
• McDonalds
• Personal responsibility
• Governments

4. NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
• Multi-stranded – the documentary covers a range of topics e.g.
Nutrition, corporations, government input etc..
• Linear – the documentary follows the man’s diet journey in
chronological order
• Closed narrative – by the end of the documentary, all questions
regarding the man’s progress have been answered
• Open narrative – however, the audience could be left wondering
what the fate of the McDonalds industry is and whether the stores
will remain open or be sued
• Binary opposites – Strauss’ theory is shown through healthy vs
unhealthy
• Propp’s narrative theory – Hero (voice over), villain (fast food),
princess (people of America who consume fast food).

5. CAMERAWORK
Much of the camerawork throughout the documentary is handheld,
mostly filmed by Spurlock himself. The use of handheld
camerawork helps immerse the audience in the film and express a
sense of realism. An example of handheld camerawork is when
Spurlock is at a school during lunch time – shots show the food
being served out which gives the audience the same visual
experience as if they were there.

6. TWO SHOT
This is used when Morgan is in the doctor’s surgery,
getting various tests – in this shot his blood pressure is
being taken. The shot shows the professional/formal
relationship between the two and conveys the medical
and scientific themes in the documentary.
EXTREME CLOSE UP
This shot shows Spurlock’s weight being recorded at the
start of his diet which is a key point in the documentary.
The intense focus on the scales symbolises how
significant his weight and health are in his journey and
implies that his diet has now begun – this is his start line.
CLOSE UP
Close ups are used for the interviews with the public
which effectively removes any focus from the
interviewee’s surroundings so the audience is solely
focused on them and what they are saying. Close ups also
make it hard to tell the person’s weight which leaves their
opinion seemingly unbiased.

7. ZOOM OUT
A zoom is used from a shot of a sign advertising a ‘free
taste’ to pan out to a large variety of ice cream flavours.
This shows how much unhealthy food is on offer in America
and how wide it ranges beyond McDonalds whilst also
expressing how easily accessible it is.
ZOOM IN
This technique is used throughout the documentary often
zooming in on the food that Spurlock is eating. This gives
the audience full detail and immersion in his diet and
provides them with maximum coverage of the experience.
LOW ANGLE SHOT
A low angle shot is used in the car, when showing
Spurlock eat his lunch. The low angle provides full view
of him eating the meal, what it is he’s eating, and his
surroundings. The low angle also plays on the idea that
he is becoming larger as he takes up more screen
space.

8. ARCHIVE FOOTAGE
Archival/stock footage is obtained from a
film library or archive and inserted into a
documentary to add detail or show
historical events without the need for
additional filming. In Supersize Me, a
great deal of archival footage is used to
display the extent of obesity everyday in
America and speeches made about the
themes covered. This blends nicely into
the rest of the footage and is often
placed between two different scenes to
make them flow better. The footage used
shows the effects of the ‘McDonalds diet’
outside of Spurlock’s experience and how
it impacts people in everyday life.

9. MISE-EN-SCENE
In his car
The Doctor’s surgery
At home
McDonalds
Spurlock’s workplace

10. SOUND
• Digetic – digetic sound is featured in Spurlock’s dialogue as he narrates
his actions, and converses with the audience about his location and
progress etc. Whilst in shot being filmed. This keeps the documentary
real and relatable for the audience. There is also the digetic sound of
him eating, unwrapping his food and vomiting which again re-inforces
the realism of his experience and shows how the footage is unaltered
and realistic.
• Non-digetic – This is used in terms of the voiceover and the music
played over montages or often archival footage. The voiceover is
Morgan Spurlock which maintains the informal tone and the realism of
the documentary however he uses the voiceover to create a more
authoritative facade by spouting facts and figures and specialist
knowledge on key themes such as obesity and fast food chains. The
music used in the documentary is childish, McDonalds songs which
anchor the theme of the documentary and highlight how chains like
McDonalds reach out to young, naive children and appeal to
Americans from a young age.

11. EDITING
Complex editing techniques are kept minimal to maintain the
focus of the documentary on the key themes. These
themes are re-inforced using montages of archival footage
of obese people in America, fast food being consumed
and fast food restaurants. Multiple jump cuts are included
with archival footage in between many scenes which
makes the documentary flow smoothly. Images and
animations are also intertwined to keep bringing the
theme of the documentary back to the impact of fast food
chains and chronic obesity.

12. GRAPHICS
Dates, locations and subtitles are used
throughout which emphasises the chronological
order of the documentary. Maps are also used,
not only to show location but to express how
obesity is effecting America nationwide. Both
maps used show how obesity has increased in
recent years which effectively scaremongers
viewers into realisation that it is a new and
increasing problem. Lots of negative propoganda
like this is used throughout the documentary like
Mcdonalds being incorporated into famous
paintings such as ‘The last supper’ and ‘Starry
night’ which show how manipulative fast food
advertising can be.