Free Essay Sample on The "Super Size Me" Documentary

Introduction

The "Super Size Me" is a documentary produced and directed by Morgan Spurlock. "Super-Size Me" documentary was produced in 2014 to highlight the impacts of fast food on human health (Creator Studio, 2019). Spurlock engages in a 30-day journey eating from the McDonald's menu. The major character, Spurlock, consumes approximately 5,000 kcal every day from McDonald's, which is a recommended portion for someone of his age (Creator Studio, 2019). Spurlock eats French fries, soda, and other fast-food for one month, taking three meals per day just like a regular person. The character gains 11.1 kg as a result of the experiment (Creator Studio, 2019). During this process, the character confesses that the increase in cholesterol made him experience mood swings, sexual dysfunction, and cholesterol in the liver. At the end of the experiment, Spurlock engages in a one-month vegan diet to cut weight.

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Memorable Moment

The most memorable moment in the documentary is during the 29th day. During this time, the character has consumed a considerable amount of cholesterol from the foods that he orders from McDonald's (Creator Studio, 2019). As Spurlock climbs stairs towards his room, he is breathing heavily. What surprised me most is that in his hands, he still had his McDonald's order of chicken, yoghurt, and French fries. Even with the negative impacts of the food, the character was still clinging to it. This shows how addictive, such foods are.

Another memorable moment is when the character brings all the McDonald's French fry packages with varying sizes (Creator Studio, 2019). He notes that the sizes have been increasing considerably. What amused me is the biggest packaging, which looked abnormally big, but people would still order it to eat individually. The biggest package goes by the name of the Super Size, which allegorically symbolizes the size of the people that prefer it.

Factual Events

The documentary accounts for factual events that take place in the normal lives of the American citizens. In the documentary, various characters in their normal daily lives are interviewed regarding their healthy lifestyle. Various experts are used in the documentary to provide scientific information for viewers. Dr David Satcher, who is a surgeon, gives the concerns of heart diseases that are currently on the rise, and he contributes this to the consumption of fast foods (Creator Studio, 2019).

Also, Lisa Young, a professor of nutrition at New York University, gives a talk about the right portion that a normal person should consume to maintain optimum weight. Super Size documentary was created by a producer who felt inspired to talk about health issues and how fast foods affect individuals (Creator Studio, 2019). He decides to use McDonald's menu because it is the most common. By using factual information about real people, places, and events, the producer highlights the dangers of fast foods.

Fast foods make people either overweight or obese. Spurlock experiments with McDonald's for one month. Each day he had to eat a complete meal (Creator Studio, 2019). The video gives evidence that this character does not consume any other food apart from McDonald's. He maintains his normal routine for that one month, exercising regularly and other activities. The character takes the right portion and does not overeat or binge. On the 21st day, the character experiences problems and visits a doctor, Darryl Isaacs, who advises him to cease from the first foods. Spurlock takes five months to lose the weight he had gained in one month. The salad used in the food was the major culprit in weight gain as it contained the most calories.

Evidences

The documentary draws its evidence from various interviews from experts (Hoffman, 2019). The experts provide proof from a scientific point of view concerning fast foods. The doctor's diagnosis of Spurlock's health is also substantial evidence because it is based on science. Empirical written sources provided adequate evidence to give accurate statistics about obesity in the States of America. From the CDC sources, the documentary confirms that Mississippi is the fattest state in the USA.

The documentary explores the first-person point of view extensively. From the main character, Spurlock's narrations, we get informed about the dangers of fast foods. The character takes the performative role and engages the audience to the fullest. The audience gets to understand things from his point of view (Hoffman, 2019). Third-Person Limited Point of View is also used in some instances in the documentary (Hoffman, 2019). The Producers engage characters who talk about other things, and our knowledge gets limited to only what the characters know. The omniscient point of view is also common in films but is not used in " Super Size Me."In conclusion, "The Super Size Me" documentary is a masterpiece. Spurlock, who is the main character, the interviewer, the director, and producer, does an incredible piece that educates the society about the dangers of fast foods.

Conclusion

The film is very informative and entertaining, which made me like it even more, sales in the process of learning I was also getting entertained. The film has a strong message, and anyone in their right senses would not opt to shop from McDonald's. The documentary shows that the food from these outlets is full of sugar and fat, which is not good for health. Cholesterol is very harmful to the body as it can be seen the way it affected Spurlock. The audience needs to take caution about what they consume. It only took Spurlock one month to gain 11.1 kilograms, which he had to strain for five consecutive months of training and vegan life to get rid of the bad cholesterol.

References

Creator Studio. (2019, June 26). Super Size Me [Video]. YouTube.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH5-i8Trc78

Hoffman, J. (2019). Doc Talk: From the Point of View of a Filmmaker. Portable Gray, 2(2), 173-180.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/707148?journalCode=pog.