Documentary Analysis

For my documentary analysis assignment, I chose to view the ever popular "Super Size Me," which follows director Morgan Spurlock on an investigation of the obesity trend in America. For those of you who don't know, Spurlock subjects himself to 30 days of eating only food from McDonald's restaurants and gauging how it affects his body. In doing so, he provides a vivid critique of the obesity problem in this country as well as a disurbing gimpse into the agendas of corporate fast food chains that is as witty as it is disgusting.

Overall, this may very well be the most effective and convincing documentaries I have ever observed. Most obviously is Spurolck's technique of providing a first-hand demonstration of the effects of consistent fast food consumption on the human body. He sacrifices his own health and well-being to ilustrate a point and viewers witness the indisputable results. Spurlock gains a substantial amount of weight in the short course of a month, getting ill and vomitting plenty along the way. This stark, selfless portrayal leaves little room for doubt as to the dangerous implications of eating fast food. Another technique used to build the argument at hand is the frequentl presentation of videos portraying morbidly obese people eating fast food in communities all across America. Though there is no proof that fast food caused these people's obesity, the standard viewer who is not practicing deep analysis of the film beyond the obvious would easily jump straight to that conclusion. And since these viewers likely compose the majority of the film's audience, this technique is effective indeed.

Spurlock also employs the ever effective method of personal testimony in his documentary. Among his interviewees, Spurlock speaks with a health professional, fast food consumers, and individuals employed in different levels of the fast food industry. In doing so, he attains a wide breadth of opinons. However, his personal, physical testimony of the effects of fast food automatically supports some of these opinions while completely refuting others, providing a witty irony to the statements of the "antagonists." Though not actually an interview, Spurlock adds an intriguing "policy" to his 30n day fast food binge. Anytime an employee asked if he would like the supersize meal, he had to accept. This technique displayed the priority the corporate fast food organizations place on maximizing profits over nurturing the well-being of society.

Which leads into the concept of bias in this documentary. If Spurlock hadn't previously maintained the notion that fast food is bad for you, he most likely wouldn't have bothered making this film to begin with. There definitely appears to be a bias supporting the detrimental effects of fast food on the human body. The health professionals who attest to these effects are shed in a very professional and informed light, whereas the supporters of McDonald's are presented as deceptive or ignorant in the eyes of viewers.

"Super Size Me" is strikingly convincing as to the hazards of eating too much fast food. Never before have I seen an individual push his physical well-being to such disastrous limits just to get a point across. But as i said before, this sacrifice he makes for the good of society pretty much places his argument beyond contestation.