I wanted to see this film after reading about how McDonald’s basically ignored all efforts by the press and the filmmaker to get a comment on the documentary.
Supersize Me was an amazingly candid and biased report on the affects of a high fat diet on a above average male body. Morgan Spurlock, the filmmaker, was in shape, had abs, could run, do push-ups (something I’m ashamed to admit pose as a major exercise challenge to me), had a cute vegan girlfriend (i suppose we’re led to assume they had a decent sex life) and he could walk up several flights of stairs to his apartment in New York.
So who’s gonna win? Healthy white guy with the vegan girlfriend or a McD diet - high on fat, calories and stuff I can’t pronounce or spell?
This is all about point-of-view journalism. Granted, the end of the film showed Morgan calling McD’s and following up with a request for an interview. Ok, and the three doctors he chose to monitor his health on this insane 30-day diet, had no real prejudiced against the McD way of life - in fact, most of them expected him to gain weight, only. They had no idea the torture this diet inflicted on his body (had a cute McD belly going on), his liver and his psychological well being. However, it would be interesting and maybe downright entertaining to hear from an expert who thought the McD diet was a healthy one.
I’m pretty sure they didn’t mean to replicate the headache sensations from eating this food, but I had a hard time following some of the camerawork. Off a tripod, a majority of the shots were shaking and out of focus. We still had the camera getting the subject in focus and zoomed-in, during the sit-down interviews. It was distracting, but then again, since I’m going through the Medill program, I may be more senstitve to such things. I also understand when you’re doing guerilla video shooting, you don’t have the luxury to set-up a tripod and the subjects going on camera. So, I could appreciate the warped, up-turned shots of the McD interior and Morgan ordering another balanced meal from obese workers.
I am impressed where he was able to get his camera into, like the schools and their cafeterias. Wow, some fancy talking on this guy.
Overall, the film was well-researched, entertaining and I learned a lot.
I am staying away from the Golden Arches. Fuck that shit, I don’t want a McD belly and I don’t want my sex life to suffer.
Blogcritics has a nice little discussion on this
By the way….do you know what you’re putting into your mouth after eating at McD’s?
