Supersize Me Documentary analysis

1. What is Spurlok’s message about fast food?

Through Supersize me, Spurlok wants to portray how damaging Mc Donald's can be. We have the responsibility to maintain a healthy lifestyle and avoid eating junk food in a daily basis. It's main purpose is to show how bad habits Americans have acquired and how significant Mac Donald's is in their life's. Most kids know the Mc Donald's song but not their countries National Anthem.  It's aimed at all of us who have once eaten at Mc Donald's or people who are regular consumers; this makes the audience feel disgusted and guilty. However people would not eliminate Mc Donalds from their diets just because of watching Super Size me but still the idea will be left in their heads and they would probably reduce their intakes. 

2. How does he try to prove his message’s validity?

He proves his message validity by showing interviews with experts, such as doctors, regular controls of how his health deteriorates as his Mc Diet progresses. He also includes his girlfriend which, in contrast is vegetarian and portrays a healthy side of the story. We can see that he his in good health conditions before the diet when he exercised and ate a balanced diet. The detailed tracking down in his visits and cholesterol checks, etc make his message seem more valid. 

3. What does he do as a director to make you believe his message?

He interviews many doctors which recommend that Mac Donalds shouldn't be eaten at all, not even once a year. We can also see his progress of weight gaining and difficulties start to appear. He feels more sleepy and tired. Also the fact that he is being warned from his nutritionists that the Mc Diet can be really harmful due to the amount of fat the meals contain, makes the audience nervous about what could happen and that the damages could be irreparable. In addition, he points out that even Mc Donalds salads are unhealthy, he said that they contained sugar and that they were even unhealthier than a big mac. This is shocking because normally you would think that a salad is better therefore your order one, but in reality it's worse than a hamburger.

4. What flaws do you see in his strategy?

I think that the main flaws are that he is not very realistic because Mac Donald's can be obviously very unhealthy if you supersize every meal and reduce all kinds of physical activity. It is not appropriate at all if you eat with that frequency. Nevertheless I think there are many other factors which contribute to American's obesity and I don't think that many people would eat at Mc Donalds more than 1 or 2 times a day continously. Also the way Spur lock goes from a super healthy diet to a greasy diet, that sudden change in your body will surely have big impacts. The supersize me option is another flaw, because if a normal american decides to go into a fast food restaurant, nobody is demanding you to order the biggest unhealthiest option. You can easily go to a simpler option.