AmateurMovieReviews.com

In Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Super Size Me, he addresses the new obesity epidemic that is crippling many Americans. Spurlock focuses on the many causes for these new obesity trends and sheds light upon America’s commitment to healthy lifestyles, or lack there of. Additionally, Spurlock throws around the idea of where the line is drawn between corporate responsibility and individual responsibility towards America’s larger than life society. Recently, the media and American’s have been lambasting fast food restaurants, such as McDonalds, for their food being so fat ridden that it is the direct link to America’s growing obesity problem. McDonalds has gone on record as stating that their food can be a part of a healthy diet. In this documentary Spurlock challenges McDonalds balanced diet assertion by committing himself to a 30 day McDiet. Spurlock attempts to find out just how damaging a diet completely built around Big Macs and Fries might be. The results are truly astounding.

Underlying Spurlock’s radical McDiet is the root of his argument, America’s failure and unwillingness to commit to a healthy and nutritional lifestyle. Throughout Spurlock’s documentary he examines why 60% of all Americans get little to no exercise each day. A prime excuse given by many of those Spurlock interviewed was that there is no time for exercise when juggling a job, a family, and an American obsession with driving. Two overweight mothers stated that their exercise is chasing around their children all day. Another reason given by Spurlock for so many inactive Americans getting little exercise is due to the food one in four Americans eat everyday, fast food. Spurlock experienced first hand the ill effects of the delicious Quarter Pounder: shortness of breath, laziness, and fatigue. With so many Americans suffering from their McDiets, as Spurlock did, it is clear why America holds the title for the fattest country of them all. Who could compete with us, it’s the American way, bigger the better.

Furthermore, Spurlock uses his documentary of epic proportions to shed light upon the school systems and how they are influencing a tubby society. Spurlock truly believes that change towards a healthier America has to start at the bottom, with the future of America, the children and teenagers. The school systems argue that they are offering the best nutritional education possible for their students. Making students aware of the dangers but still allowing them to make their own choices in the cafeteria. This is where Spurlock reveals the discrepancies between what the schools are preaching and how the students are responding. Spurlock travels to a school in Illinois that reveals a student body that instead of buying a banana and simple sandwich for lunch is rather purchasing the crunchy, dangerously cheesy Cheetos along with a side of golden brown, fresh out of the fryer, French fries. Spurlock shows how teaching our young students to make healthy lifestyle choices but still flaunting fattening snacks in front of their face is only confusing them not benefiting them.

Along with not promoting healthy eating habits Spurlock reveals how schools are also failing to promote physical activity. In another visit to a school in Illinois, Spurlock examines how school budget cuts are cutting into the physical education of students. In this school students are only required to attend physical education for 45 minutes per week, even when the FDA advises that an individual receive 30 minutes of exercise each day. Schools that outwardly express their commitment to teaching students about well-rounded lifestyles are not carrying out their promises, but rather are feeding the fire.

Many McDonalds advocates say that many Americans have the choice at McDonalds to choose healthier options. But is this really true? With McDonalds introducing their new premium salads and fruit yogurts they really are attempting to offer to the public "better choices". On the contrary in Spurlock’s documentary it is shown that a premium salad has just as many calories as a Big Mac and yogurts cram in as many calories as a strawberry sundae. McDonalds truly is committed to creating a healthier, fitter America. Now with the choice of having a Big Mac or a Big Mac Salad at least we are eating healthier titles. We Americans can now sleep easy at night, unless sleep apnea gets us first.

Morgan Spurlock delivers many valid points throughout his documentary Super Size Me but at what point does his experiments and arguments become so over the top that they lose their validity. Spurlock definitely walks a thin line, as he commits himself to McDonalds for every meal through a thirty-day span to reveal its ill affects. I would assume that there are few people that actually eat fast food for every meal. But how far off is Spurlock, the medical data doesn’t lie. Spurlock’s experiment is very swayed and extreme, but not very far off from the fact of the matter; America has an insatiable appetite for fast food and corporations like McDonalds are willing to keep feeding us until society decides enough is enough. Spurlock delves into many of these ideas, and asserts that responsibility resides in both society and the corporations to work together, in order to small fry our behinds.

Submitted via our Submit A Review page.