Man, it’s been so long since we’ve talked about a documentary. This’ll be a nice change of pace.
Having worked at a McDonald’s in my high school years, I’ve had plenty of exposure to this film. Both customers and co-workers alike made frequent jokes about it. However, I’ve never actually watched the movie. I had meant to back then, but seeing as I spent most of my days inside that building anyway, I didn’t want to expand that time any further.
But now I’ve separated myself from that restaurant for over half a decade. So my skin only lightly crawls every time I think about it. Making this the perfect time to watch the film!
Just how dangerous is fast food for your health? In this documentary, Morgan Spurlock aims to find out. The experiment is simple: subsist off of nothing but McDonald’s for one month and see how that affects his health.
I appreciate how thoroughly this documentary approaches the health side of things. Anyone can binge fast food and stick a camera in their face every day for a month and call it a day. Plenty of Youtubers do just that for a living. In this documentary, we check in with all manner of health experts, from doctors to fitness trainers. He even goes over the health benefits of just walking! Thorough research was done in preparation for this experiment.
It doesn’t just stop at the scientific side of this story. It also explores the moral debate behind the stigma against fast food. Are people right to point the finger and blame them or are they just overreacting? How do fast food businesses marketing target children? How does the overindulgence of it effect people, especially kids? How does it effect people mentally, particularly teenagers?
This documentary explores both sides of the argument, providing plenty of evidence to support both claims without ever choosing a side. This movie isn’t out to make you pick a side, it’s just out to educate you.
Though I’m glad at least that both sides can still agree that this stuff is terrible for you health wise. No one is debating that point.
That said, it does show its age a bit in some of the information it presents. Remember the Super Size? Yeah, that sure ain’t a thing anymore. Which, speaking as a former employee, is probably a good thing for everyone involved.
As if that weren’t bad enough, there’s also a scene with Jared from Subway. A scene in which he’s surrounded by young teenagers and children.
That right there is an all-caps YIKES.
It also shows its age visually. Plenty of its shots are a tad grainy or a little blurry. Which makes sense, it’s an indie film from 2004. HD cameras and smart phones weren’t exactly common place back then. It’s not an ugly movie by any means, but you can definitely tell it’s a movie from the early 2000s.
Despite its age, ‘Super Size Me’ is still every bit as prevalent now as it was nineteen years ago. If you haven’t watched it, I’d highly recommend checking it out. Educational and engaging, it’s a solid documentary through and through.
Hold up… when was the last time I had an apple?
…
Shit.
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