Nagbae Saylee December 9,2008 Bisci 004 Extra Credit Why Are American So Fat Why is American so fat? The movie “Super size me” by filmmaker Morgan Spurlock explains it to us in two words fast food. What would happen if you ate nothing but fast food for an entire month? The movie talk about for 30 days he can’t eat or drink anything that isn’t on McDonald’s menu, he must eat three squares a day, he must consume everything on the menu at least once and supersize his meal if asked. Spurlock walks across the country interviewing a host of experts on fast food and an equal number of regular folks while chowing down at the Golden Arches.
Nevertheless the documentary is extremely biased, it makes the fast food companies looks like enemies and it doesn’t even give a point of view which could go against his ideas. Furthermore the article very direct and visual approach is very effective, the viewer certainly captures Spurlock’s message that fast food is very harmful for everyone’s health. Summary According to the documentary the number of “fat” people in the United States is increasing at a nonstop rate, and the fast food companies wash their hands on the problem. The documentary focus on Spurlock’s diet, which only consists of Mc Donald’s menu items. Spurlock during this month experiences not only an increase in
David starts by teasing these overweight individuals that are bring a lawsuit against McDonalds, but then later admits that he used to be overweight as a child and was able to change his life around. He made a point to show health concerns with being obese and eating fast food regularly, such as type two diabetes which has risen about twenty-five percent since 1994. This raise in diabetes also requires much funding for the United States to spend to try to find a cure. David explains how there is very few alternatives for the youth of America because those health alternatives are more expensive and harder to find. False advertising is also another unpleasant practice that fast food companies use to lure in costumers.
When President Obama moved to the White House, a Five Guys staffer suggested sending him a T-shirt. “That’s cheap!” Murrell shot back. Playing coy worked, and soon Obama, trailed by TV cameras, stopped by a store. He ordered a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, fresh jalapeños, and mustard — a classic example of Five Guys’ formula that sells 2 million burgers a week and was named Zagat’s “best fast food burger” for 2010. For this reporter, evaluating the burger first-hand was problematic: I’ve been a vegetarian for more than a dozen years.
Film Summary Before examining the aesthetics of the film it is important to give a brief summary. In his award winning film Super Size Me, director Morgan Spurlock turns his body into a fast-food waste land to illustrate the consequences of eating fast food. In the opening scenes of his film, Spurlock says that obesity has become second only to smoking as a preventable cause of death in the United States. “What’s more, the national weight gain over the past half-century coincides with the rise of major fast-food outlets” (Chattaway 1). In trying to find any connection between these two, he eats nothing but McDonalds three times a day for thirty days.
Not only have their menu remained the same but so have their suppliers. They have been getting their beef from the same supplier for more years than Murrel can actually remember, and use Idaho potatoes instead of faster-growing cheaper potatoes from Florida and California (Melnick, 2011). Socially they set out to continually provide customers with their fresh made to order burgers and fries along with fresh add-on items like jalapenos and onions to name a few. Five Guys focuses on using their money to produce high quality food and still till this day do not advertise. Instead the company uses the money that would go to advertising to encourage employees to be courteous, clean, and proficient and food preparation.
24/3/14 24/3/14 Arin Regi Arin Regi Conventions and Themes Essay Conventions and Themes Essay The 2004 super hit documentary film Super Size Me is a documentary film that follows a normal guy on a very weird and wacky journey across America through many McDonalds restaurants. He knows his conventions and he definitely understands how to link them to themes perfectly. These themes include that McDonalds and fast food slowly deteriorates and kills its customers, America is turning out to be the fattest country and that everyone wants to be slim and ‘hot’ the easy way. These themes are cleverly conveyed through conventions such as jiggly camera, facts and statistics and animation and visual aids. In the documentary film Super Size Me, the director and main person, Morgan Spurlock uses the convention, ‘jiggly camera’ to convey the theme that McDonalds and fast food slowly deteriorates and kills its customers.
In the article, “Don’t the Blame Eater”, David Zinczenko believes that the fast food industry is the main cause of obesity. Some years before 1994, children with diabetes were most commonly associated with genetic disorders. Since then, the cost of healthcare has peeked. Fast food may be the only option for children to get an affordable meal. Fast food restaurants often give false perceptions of their foods.
In terms of fast food restaurant life span, even twenty-five years in business can seem like an eternity. In an article published in the New York Times, it was reported that instead of advertising heavily, franchising or redesigning stores, White Castle relied on a simple menu of a square little hamburger that die-hard fans would buy by the bagful and devour in one sitting (Siler, 1988). Although the article was published in 1988, much of White Castle’s promotion has remained the same. This paper discusses a number of strategies that have contributed to the sustainability of the White Castle’s hamburger; identifies the intangible aspects such as crave times and company culture which has contributed to the company’s growth; and discusses the marketing strategies that have contributed to the product’s lengthy life cycle in the fast food business. In an article in Investor’s Business Daily, it was revealed that one of the keys to White Castle’s success has been the company’s ability to keep family in management positions.
While some argued that it is the fault of food industries, and for some, fault of consumers, it can easily be resolved with two words: self-responsibility. Therefore, consumers are definitely the ones responsible for the current epidemic in this country. The first reason why consumers are responsible for America’s obesity epidemic is because consumers are the ones that choose what to eat and feed their children. There are many alternatives to fast food but most people rather not take their time to prepare for a healthier meal. In “The Battle against Fast Food Begins in Home”, author Daniel Weibtraub tries to convince parents to take a stand and fend off obesity in their homes.