Rhetorical Analysis of Super Size Me Fast foods are one of the leading causes of major problems like obesity for many Americans today. An average man, Morgan Spurlock, decides to conduct an experiment dealing with the effects of consuming too much fast food. The film Super Size Me, a persuasive documentary following Spurlock’s experiments, aims to show the danger of fast food, particularly focusing on McDonald’s food, on consumers’ health. Its purpose is to bring awareness to the public about corporate responsibility concerning the food consumers eat, such as McDonald’s, which makes them overweight. In his documentary, Spurlock eats only food from McDonald’s for a month (thirty days) to see how his health can be affected and he is examined by three doctors before, during, after the experiment.
Supersize Me Critique Blank University of Pennsylvania Supersize Me Critique Title: Supersize Me Year: 2004 Production Company: Roadside Attractions & Samuel Goldwin Films Soundtrack Writers: Michael Parrish Lead Actors: Morgan Spurlock The purpose of this film is to demonstrate that the United States has approached epidemic obesity and its long-term effect on health due to unhealthy consumption of fast foods. Inspired by a lawsuit of two teenagers against the franchise McDonald’s, Morgan Spurlock embarks on an exaggerated experiment of a 30 day diet of exclusively McDonald’s. He ascertains that his experiment will cause him to gain weight and his health will deteriorate. The rules are simple: eat foods exclusively purchased at McDonald’s, super-size a meal each time asked, eat all three meals, and try everything on the menu at least once. Furthermore, he limits his physical activity to that of an average American.
Approximately one third of American adults were believed to be obese in 2013. Obesity has many different effects, some are short term and others are long term, but all are negative. Some short term effects are that risk factors for cardiovascular disease immediately increase, which is known as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. This can also be a long term effect because it affects young people when they get older. Obesity can also cause diabetes, heart disease, joint problems, respiratory problems, cancer, metabolic syndrome, and psychosocial effects.
The most obvious of causes for such a large amount of the population to be labeled as obese comes from years of terrible eating habits and lack of physical activity. America is undergoing an era of recession, many people have relied on welfare and lost their sense of hope, which has led them to become unmotivated and inactive at home. People are less motivated to exercise, because TV and surfing the Internet has become more comforting than going partaking in daily exercise. Organic foods are a healthy, but expensive commodity in America. Many Americans cannot afford to purchase such material, so they have to rely on the abundant diversity of fast food and microwaveable dinners.
McDonald's molded it's marketing tactics on Disney which inspired icons for advertising such as Ronald McDonald. Schlosser also mentions that 80% of sponsored textbooks are biased toward the sponsor and 30% of high schools offer fast food in their cafeterias. Most packaging done for the fast food meat industry is done my the immigrant labor force. Injury for workers who hold these jobs are among the highest of any other occupation in the United States. Many unsanitary and just plain disgusting routine procedures of this industry are unknown to most consumers.
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.
Now days everything is more convienent to us because it seems like there is a McDonald’s on every corner, and a Jack-n-the-Box on every exit. In the article “Kentucky Town of Manchester Illustrates National Obesity Crisis” by Will Haygood, he demonstrates an example of the reason why America is one-third obese. He takes a small town in Manchester of Kentucky and illustrates the fact and reason as why there is a high percentage of obesity in that town. He explains that there are a lot of fast food chain restaurants and not many of people in that town understand the basic knowledge of proper nutrition.
The problem facing this population is the obesity and the core problem is not addressed. The symptoms are treated without addressing the obesity. “The increasing prevalence of obesity and its significant health consequences are straining our health-care system. In 2000, the total cost of obesity in the United States was an estimated $117 billion—$61 billion in direct costs and $56 billion in indirect costs” (Lee, 2010, p. 597). Some states have addressed these issues by starting with children and forcing schools to offer healthier lunches.
Symptoms of this type of diabetes are: fatigue, hunger, increased thirst, and increased in urination. Increased rates of diabetes type 2 among adolescents will have very important long term implications for the affected individuals. in society and in the public health system as a whole Because diabetes is going to lead to certain complications in the future including progressive neuropathy, retinopathy leading in some cases to blindness, nephropathy leading in most cases to chronic renal failure and atherosclerosis a cardiovascular disease. According to the (CDC) center for disease and control prevention, currently there’s 28.8 million people only in the united states about (8.4% of the population) have diabetes about 1.7 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people younger than 21 years old. Diabetes type 2 was the seventh leading cause in 2008 in the United States according to death certificates.
Childhood obesity is a well- known topic and is currently a huge concern. An important finding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that one-fifth of American children are obese. Research studies have shown that preventing obesity starts with breastfeeding. As opposed to formula feeding, breastfeeding reduce the risks of childhood obesity. Studies have revealed that obesity prevention initiates with breastfeeding.