Super Size Me

This movie was so revolting. I don't recommend it to anyone. We watched it in two parts, the first half hour and then the rest. I was so disgusted in the first half hour, I didn't want to finish, but forced myself to just to post it on this here blog. I don't know who was a worse sucker for stubbornness: him trying to kill himself eating burgers for a whole month against the advice of his doctors, or me torturing myself through the entire movie just to see what I could get out of his interviews, etc. By the end, I thought I had gotten nothing out of it. Then... I got to thinking, and realized more and more what I learned.

Highlights:
The very best part of this movie, that you'll want to watch, is when he goes into the public school system to see what they're eating. It may vary according to version, but FF to about 51 minutes 20 seconds and watch to 57:52. Amazing! Highly recommended.

I also recommend seeing the GMA lobbyists (FF to Minute 1:22:15) The GMA (Grocery Manufacturers Association) is a member of the group that promotes "MSG is safe"

Besides that, there's,
Bypass surgery "Desperate problems call for desperate measures."

Advertising Kids that can't even recognize visuals of Washington, Lincoln, or Jesus, correctly identify Ronald McDonald.
In 2001:

• McD's spent $1.4 billion on radio, television, and print worldwide
• Pepsi spent $1 billion on direct media advertising
• Hersheys spent $200 million internationally
• In its peak year, the 5-a day Fruit and vegetable campaign total advertising budget in all media was $2 million "100 times less than just the direct media budget of [Hershey's] candy company."
  

Regulations are being passed prohibiting photography of industrial food production They don't want us to see how our food is made! We might not want to eat it.

Nutrition Facts are difficult, if not impossible to find. They're "on the internet," yet he states that an astounding percent of the U.S. populous does not have the internet. How can you argue consumer responsibility, when the nutrition facts aren't even posted?

Naivety of interviewees off the street It was ingenious to ask people off the street, "What is a calorie?" I would have never thought to ask that question, and would have never guessed that so many people didn't have an answer. What is the point of even having food labels if people don't know what a calorie is?

What goes into a chicken nugget You guessed it- a million ingredients, all low quality.

Heavy users defined Seventy-two percent of McD's customers. These guys eat at McD's at least once a week. Those that frequent McD's 3+ times a week that are called super heavy users and total 22% of McD's customers.

See lots of fat people on video And realize how big we are.

and, of course, I guess you have to include the punchline
Spurlock gets life-threateningly ill on his month- long McD's diet He induces a fatty liver and rapid weight gain. He suffers a myriad of other symptoms such as depression, food addiction, and erectile dysfunction.

Spurlock's study methods are totally unscientific; he should have controlled for calories. He was eating 5,000 calories a day. So, was it all due to the food source, or his calories? If he would have stuck to a normal caloric intake it would really show what McDonald's food does to you, overeating aside. He is very good at his statistics, throughout the whole movie, though, which makes watching it enjoyable, including statistics about his own personal health deterioration.

This is not a movie we wanted to watch with toddlers, I mean, if not for the very fact that its like watching one big McDonald's commercial.

*The full-length movie documentary Super Size Me is available in its entirety on YouTube.