Super Size… This…
I watched the movie “Super Size Me” last night. This movies director reminds me quite a bit of Michael Moore (I’m not talking about the obvious reference). In many ways I have found Michael’s movies to be less misleading and more objective. ;-)
The movie is about a man who saw the lawsuit brought upon McDonalds on behalf of two girls because they were fat, and they eat at McDonalds. Thus McDonalds is responsible for their excess girth. He decided to test the theory by eating at McDonalds exclusively for 30 days. I’m not going to completely spoil the movie, but needless to say he is very much trying to convince the audience that McDonalds is indeed contributory to their size, and that they do so intentionally.
What he does.
1. He continues to intentionally consume double the necessary calories required per day. Trust me if you eat 5500 calories of Subway sandwiches a day you will gain just as much weight.
2. Through the diet the physicians told him that gaining weight at the rate he is, by overeating, is dangerous. He continued anyway and seemed suprised by the physical effects.
3. He ceased getting any exercise at all. As a matter of fact he intentionally made himself quit walking from place to place.
4. He started having health issues, many of which could be blamed on the now copious quantities of caffeine that he had started to consume.
5. Another interesting thing you don’t see in the movie, but I heard him say during an interview about the movie; He was not just eating one meal at a time. For instance, for breakfast He would eat pancakes and sausage, and an egg McMuffin, which to most people would be two breakfasts.
The movie is VERY heavy handed, constantly insinuating that McDonalds is evil, and that McDonalds food is the reason his health is declining. While he stuffs himself with quantities of food that are completely unreasonable. Add to this the dramatic increade in caffeine consumption, and exercise deprivation. Not that I like McDonald’s food (matter of fact it gives me indigestion, and I don’t care for the taste either), but to purport that this movie could be used as evidence to support the claim that McDonalds food is unhealthy is just wrong. All this movie proves is that you really can get fat if you eat way too much of the wrong kinds of food, and deprive your body of as much movement as possible. I think most of us knew that already.
The reason McDonalds sold “Super Size†meals is that PEOPLE BUY THEM. There is no evil malicious conspiracy to make Americans fat on McDonald’s behalf. McDonalds food is no more evil than many things you can (and many do) make for themselves at home. McDonalds sells a product that people want to buy. They have no obligation to act as health consultant/food nanny for the country. Get over it…
One item of support, I do think that way too many kids are overweight. However, most kids will be overweight if they overeat and don’t get any exercise. This is not however, McDonalds fault, it’s not the fault of the schools (the movie goes after them too), it’s the responsibility of parents/guardians to ensure that their kids eat healthy, reasonably, and get exercise.
On my 1 to 10 rating scale:
1. See at Theater
2. Buy pay per view
3. Buy on DVD
4. Wait for HBO
5. Wait for broadcast TV
6. Ignore
7. Write a nasty review about the movie
8. Call the distribution company and complain
9. Convince the Christian Coalition that the movie is the work of the devil.
10. Feed the director’s dog Ex-Lax and poke the producer’s eyes out with a pencil.
I definitely rate this one a 5, as it is mildly entertaining, and does have a few interesting points. However since the point of view is so incredibly slanted and the data is almost wholly unsubstantiated, you really cannot believe most of the points made in the movie.