Supersize Me C/D

I wholeheartedly agree that America needs to wake the fuck up.

jbr: here's my big criticism of this whole thing...
jbr: there's so much more to it than just the fast food industry
jbr: and that sounds blindingly obvious, but it's really true
ckb: correct
jbr: it's the culture as a whole: it's car culture and suburban sprawl and expensive gyms keeping people from exercising, it's the way certain ethnic groups and classes have been taught to eat throughout history, it's the fact that there's food EVERYWHERE you go and you can't escape it
jbr: america just needs to be brought down in full
ckb: OTMFM
jbr: the other big problem with the movie was the guy's claim that eating at mcdonald's every day (or multiple times in a week) will make us all incredibly sick the way it did him -- ignoring the fact that chronic fast food eaters have established a physical tolerance it's taken them years to build up and it's usually only health nuts like him who get seriously ill when there's a very sudden change in diet. "a very sudden change in diet" killed karen carpenter, after she'd lived with anorexia for years and it was only fatal after she managed to get healthy again.
jbr: the body is resilient and can handle a fuck of a lot but not everything all at once.
ckb: mmhmmm
ckb: it's the similar situation with drug users, etc.
ckb: arrr... i'm probably going to be really annoyed by the movie
jbr: i think you will be
jbr: its heart is in the right place but sometimes it isn't -- sometimes it's just fat-mockery for its own sake
ckb: ugh
ckb: obesity is the last thing that is fair game to make fun of
jbr: uh huh
jbr: it's basically "i don't like the way you look so i'm going to use SCIENCE (cue oohs and ahhs) to make you feel like shit about yourself"
ckb: sigh
ckb: and it lumps all the stereotypes together
ckb: mcdonalds is bad. all fat people eat fast food., etc. etc.
jbr: i haven't eaten in mcdonald's in probably a year and a half. i hardly ever eat fast food.
ckb: in-and-out-burger is my last pseudo-fast food
ckb: and even then it's only once a month
jbr: once every six months i'll have white castle or taco bell or something
jbr: but i don't make a habit out of it
jbr: if i drink soda, it's almost always diet
jbr: the movie assumes that all people who drink soda drink regular
jbr: oh, another thing...
ckb: yah?
jbr: the movie talked about french fries being the only option for a value meal but i don't think it ever brought up the "dollar menu" that a lot of mcdonald's (and other fast food places) have, which sells "junior" sized items (junior cheeseburgers, etc) for a dollar each, giving people mix 'n' match options that don't have to include fries
jbr: i dunno if mcdonald's has phased that out or what, but it would definitely have been worth spurlock's time to look into

For instance, an Egg McMuffin, orange juice, and coffee for breakfast; a grilled chicken bacon ranch salad and iced tea for lunch; and a double cheeseburger, medium fries, and diet Coke for dinner totalfewer than 1,800 calories, well under the 2,500 Spurlock's doctor says he needed to maintain his starting weight of 185 pounds. By contrast, Spurlock says he consumed some 5,000 calories a day, while deliberately avoiding physical activity."

- http://www.reason.com/sullum/050704.shtml

a good point, but how many people at fast food restaurants do you see eating salads and forgoing the fries/mozz sticks/extra portion of chicken nuggets? also, what about the fat/cholesterol/sodium content of a chicken bacon ranch salad, french fries, dbl cheeseburger, etc?

I eat at Burger King at least three times a week and have done so for the past two and a half years. I never (and I mean NEVER) have time to put together home-cooked meals for myself, so I eat out probably 95% of the time. Over the past two and a half years, I have lost 20 pounds and am actually closer to my pre-college fitness level than I have been since I got married. I have never had any serious health issues.

Blaming the fast food industry is a big fucking copout that frees people from the responsibility of managing their diets.

ok, i really do have to leave now.

The whole idea of the movie does rub me thing wrong way, in a "living a clearly unhealthy lifestyle is very bad for you shocker!" sort of way.

(i'm going now, i swear)

I don't exercise at all and haven't gotten any regular exercise since I was 18. I also don't eat particularly well. Basically, I eat in moderation; my lifestyle is very sedentary so there's absolutely no need for me to eat all that much. Granted, if I ever do get off of my ass and start exercising, you can bet that I will start eating more because I don't want to be Short Negro Jack Skellington.

that wasn't at all the point.

if you haven't figured that out by now then you are either living somewhere with absolutely no media access (and therefore also no fast food) or are amazingly, mind-bogglingly ignorant.

That still leaves: then why are people still eating so much of it? Why is American obesity still on the rise? Just how bad is McDonald's for you? The "I already knew it was bad for you, duh" is a bit of an unfair dismissal.

The images this calls to mind are suspect and varied.

You will note that I never actually said that eating at Burger King or McDonald's is unhealthy; what I said was eating three supersized meals a day at McDonald's while shunning exercise is unhealthy. Similarly, eating a pound of oranges every day is healthy, or eating nothing but lettuce is unhealthy. I'm not the one making this into a binary issue (or, if I am, the binary is between "eating like an idiot" and "eating in moderation").

xpost Okay, if dude was primarily vegetarian before doing this, then this is even more invalid; radically shocking your body by slamming into a completely different diet, particularly if you're shifting exclusively towards foods you don't normally eat, is going to cause your body to have a fit.

That still leaves: then why are people still eating so much of it?

Because PEOPLE OVEREAT.

So?

My entire point is "Moderation is the key". Eating nothing but McDonald's is worse for you than eating nothing but salad, but unless you are super-diligent about the composition of your salad that diet isn't particularly healthy for you, either (or are we going to assume that the stick-thin look sweeping Hollywood at the moment is actually healthy?).

What I meant above was really "LOOK AMERICA EATING NOTHING BUT MCDONALD'S IS UNHEALTHY".

Side note: nothing annoys me more then when "documentaries" use man-on-the-street interviews to make their point.

Given these two pieces of information, the only useful information that you can glean from the experiment is that sudden radical alterartions to your diet can make your body freak out in deeply unpleasant way.

But hey, continue talking down to me if it makes you feel better.

Maybe I just retained more information from those random health classes than normal, I don't know; given the information presented to me via public school classes I formed an impression early on that health is signified by eating a balanced diet (which I extrapolated to food prepration and portion size) and there's nothing balanced about a diet that is exclusively McDonald's (partially due to preparation and partially due to caloric intake).

I also maintain that if he actively avoided fast food before switching to a diet of nothing but, his body was not going to handle it and it really shouldn't be a surprise that his liver freaked out.

http://www.boners.com/content/791112.1.jpg

http://www.boners.com/content/791112.1.jpg

OTM OTM OTM

Oldest trick in the book: Get three or four schlubs-on-the-street who'll say things that make your argument look good, pretend those three or four people represent all of humanity, and ignore what anyone else has to say. Spurlock did it here. Did he ever attempt to educate any of those unwashed lumpens firsthand about the dangers of their diets, or was he just using the subjects for quotes? Did he offer to send them tapes of the movie when it was done? I really doubt it.

i wonder if spurlock was convincing those kids that they need to eat sprouds and tofu and whatnot.

my bottom line is that i don't necessarily disagree with the film's message -- the main thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was the "shockah" sensationalism of the filmmaking choices and the unanswered and barely answered questions about obesity and food intake.

cindy, I dont get what you didnt get about obesity and food intake. Did you want a side note about metabolism and thyroid conditions? I think the point was to get people to think about the connections between the fast food industry, sedentary lifestyles and the resulting health crisis in america.

the one thing i thought was kinda silly is that its basically preaching to the converted. i think everyone who read fast food nation went to see it, and there was no big surprises if thats the case.

well for one, there was some serious springer shit going on in this movie. how about interviewing people who eat fast food semi-regularly who AREN'T 500 pounds and on their deathbeds, who DON'T drink 9-gallon jugs of non-diet soda? why show us these really extreme cases? what's the point if the majority of people, even overweight people, don't consume anywhere near that in a day?

the big mac guy was skinny, but i kinda wondered what his deal was (aside from him seeming somewhat autistic), whether he was bulimic or what.

but if anything, this thread is good because it brings you back from the hype of the film. i call it 'michael moore syndrome'

yeah, but it would also be fair and balanced.

Sandy Szwarc, a registered nurse and certified culinary professional who has written often for Tech Central Station on nutrition and health issues, told me how Sumo wrestlers will fast to gain the weight they need before a wrestling tournament. Fast to gain weight? Yes. Why? Because when you start eating normally again, the fasting leads to the rebound effect -- a sharp weight gain to a higher weight level as a result of a lower metabolism. It is the body's defense against starvation. And nobody says Japanese food is unhealthy.

Did Spurlock do that? There are hints in the movie. One of his doctors giving him his first exam notes that Spurlock "fasted" before taking it to get a base level reading on his cholesterol and other health factors. He didn't fast before his other exams, though. Spurlock also threw up while eating his first super size meal. It adds to the gross out factor, but if you'd shrunk your stomach you might do that too if you forced down a big meal.

In addition, Spurlock stopped exercising regularly after he started the experiment -- supposedly because he wanted to do what average Americans do. But it served a dual purpose -- it kept his metabolism low allowing his weight to balloon.

Finally, Spurlock hasn't been able to get back to 185. Could that be because he's back to his normal weight?

Spurlock doesn't exactly lie. But he also doesn't provide significant details. One detail he did include, though, was of a Wisconsin man, Donald Gorske, who every day eats two or three Big Macs with a Coke and fries. He's done so for 30 years, including all the holidays, and his cholesterol at 140 was less than Spurlock's at the start of his "experiment."

http://www.techcentralstation.com/033004E.html

"Extra" told you last year about the shoots for a New York-based webcast called, "I Bet You Will," devoted to the concept that "people will do anything for money." Back then, for instance, the show's creator, Morgan Spurlock, paid a young woman $450 to gulp nine shots of vile liquids, and another guy $235 to eat a giant jar of mustard. Now Spurlock has hit the big time. His show has been picked up by MTV.

Spurlock still runs the shoots, but now he has co-hosts, including Godfrey and singer Willa Ford. Morgan says, "We have a bigger budget now, to say the least."

It's not going on prize money though. Godfrey says, "I can get people to do it for free, just because they're on MTV. They don't care. People are crazy."

The biggest gross out so far in the MTV version is this $250 shocker. Morgan says, "We bet a girl to let us shave her head into a Mohawk. We combined it with three sticks of butter and she ate her own hair in this giant butter hairball."

http://extratv.warnerbros.com/dailynews/extra/06_02/06_20b.html

like make movies!

Chris Elliot drank an entire bottle of Wesson once without losing it!

obviously this guy REALLY CARES about people's health.

Translation: "People worship their evil corporate overlords, even if it makes them violently ill. Suckers."

Now that I know Spurlock's background as a "shock jock" grossout guy (and an MTV one! Why was this never brought up in the movie? That's some major info to be withholding), I wonder whether he engineered the vomiting incident to happen that way.

I stand by all the theories I posted above but PLEASE disregard one of the sources I quoted -- Tech Central Station. It's a front for a PR firm and Republican lobbying group called DCI and one of their sponsors is, wouldn't you know, McDonald's.

Hoo boy.

isn't that one of the ideas behind the movie?

I wondered why MTV was pimping this movie so much this past weekend.

I did find it mystifying that the movie didn't once mention the McSpotlight trial which comprehensively brought to light McDonald's practices w.r.t. nutrition, advertising, environmental effects, treatment of animals, employment practices, and effects on global culture. The documentary about the case is 100 times more interesting (and contentful) than Super Size Me.

And people who post anonymously with yahoo email accounts have something to hide. Your point?

(joking.)

I was just telling him that. ;-)

Of course. There's scant information to go on in Super Size Me and I'm disappointed that the only criticism comes from the corporate right-wing.

Also the guy who eats all the Big Macs is said in the movie to rarely eat fries (I remember no comment on his soda consumption.)

So that's three bullshit things right there.

A Big Mac still has three slices of bread, high-fat red meat, cheese, and mayo. It's bad enough without the fries and soda.

in my experience it's more like 12 hours (at most).

Big Mac® Sauce: Soybean oil, pickles, distilled vinegar, water, egg yolks, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, onion powder, corn syrup, spice and spice extractives, salt, xanthan gum, mustard flour, propylene glycol alginate, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate as preservatives, mustard bran, garlic powder, hydrolyzed (corn gluten, wheat, and soy) proteins, caramel color, extractives of paprika, turmeric, calcium disodium EDTA to protect flavor.

Soybean oil, whole eggs, egg yolks, vinegar, water, salt, sugar, mustard flour, lemon juice concentrate, calcium disodium EDTA to protect flavor.

That's the thing, while watching it I felt like Spurlock was constantly elbowing me with frat-boy glee as he made fun of the fat people. He wasn't direct about it, but I couldn't help but notice every time he held the camera on obese McDonald's workers or went out of his way to point out that the fly-over states were the fattest.

whoops, wrong thread!

I didn't see the frat-boy glee thing. I didn't think the movie was cruel towards overweight people (except for that poor girl who they interviewed, but I didn't feel it was mean to her because she was overweight, more cruel for her that this interview that she probably gave somewhat thoughtlessly will probably end up haunting her.)

more than twice.

I didn't see the frat-boy glee thing.

shall i reopen the wesley willis thread?

I don't see the Wesley Willis thing at all. Did he post on the thread?

Who other than the big mac guy and Spurlock himself (both of whom I think are PRETTY clearly labeled as such) in that movie was a freak?

How many McDonald's are there in Texas and did he go to them all? No, he only went to a tiny handful. I don't know how representative his super size experience was of ALL the McDonald's chains in Texas and it's probably unfair to base his argument on the four or five that asked him if he wanted fries with that.

I haven't seen it yet, but it's on the longish short list. But my friends who have seen it liked it because they thought it was kinda funny. Nobody's come back for it all charged up about the evils of McDonald's or whatever. My major disappointment with the movie will be if it bores me. If I want to learn about nutrition, I have lots of other options.

(and yes, being "entertainment" doesn't excuse it from being responsible, but I think first-person stunt documentaries legitimately have more leeway than, say, 60 Minutes investigations)

if they're straight-to-video then yes, but look at the attention this is getting. the media isn't writing this off as "some stunt movie," even though it's really just some "don't try this at home" jackass shit padded out to movie length with man-on-the-street interviews.

anyway, pablo cruise's first post otm.

See this is bullshit, too, and it makes me wonder if you've even seen the movie.

'Super Size Me' Gets Downsized by MTV

Wed May 26, 7:14 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Film documentary "Super Size Me," a critical look at the health impact of a fast-food only diet, has been downsized at cable network MTV which has refused to air advertisements for the film, its distributors said on Wednesday.

Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn Films said in a statement the cable TV channel targeted to young audiences has told them the ads are "disparaging to fast food restaurants."

The distributors said MTV sister network VH1 was planning to use clips from the movie in a program called "Best Week Ever," but the clips were pulled before the show aired.

An MTV spokeswoman was not immediately available to comment. MTV and VH1 are owned by media giant Viacom Inc, which depends on advertising for a major portion of revenues.

For "Super Size Me," director Morgan Spurlock ate nothing but food from McDonald's restaurants over 30-day period, and if asked whether he wanted the larger, "supersize" meal, he always said yes.

Over the month, he gains weight and his health declines. Documenting the impact are not only the cameras but also his doctors. Spurlock mixes in various facts and figures about food and dieting as he travels the United States talking to health and food experts in 20 cities.

In March, McDonald's said it would eliminate its supersize menu options by year end. At that time, a company spokeswoman said the decision was unrelated to the movie.

"Super Size Me" has been a hit at box offices, and it earned Spurlock the Grand Jury Prize for best documentary director at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

The film began playing in theaters about two weeks ago and rose to No. 10 on domestic theater box office charts this past week. It has grossed $2.9 million in ticket sales -- a hit for a documentary -- and last weekend scored a per screen average of $6,759, just behind No. 2 film "Troy" with $7,014.

The film expands to 165 screens from 148 for the upcoming Memorial Day Holiday weekend, which the MTV ads had been timed to promote, a spokesman for the distributors said.

Better recheck your rush to judgment

But an MTV spokeswoman disputed IDP's version of the events. The channel did initially suggest some edits for the spot, according to a spokeswoman, but ultimately accepted the original version.

By MTV's account, IDP then withdrew the commercial, "and instead of submitting the commercial, they chose to put out a press release."

"IDP, Samuel Goldwyn, Roadside Attractions and our advertising agency were never informed that the ads were approved," Millard countered. "I've got the correspondence from them -- an e-mail that says they wouldn't run it without changes. Now that we've gone out with our story, they're changing their tune and saying they approved the ad, but we were never notified."

MTV also denied IDP's claim that the commercial was nixed out of concern for other fast-food advertisers. "The edits were not about conflicting with other advertisers," an MTV spokeswoman said. "It was about the content of the advertisements."

The content MTV initially found objectionable in the "Super Size Me" commercial was a shot of Spurlock vomiting after ingesting a hamburger and a reference that Spurlock makes about how the hamburger could "kill."

McDonald's in Australia Bites Back at Film
Tue Jun 15, 8:17 AM ET

By JAMIE TARABAY, Associated Press Writer

SYDNEY, Australia - McDonald's took its beef with a documentary maker who criticizes the fast food giant to Australian television screens Tuesday in a nationwide campaign biting back at suggestions its food is unhealthy.

In "Super Size Me," New York documentary maker Morgan Spurlock eats only McDonald's fare for 30 days, and in the end piles on 25 pounds and gets sick.

The film grossed the highest ever opening weekend takings for a documentary in Australia, taking $242,600 in four days on 26 screens. The previous record holder was Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine."

McDonald's Australian arm — which already has nutritional information printed on all its food packaging and sells a range of salads at its network of stores — hit back quickly.

"We did some research with our customers, and because of the fact that we were silent in regards to the film, they took it that our silence basically meant guilt," Guy Russo, McDonald's chief executive in Australia, told Sky News television Tuesday. "I think he's providing false claims to Australians ... I won't take that sitting down."

In its new campaign, McDonald's attacks Spurlock's film as being "about someone who decides to overeat."

Russo appears in the ads himself, targeting Spurlock's claim that eating nothing by McDonald's for 30 days can make you sick.

"You're right," Russo says in the commercial. "Surprise, surprise. He finds out it was an error. I could have told him that."

McDonald's has revamped its junk food image around the world, launching healthy alternatives to the burger meals that have made it a restaurant icon. It added lowfat milk, apple juice and sliced fresh apples to its menus in the United States. It also introduced Happy Meal options like Fish McDippers in Japan and sliced fruit in the United Kingdom.

In Australia, Macca's, as it is commonly known, introduced salads and yoghurts and muffins about 18 months ago. It is also one of a few national food companies that lists nutritional contents of each meal on food wrappers and on posters in the restaurants.

Russo said he eats at McDonald's about three times a week, but he would never overdo it, like he insists Spurlock did for his film.

"I'm of Italian descent," Russo says, "and I couldn't eat spaghetti Bolognese every day."

Two interesting things to note, which the reporter of this piece missed: McDonald's current CEO is Australian (posted upthread: McDonald's new CEO has colorectal cancer. Of course, this is the guy who is the replacement for the CEO who died of a heart attack last month.). Also, Russo's last line "I couldn't eat spaghetti Bolognese every day" is mind-bogglingly stupid.

FWIW, I did see the film.

Spurlock was interviewed on The Daily Show a couple weeks ago and when Stewart asked him why he made the film, Spurlock replied "Because obesity is funny" and that pretty much sums up the film and his attitude.

McDonald's new Happy Meal Choices give children and their parents the opportunity to mix and match traditional Happy Meal favorites like French fries and soft drinks with New Happy Meal Choices: Apple Dippers (fresh, peeled apple slices) served with a low fat caramel dipping sauce, and new beverage choices including 100% pure Minute Maid® apple juice and 1% low fat white and chocolate Milk Jugs.

http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/ronald/happy/newchoices.html

The focus by Spurlock on himself was both a weakness and a strength - it's what makes the film less dry that a straight documentary and it's also what makes it seem subjective and flawed. Which is obviously Michael Moore all over again, except much much less irritating.

The message seemed to me NOT redundant - yes people know that McDs is bad for you but they really really don't know HOW bad. I mean, the DOCTORS didn't even know. I was shocked when they laid out all the sugar he'd eaten etc, as I was meant to be obviously. Maybe people aren't eating McDs exactly as Spurlock did, but some are not far off, and for a whole lifetime not just a month.

That said, I do wonder if this film isn't preaching to the converted a bit... but maybe it doesn't matter. He's not trying to change America (or if he is then he's rubbish at it), he's trying to make a point.

I didn't notice obese people being mocked. I did notice that some of the other vox pops seemed specifically chosen because they were 'funny' though, and I could have done without that.

The stuff about the school meals made my heart hurt, and not just from the thought of all that cholesterol. How sad and frustrating that a healthy meals service might be available and no more expensive, but the soda and candy companies etc are doing everything they can to block schools taking this option. How wrong that they have that power. Yes, adults should of course take responsibility for their eating. But McDonalds and the rest are very deliberately, very consciously, making it a lot harder for people to do that, by pulling them in as children. The lawyer guy was OTM pointing out how all the play areas and free toys and stuff can hardly fail to produce warm and cosy associations that persist into adulthood. (And I must say I warmed to Spurlock when he then deadpanned that he was going to punch his kid in the face each time they drove past a McDonalds, ha.)

The film is CLASSIC. Fuck McDonalds. Shitty unhealthy food that targets those on low wages and young impressionable kids. They build their stupid golden arches everywhere too, and buy out other eating places at service stations etc so you're left with no other option. Fuck them and shitty Burger King.

i've been having mcdonald's breakfast meal three times a week pretty much too. and KFC on some of the days. i'm quite woefully under weight. maybe i have worms (but surely they'd be dying of heart diseases themselves too or do worms have hearts??). but yeah i doubt many people really have mcdonalds for EVERY MEAL.

are you KIDDING???

i thought this was a good 90 mins' edutainment.

Of course it is unhealthy, but come on! I live in the West of Scotland - Heart Attack capital of Europe, Sick Man of Europe etc etc. Every town has a chip shop, every trading estate has a burger van, every canteen sells pies.... We choose to eat deep fried pizzas, we know these foodstuffs are dripping with fat, and we know the dangers.

If you don't like it don't eat it. If you don't want your kids eating it - try keeping an eye on them. Have proper mealtimes for them! talk about your day round the dinner table!

People are too reticent to take the blame themselves.

No! I'm not emaciated but there's kind of no way on Earth I could be called fat (what with the 32-inch waist and all).

I freely admit to being out of shape, though.

xpost

Of course McDonalds is a huge company which carries a lot of clout, but there are plenty of people who for some reason don't fall under it's magic spell.

RIP waistline of 5 years ago ;_;

(NB: I eat less fast food now than I did 5 years ago)

Haha has had his revenge. That was probably Calum?

Haha maybe!

I just realized I'm complaining because I've gone from a 32 to a 34 so maybe I should shut up.

It's when your waist exceeds your inside leg measurement that the problems really start...

did anyone see the horrible osama doc he made

He's gotten significantly less charming over the years.

He was charming at one point?

when he was almost dying from mcdonald's food

He was channeling the Grimace!

he lost me at "Mac Shacks"

his girlfriend is so annnoying!!!

i am not cut out for this movie maybe. i hate to listen to and watch people eat, let alone kiss a burger before biting into it

who kisses a burger irl

ok and vomiting

and to top it all, a jared fogle cameo

this movie always seemed so gross to me

i mean of course the point is mcdonalds is gross but the whole thing is just leaving me thinking NO, YOU ARE GROSS!!!

admittedly i am feeling pretty froggy

mcfroggy

hey dude why dont u harass a lunchlady

i do ilke "strung out on ham" though

in sum: DNW this movie, but rereading the Old Testament part of this thread: DNW that even more

<3

McDud

The part on school lunch programs and gym cuts is just fucking horrifying.

This is the only remotely interesting part of the movie and it's so frustrating that it's not delved into at length.

sequel didn't get enough love

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1111833/

will watch

will direct and star in part III

super high me was lolsome, especially the weed-based "church" dude visits.

I thought the gym cuts part was alarmist, but I think gym in general is overrated. Maybe it's different for kids who grow up in cities, but I definitely got more exercise playing outside on my own time as a kid than in gym class, and I am quite unconvinced that it's our only bulwark against THE PLAGUE OF OBESITY, especially given how easy it is to stand around and do nothing. I had to spend a full 10% of my hours in high school in gym class, which was twice the state requirement, and they increased it the year after I graduated. And when you keep in mind that lunch hour took up the same amount of time...that's a lot of time not spent studying. But hey, it's a public health issue, so we can definitely prioritize it over funding arts education or improving academic offerings, right?

I can't disagree about the school lunches being really unhealthy, but I sort of feel like their treatment was missing part of the point too. When Spurlock was pointing out the girls eating only french fries and a coke, I thought the french fries being available wasn't the only problem, the fact that the girls were limiting themselves to ONLY french fries was another. Offering only apples instead of fries would mean they'd eat only an apple for lunch. Teenage girls freak out about what they eat, and obesity prevention should not be the main focus of what we're trying to pass on through schools. (In general, I didn't like the tone the film took toward obesity. I was horrified by the interview with the person (doctor?) who said we should be able to publically scold and humiliate fat people the way we do smokers. I don't even think it's polite to do that to smokers.)

Ok, just watched that yesterday! Good to get it off my chest.

well to be fair that doctor did say that he felt "fuck you" was an appropriate response to someone publically scolding a smoker

DUD

RIP Morgan Spurlock

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/24/entertainment/morgan-spurlock-death?cid=ios_app

I was reading just yesterday about how the liver damage he had at the end of Super Size Me was likely due to to alcoholism - he confessed to being an alcoholic for 20 years in his metoo statement, but says he's tee-total in the documentary

yeah a lot of shady shit surrounding this guy, think he did try to change at the end though

interesting to see this upthread:

The part on school lunch programs and gym cuts is just fucking horrifying.

This is the only remotely interesting part of the movie and it's so frustrating that it's not delved into at length.

― Nurse Detrius (Eric H.), Sunday, April 5, 2009 9:31 AM (fifteen years ago) bookmarkflaglink

fun fact: my grandparents were actually kind of involved in this, they ran a citywide program once to swap out school lunches with healthy food from their bakery and then studied what happened to the kids test scores and attention spans, they got the results they were looking for and it became a big news story for us in the 90s, and as a result there was a lot of stuff involving them that was filmed for the movie. my grandpa bought a bunch of tickets for family and friends to see this on opening night only to see nearly all of it had been cut, outside of one phone call I think

I also liked this post:

mcfroggy