Class discussion: 8.2 “The Politics of Food”
November 5, 2009 in advertising, class discussion post
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
Responding to Digital Media and New Technologies
WRRH100: Writer's Seminar, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
9 comments
Comments feed for this article
November 5, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Kylie Bellis
I first watched supersize me this past year in my biology class. I was disgusted. Watching this clip disgusts me. “Mctummy” and “Mcgurgles” do not seem appealing! Though this video is revolting, it does show how Americans eat and think. When McDonalds asked customers if they would like to supersize their meals for so many cents or whatever, many of them chose to do so…just because it was an option. The number of obese Americans is still growing even though they have since stopped asking if you would like to supersize because we cannot get enough fast food. In the book, Beyond Words, section 8.2 talks about how new technology has made us fat. If you look at the types of microwavable foods in the freezer section you get overwhelmed. Dont even think of looking on the nutritional facts label because you will probably see a sodium level that is equilvant to the number of students at HWS. When this man chose to do Supersize Me, i believe that he was trying to show the real problem that Americans are facing. If they are presented with the option of MORE MORE MORE, they will accept MORE. Why is this? Is it because we live in such a greedy society that thinks that the more we have the better we are? MORE in this case causes the mcsweats, mctwitches and other unpleasing feelings. By the end of the video he is puking out of the window because his body cannot even handle that much food–why would you want that? why would you even WANT to be able to handle that much fast food? But still we continue to see people eat large amounts and keep getting bigger. Hospitals have had to create special beds for people over 600 lbs known as “big boy beds”. First we are given this new technology of fast food, yummier food, microwavable food and then we abuse it–I guess its in our nature to always want MORE.
November 5, 2009 at 5:48 pm
love2ski123
I was never really allowed to go to McDonalds. My mom was not a huge promoter of fast food chains, she was definitely one of those crazy organic health nuts. When my mom bakes cookies she uses whole wheat flower and little to no sugar. My moms version of french fries are baked potatoes, I have always been exposed to really healthy, unfattening food. Because of this I have never really liked McDonalds i mean we used to stop on long road trips where there were no other places to go and I must admit I do love a good chicken tender but when I saw supersize me I almost threw up. I cannot understand how someone could eat that much fast food.I think the beauty in these fast food chains is that once in a while they provide a guilty pleasure. I could think of little things that I would want to do less than eat that much fried food for a straight sixty days. Our economy is many ways dependent upon these fast food chains, McDonalds providing their inexpensive food options racks in huge amounts of profits each year. However, the world is becoming increasingly more obese and I really feel it is important that people start to curb their fast food intake.
November 5, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Ali Schreiber
This is SO gross. I remember that in high school for health class we had to watch this movie and it was so gross. People should really take care of their health rather than eating themselves to an early death and causing a heart attack. Supersize me movie is trying to portray a person who does not know his limits and causes himself to be an unhealthy human being.
November 8, 2009 at 11:56 pm
audrey102
I though that this movie was great. I thought that his points were very well made, and obviously supported by the physical changes he experienced. This particular clip was one of the most effective parts in the film, especially since, when you think about it, there are people who manage to consume that amount of food on a regular basis without getting sick.
It’s such a shame that in the United States, this incredibly unhealthy “fast food” is cheaper than organic, healthy food, and a fair amount of those people that are obese are those of the lower classes, because they either cant afford to buy the healthy ingredients, have nowhere to prepare the proper ingredients into a meal, or do not have the time or energy after a long day of work. Obviously, this is not the fault of any one individual, it is a group effort of many parts of contemporary American society that we live in.
I would have a lot of trouble doing an experiment such as this, i simply do not have the discipline to eat only one type of food for an entire year, especially food that i dont really enjoy. I do admit that i do like McDonalds French Fries, and i can find something that i would eat there, but i would always go to taco bell before Mickey D’s. But, i dont believe i could eat only taco bell for a year either, i would just get so bored.
November 10, 2009 at 1:44 am
junebugg81
First of all, this shit is not entertaining at all. I got bored of this guy eating, everything supersized. Honestly I dont know how he does it but i feel the urge to just supersize everything i eat sometimes too. I need to pounds yo. But this guy is nuts. He will be lucky to not have any heart problems when he gets older or anything. I wonder how the movie did in theaters? Did people go to watch this? if they did they need to go get a life. The audience is pretty much anyone who has spare times on their hands and is looking to watch someone pretty much self-destruct. Quite frankly, this movie just goes to show how the United States is a country who is unhealthy and on a wrong path when it comes to their eating habits. Also, this reflects the people of the United States ambition to watch such nonsense. They look at this as entertainment. Its sick
November 10, 2009 at 2:48 am
Grace Hennigan
“Supersize Me” was an extremely eye-opening documentary. After I saw it, I could not believe that America supports McDonalds restaurants. I firmly believe that every person has a choice whether or not to eat at McDonalds, but with thousands of locations and billions of dollars spent in advertising each year, I understand why the restaurant is so popular. The foods that McDonalds produces are high in fat, sodium, and calories. They are so unhealthy that in 30 days Morgan Spurlock gained 25 pounds. Along with the enormous amount of fat and cholesterol he gained, he also had mood swings when he could not eat McDonalds. The addictiveness of fast food along with the low price menus and convenient drive-thrus provides an easy, cheap, delicious meal for any age consumer. In the documentary, one child could easily identify the Ronald McDonald character, but could not even recognize a president. The marketing that McDonald’s uses are remarkable, and they have even been known to add subliminal messages into popular television broadcasts to further establish their audiences. I would have no problem with all of this if McDonalds was selling low-fat, organic, healthy food options, but in reality they are selling products that can be hazardous to a person’s weight and health. “Supersize Me” revealed the frightening truth about the consumption of fast food, and Americans lashed out in disappointment. Since the release of the movie, McDonalds added a salad option to their menu, but the fruit and walnut salad with dressing has more than 400 calories, almost that of a Big-Mac. This is very sad, and I hope that Americans stop supporting this restraunt. I know that the food is delicious, because I love double cheeseburgers with fries, but I am more concerned with the health of our nation. Children are frequenting these fast food chains and becoming obese, which is hazardous for generations to come. I hope that McDonalds will some day offer healthy food, so that Americans everywhere will not get heart attacks.
November 10, 2009 at 3:20 am
coen22
This is exactly why I do not eat fast food! Everything seems fine minutes after ingesting this processed greasy food, but when you start to show signs of “McStomach Aches” and “McSweats” your body starts to tell the truth. Your body’s not meant to intake that many calories and that much sodium in one sitting, it’s no wonder he threw up after 15 minutes- his body couldn’t handle it. With America being such a highly competitive capitalist society though it’s no wonder some many people are overweight. People are always on the go because we’ve be taught “survival of the fittest”, and if you want to stay ahead of the game you can’t slow down to check if what your eating is in fact healthy. With everyone constantly on the go there’s no time for a home cooked meal that’s nutritious, so we substitute our health for cheap and fast food to save time. I also agree with Audrey’s point that a fair amount of their customers are from lower classes, one of their business strategies is more food for your money- as seen by the creation of the dollar menu. Burger King has even added a 1/4 pound Double Cheeseburger to their dollar menu recently, which is a ton of food for a dollar!
November 10, 2009 at 4:33 am
Allison Scholl
Hm..Supersize me..what do I even say about this movie? I think I speak for everyone when I say this movie absolutely disgusted me. To watch this man stuff so much greasy, fattening food into his mouth at one time is repulsive. My personal favorite was when he puked out of his car window and they did a close up on it…NOT! As disgusting as I thought this documentary was, I really do think it was an educational movie to watch. I first saw it in my health class junior year, and it really made an impact about how I looked at the fast food industry. It made me think twice before going to McDonald’s to order a fish sandwich (my favorite..MK says I’m nasty.) I learned a lot about the fast food industry and what they “don’t want you to know.” I realized that just because they are telling you that their nuggets are “all white meat chicken” doesn’t mean the meat didn’t come out of the last possible chunk of meat. I learned the burgers, and nuggets, and anything else with the meat are basically made with “whatever is left.” YUCK. I don’t want to eat any leftovers, I want good meat! I guess that’s why it is so cheap. Which brings me to my next point. Fast food is so incredibly popular, especially during hard economic times. It is a cheap, delicious, convenient alternative to eating real food. I give a lot of credit to this man in the documentary, who took one or the team to show America just how harmful fast food can be.
November 10, 2009 at 6:21 am
Mac
I think that this is one of the best movies out there. I feel that if I’m going to spend time in front of the TV I should at least learn something, otherwise there are better uses of my time. If I remember correctly Morgan’s doctor tells him at one point that he absolutely needs to stop drinking Coca-Cola or else he is in very serious danger of heart failure(or something similar). I can’t help but to laugh to myself and think ‘Well, we’ve kinda known it all along, but hopefully this guy in a movie will get the point across to everyone else.’ Even through Morgan Spurlock does not necessarily claim this to be a crusade against McDonalds, he does make a very through argument, and backs it up unbelievably well. I may have to go back at watch this before we write our argument paper.