Morgan Spurlock's documentary, "Super Size Me," manages to be both entertaining and horrifying as it draws a (somewhat obvious) parallel between the ever-increasing rate of obesity in America and the fast food nation we live in. But this isn't your average, informative documentary; the film follows Spurlock for a month during which he only eats McDonald's food, for every meal. Oh and whenever an employee asks him if he wants to "Super Size" his meal, he must say yes. Before starting this experiment he consulted a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist, and a general practitioner, all of whom said that this experiment wouldn't be GOOD for his health, but that there would be some minimal damage. Well, in the end he gained almost 30 lbs, had frequent nausea and chest pains, experienced mood swings, saw his cholesterol skyrocket, and lost his sex drive. Before the experiment was even done, all of the doctors were advising him to stop immediately. During this month, he also drove around the country (making sure to hit the nation's fattest city, Houston) interviewing different people on the topic. He meets a "Big Mac Enthusiast" (who is rocking the John Lennon look very hard) who has eaten over 19,000 Big Macs and still maintains a slender physique (he rarely eats the fries). The most shocking to me, however, was when a group of 1st graders could correctly identify who Ronald McDonald was but not Jesus Christ. That just goes to show the effect our fast food mentality has when you can recognize a fictional clown but not one of, if not THE, most important people in history. Overall I really enjoyed watching this documentary; it has a very interesting gimmick, humor sprinkled in, and a very enlightening core. No, this is not going to stop everyone from eating fast food but it has made people aware of how bad this obesity problem really is and steps are being taken to prevent further harm; McDonald's has done away with the Super Size option and has added more healthy items. I think the most important lesson to be learned, is that it’s your body and YOU decide what to put in your mouth. Sweet moments with a cheesy Double Quarter Pounder are not worth the price of your gastric bypass surgery.
