R.I.P Morgan Spurlock (1 Viewer)

[Alex...]

Morgan Spurlock Dies: Oscar-Nominated ‘Super Size Me’ Director Was 53

Morgan Spurlock dies: Oscar-nominated 'Super Size Me' director, 53, became one of America's most famous documentary filmmakers.

deadline.com

 

[Desslar]

That really puts an exclamation point on his Super Size Me experiment.

I actually haven't seen any of his other films yet. Any recommendations?

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

That really puts an exclamation point on his Super Size Me experiment

Too young to die. Do you say this because you think his experiment was part of the cause of his getting cancer? I did recently watch something that evaluated the ingredients in a MacDonald's meal and the resulting information was the food is pretty full of cancer causing chemicals. The primary thrust was the food, but this really goes for all highly processed foods, is not good for you and many things in it are not digestible by the human body or difficult for the human body to digest, meaning yeah, we should not be eating it and technically, should not really refer to it as food.

I'm not sure there is a way to prove that he contracted cancer from eating all that MacDonald's food but I can understand that people would be suspicious that he did. It actually is quite a tribute to the man that we would have a conversation about it here.

Basically, in a typical MacDonald's meal (or any meal of highly processed food) there is a long list of ingredients and additives that is somewhat shocking due to the fact that they are things that should really not be ingested by a human being. Most of them are in there for two reasons, to extend shelf life and to make it taste a specific way so that you crave it or it always tastes exactly the same.

Maybe fast food is one of or part of the reason for higher cancer rates. So, we live with the question did that evil clown kill Morgan Spurlock?

 

[Bryan^H]

I thought "Super Size Me" was an average documentary with a very odd idea --Eat McDonalds for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 30 days and if the employee taking the order asked if he wanted it "super size" he would take it. To me it just felt like a pointless, torturous exercise (of course it won't be good for you).

But he did have a series I believe on FX years ago that was basically documentaries about hazardous jobs -There was one about coal mining that was eye opening to me, and thought it was very well done.



R.I.P. Morgan.

 

[Desslar]

Too young to die. Do you say this because you think his experiment was part of the cause of his getting cancer? I did recently watch something that evaluated the ingredients in a MacDonald's meal and the resulting information was the food is pretty full of cancer causing chemicals. The primary thrust was the food, but this really goes for all highly processed foods, is not good for you and many things in it are not digestible by the human body or difficult for the human body to digest, meaning yeah, we should not be eating it and technically, should not really refer to it as food.

I'm not sure there is a way to prove that he contracted cancer from eating all that MacDonald's food but I can understand that people would be suspicious that he did. It actually is quite a tribute to the man that we would have a conversation about it here.

Basically, in a typical MacDonald's meal (or any meal of highly processed food) there is a long list of ingredients and additives that is somewhat shocking due to the fact that they are things that should really not be ingested by a human being. Most of them are in there for two reasons, to extend shelf life and to make it taste a specific way so that you crave it or it always tastes exactly the same.

Maybe fast food is one of or part of the reason for higher cancer rates. So, we live with the question did that evil clown kill Morgan Spurlock?

I was being a little facetious. I doubt one could prove any direct link between his McDonalds stunt and his cancer (assuming he did not continue to eat it after the film). Nevetheless, image-wise it isn't a great look for McDonalds.

 

[The Drifter]

Sad news. I remember seeing Super Size Me in the theater back in the day & being both amused and somewhat disturbed. What's interesting is that in the years after this film was released, McDonald's seemed to start offering "healthier" options on their menu & in more recent years, their portions have also definitely gotten a lot smaller. However, the portion size is probably related more to economics than health - LOL.

In the latter 200X's, I also saw a Spurlock-created TV series called '30 days' which took people out of their comfort zone for a month to see if their views could be changed and/or if they could develop empathy for opposing viewpoints/situations. Interesting series.

 

[Tommy R]

I always saw Super Size Me as more of an attempt to do a documentary on food culture in general and how crappy fast food actually is. It’s been a long time since I’ve actually seen it, but I remember it delving quite deep into the topic and found it very interesting. The whole thing with him eating McDonald’s for breakfast lunch and dinner for a month was clearly just a “hook” because otherwise people might not have seen it.

But anyways, R.I.P.

 

[Desslar]

I thought "Super Size Me" was an average documentary with a very odd idea --Eat McDonalds for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 30 days and if the employee taking the order asked if he wanted it "super size" he would take it. To me it just felt like a pointless, torturous exercise (of course it won't be good for you).

It makes sense in the context of the movie. In the beginning, Spurlock refers to a lawsuit brought against McDonalds by two overweight girls for making them obese and causing health issues. In court documents, McDonalds argues that the girls cannot prove that their obesity and health issues are the result of eating McDonalds' food. So Spurlock sets out to try to generate such proof.

 

[Bryan^H]

That really puts an exclamation point on his Super Size Me experiment.

I actually haven't seen any of his other films yet. Any recommendations?

I'm remembering the '30 Days' series from 2005-2008.
Really great stuff here. I think it is available on Hulu, or possibly the FX streaming service