Movie Review: Super Size Me

As I read on Fark.com the other day, Fahrenheit 9/11 was the number one box office draw over the weekend. That says something about the public in two ways. One, that there is something going on about public opinion of documentaries and two-

People are really not liking President Bush right now. And those people who saw the movie are probably nailing their right wing buddies right now with what they saw Saturday night.

documentaries have really taken a huge leap in the entertainment business these days, I'm thinking as a result of so many reality television programs being so popular. Docs weren't always easy to watch. Long before MTV style editing, the docs were really regulated to National Geo and PBS specials, the stuff you feel asleep watching when you felt you needed something smart to watch.

But reality shows, if they have a redeeming quality at all, is that the whole of life has somekind of story. You just need a filmmaker that can some how bring that out.

Mr. Morgan Furlock (I think that's his name) found one such story. He became so involved, he turned the camera on himself. He wanted to explore the detriments of our fast food society and went on a binge. I think, in some minute way, he enjoyed the experience...He was, afterall, living the American Dream in his own sick way.

Hardly scientific, the story gets our attention not so much with facts about the abuses put upon society by big business, but with our growing care for his self-induced plight. We really become worried as he get progressively worse, eating one Big Mac and Filet of fish after another. The experience is very guttural. We've all eaten at any of these places.

I read the book Fast Food Nation last summer and was effected from the information put forth. Apparently, I'm a visual learner, for this movie had a, by far, greater impact on my perception of the message. I'm thinking it's because Furlock gives the audience a central character (himself) for us to experience his criticism together.

He wants us to know McDonald's is a large corporation, and we need to remember that their goal is money. Ours is food. They do not have our welfare in mind. We have to remember that, Furlock's tale reminds us. AOL wants our money. Disney wants our money. Starbuck's wants our money. If we live or die, that is not of their consequence.

It's sad really.

What a tangent I've been on here.

Is the movie good? Yes, very much so. I noticed my attention did not wander at all as I really wanted to find out what happened to the narrator throughout the experience. And my jaw was agape the entire time. Very good movie. It's a good time to see documentaries, apparently.