Documentary Analysis 6, Supersize Me

Documentary Analysis, Supersize Me

Supersize Me is a documentary in aim to show the affects of fast food, one man, Morgan Spurlock, takes the challenge of eating nothing but McDonald's fast food for 30 days straight, hoping to show the audience how much of a impact fast food has on peoples weight, especially in America. This is a documentary aimed for improving health for the younger generation.

Two Shot - Obese americans

Camera Work

Handheld Camera Shot - Focusing on
the theme of obesity

The documentary is shot as a personal account of Morgan's 30 day challenge, so a lot of the footage is on a hand held camera but still using professional angles and shots. There are many close-ups and extreme-close-ups on obese people living in America, these close-ups and extreme-close-ups are mainly of the fattest body parts on these Americans, this emphasises the impact fast food eating has on people's health and bodies. The narrator talks about obesity becoming a bigger killer than smoking in America, there is an extreme close-up on a smoker who looks healthier than an obese american, emphasising the seriousness in obesity rising in America.

Medium Shot- Morgan
Spurlock

When the main character of the documentary, Morgan Spurlock, is introduced it is set up almost like a news report, it starts as a medium shot and as he talks he walks closer to the camera until we clearly see his face when he states 'Supersize Me' commencing the beginning of his one month experiment.

Canted Angle Shot - Morgan
not feeling to good after
his meal.

During the course of Morgan's experiment he starts realising how much eating so much is taking affect on his life, as he gets a McDonalds in the drive thru, after he eats his meal in the car he starts feeling sick, the camera goes on a canted angle which usually means something weird or bad is happening, during this shot Morgan is sick.

The camera films Morgan at home with his girlfriend making food such as salads and vegetable tart, showing how healthy Morgan normal is and how much he is risking by doing this experiment, proving to the audience how much he wants people to recognise what is happening to the people of America.

Informal Interview - With
a member of the public.

There are several interviews that take place during the course of the documentary, there are both formal and informal interviews throughout. The informal interviews are mainly of the public talking about how many fast food meals they eat in a week and which fast food restaurants they go to. The formal interviews are with dieting specialists, the main interview is with a nutritionist called Lisa who clearly indicates the quantity of calories people are consuming each time they eat fast food.
The American Flag also comes up, this would be an estabvlishing shot as the sky is behind and it shows the audience where the documentary is based.

Editing

Newspaper Articles flash up on

screen factually delivering information.

Throughout the documentary there are several image and video montages of the places Americans get their fast food; gas stations, hotels, hospitals, service stops, high streets, retail parks, shopping centres and many more. There are image montages of the food people are eating and the fast food logos, and video montages of people being given fast food both at the drive thru and the restaurants.

Newspaper articles appear on the screen in a "newsflash" manner, about how obesity levels are rising and how it is becoming more of a danger than smoking, This is a good effect as it proves with newspapers that it is fact and not just someones opinion.

Images fade and dissolve on screen one at a time with the beat of the non-diegetic music, the images are of various fast foods such as hamburgers, fries etc. This type of editing is effective because it shows the quantity of food.

Cartoon Sequence - more

interesting way of delivering information.

Quote of McDonald's Founder.

A quote at the beginning of the documentary states "Look after the customer and the business will take care of itself."- Ray Kroc, founder of McDonalds. This appears on a black background, this quote perfectly statesd what fast food restaurants are all about.

There are various small cartoon sequences that have been embedded in the documentary showing the advertising and merchandising costsof fast food restaurants, these cartoons are a good way of helping the audience understand exactly how much money is being spent - which is an awful lot.

Sound

Diegetic Sound - Children singing
fast food song.

There is a narrator that talks for the majority of the documentary, this is non-diegetic sound as it has been put into the documentary after filming, other non-diegetic sounds includes someone whistling, children singing - this emphasises the theme of children and how obesity is going to affect them in the near future, music also comes in as the images of fast food fade and issolve with the beat of the music. Diegetic sound can be any sound that actually happens in the process of filming, for example the children singing the fast food song on screen, this is sending out the message of children enjoying and loving the whole concept of fast food.

Mise En Scene

Ronald Mcdonald statue
in the background.

There are no specific costumes in the documentary, most of the people in it just wear their normal everyday clothes. Although the McDonalds logo is Ronald McDonald,a very well known character to most people and he has a specific costume that is how children recognise him. He wears clown make-up and dresses in red, yellow and white which are the primary colours of McDonalds.

The lighting in the documentary is just normal daylight apart from the formal interviews where there is more lighting to clearly see the nutritionist that is talking, the interview has good lighting as it has been set up properly using the rule of thirds.

Ronald McDonald prop
statue used in service station
to advertise McDonalds.

There is no acting within the documentary, everybody is their own person and Morgan Spurlock is not acting he is actually conducting a risky experiment. The only make-up used is on Ronald McDonald, without the make-up he would not be recognised as the character representing McDonalds.

There are many props used throughout the documentary - mainly the Ronald McDonald character who shows up a lot of the time, his statueis everywhere in the McDonalds restaurants and sometimes on billboards, advertisements etc. Another prop used is the American flag, this emphasises that America is the key country that is being affected by obesity - largely because of the vast amount of fastfod industries. The nutritionist, Lisa, shows the audience the different sizes and quantities of McDonalds food showing exactly how much the Americans are consuming.

Narrative

There is a narrator throughout the whole of the documentary who explains and talks about America and affects of obesity using statistics and facts. The narrator helps emphasise exactly how much food people are consuming, he states "America has the biggest cars, the biggest houses, the biggest companies, the biggest food and finally, the biggest people." He also states that there are more than 100 million people in America that are overwieght or obese, and that America is the fattest country in the world. - These statements will make people of america realise how bad it is, and hopefully make them feel ashamed about the how big they are getting.

Type and Style of Documentary

The style of this documentary is expository as it show everybody the true effects of eating fast food, the documentary is direct and focuses on one man's journey in eating nothing but fast food to see the effects and consequences of eating so much fast food.

Audience Response

I think the audience will come to realisation about what fast food is actually doing to our bodies and how bad it actually is. I think the documentary was made in order to change peoples views and to hopefully reduce the overall comsumption of fast food across the world.