This Documentary is an excellent example of empirical film making of American societys relationship with fast food.

It uses shock tactics both visually and orally to eventually create a feeling of disgust and nausea. The ironic quote From Kay Croc founder of McDonalds Look after the customer and the business will look after itself sets the tone for the documentary. This quote is depicted using a fade onto a black background which clearly establishes the quote, this immediately engages the audience. A montage is also used during the first 5 minutes of the program where Morgan Spurlocks voiceover highlights the frightening statistics, for example 60% of American adults are obese. This represents the dire consequences of a fast food lifestyle. The document draws its references from 3 definitive sections of society, medical and legal and the man in the street. The legal profession is depicted as sharp suited hustlers who are motivated by money rather than philanthropy. For example a medium shot of a lawyer is used when he is asked about his motivation, and he responds do you want to hear a noble cause. This quote depicts his true motivation is economic gain. The medical profession however are depicted as slim, well presented, erudite and extremely concerned at the detrimental impact of the fast food industry on the American population. For example a close up shot is used when interviewing the former surgeon general for America who stated that obesity was a national epidemic. The rule of thirds is used to emphasise the worry in his face as he is concerned about Americas future. He also goes on to further state that obesity in American children has doubled within the last 20 25 years, this furthermore complying with the representation as national identities due to Americans being seen as an overweight nation. The average man on the street is represented as overweight or obese and as victims of the fast food industry instead of taking responsibility for their own lifestyle. For example, an interview with a 14 year old girl and her mother who claims that her obesity is due to an inherited family illness emphasises how naive and ignorant Americans are to the real consequence of their diet. Another example depicted within the documentary is that of a formally obese man who is now a spokesman for Subway due to his alleged healthy diet eating subways which led him to lose weight. A long shot is used to denote the man on a stage being praised by an obese audience who are in awe of this individual, and view him as a hero who has overcome adversity. An ambient noise of the crowd applauding this man demonstrates the ill-informed stance of the American audience due to the fact they believe that they can lose weight by eating an alternative fast food Diet. Another example which represents Americans in a bad light is that of Don Gorske who is a big mac fanatic. At the McDonalds which he frequently visits, he is depicted as a local hero due to the fact he eats around 2 3 big macs a day. A sign outside the McDonalds even states congratulations Don Gorske big mac 19000, this emphasises that the American population are almost proud of their excessive eating and are apparently unconcerned about the health risks involved, but still find the need to sue the big MNC.

An example of representation of ethnicity is that of two young afro Americans who share the same passion for fast food, but have avoided becoming obese by regular exercise. This contrasts directly with a vox pop interview with two young mothers who said they could not exercise due to being too busy being a full time parent. Children are also represented when theyre asked to identify two images and fail to recognise the religious icon, Jesus, but know the McDonalds symbol, indicating the influence of the brand. Spurlock challenges the stereotype for the McDonalds eating American male due to the fact he is an extremely healthy individual unlike the general population. After the opening montage of statistics including pace edits of various animations, a long shot of Morgan Spurlock is used when he flippantly challenges McDonalds to supersize me. This gives the ideology to the audience that Morgan Spurlock isnt actually aware of the detrimental impact of his adopted diet. At the end of the documentary, he revisits the health clinic for his final weigh in. A long shot is used to depict how much weight he has gained and to reaffirm to the audience the effects fast food has on the body. The doctor states that he has gained 26 pounds since the challenge began and diagnoses him as sick. This represents Americans in a bad light due to the fact that most should be aware of the health risks from eating fast food but however choose to ignore them or otherwise accuse their eating habits. One of the most memorable impacts of the documentary is its success at invoking a sense of disgust and distaste by using close up shots of the unhealthy food being consumed. In direct contrast to, say, your M & S food campaign, the subject matter is denoted as greasy, unpalatable servings presented in polystyrene and cardboard containers. As Spurlock becomes (literally) sickened by them, so does the viewer. Having been bombarded by numerous images of obese Americans mainly with lower body obesity (which is the most unhealthy) one must hope they choose to alter their lifestyle before its too late and this modern epidemic cannot be contained.