Supersize Me Documentary

Type of documentary:Mixed – The film is a mixture of all types of documentaries as it includes interviews, observations and there are elements of mise-en-scene. In addition, most members of the cast acknowledge the presence of the camera creating a self reflexive style.

Interview Directly addresses camera

ThemesObesity

McDonalds

Fast food

Health issues

Manipulation

Profits and money

Personal responsibility

Governments

Children’s diets

America

Narrative structure•Multi stranded – the documentary covers a range of topics e.g. Nutrition, corporations, government input etc...•Linear – the story follows a chronological order•Closed narrative – by the end of the documentary, all questions regarding the mans progress on the McDonald’s diet have been answered.•Open narrative – however, some elements suggest an open narrative as the audience are left wondering what the fate of the Mcdonald’s industry is and whether the stores will remain open or be sued.

Theory•Binary opposites e.g. Healthy vs unhealthy•Propps – Hero (voiceover), villain (fast food), princess (people eating fast food)

CameraworkMuch of the camerawork throughout the documentary is handheld, this is typically filmed by Spurlock himself. The use of handheld camerawork throughout the documentary helps to immerse in the audience as it makes the film seem more realistic and much less streamlined and artificial. An example of handheld camerawork is when Spurlock enters a McDonalds restaurant and orders his meal. This allows the audience to fully experience what ordering from this institution is like as they get to experience what an actual customer is subject to.

Zoom out – this particular use of an outward zoom helps to capture the products available at McDonalds

Two shot – establishes that they are having a conversation regarding the McDonald’s diet

Low angle shot – gives us an idea of the types of foods he’s eating

Zoom in – The zooms of the public reactions to McDonalds convey their attitudes towards the restaurant and give clear indication of whether they are in favour or opposed to McDonalds

Mid shot – Reveals a change in scenery and establishes a new setting

Mise-en-scene

Doctors

In his car

McDonalds

In his home

Work

The documentary is largely shot in natural lighting which avoids the appearance of an artificial environment. This assists in the illustration of McDonalds becoming a part of normal everyday life and for many people eating McDonalds occurs naturally and regularly, rather than on only certain or special occasions.

The fact that all customers of the restaurant are wearing regular, everyday clothing also emphasizes this and depicts the extent to which a fast food diet is becoming a norm.

Casual clothing

Natural lighting

Sound

Voiceover: The majority of the documentary is narrated by Spurlock himself who is the film’s voiceover. As he is the protagonist of the documentary, his role as the voiceover is omniscient. During his role as the narrator, he uses a speech code that is easy to understand allowing the audience to follow the storyline with ease and get a real grasp on what message he is trying to spread. Throughout the documentary, the voiceover frequently provides us with facts about the effects of unhealthy eating inclining the audience to feel as though they are gaining specialist knowledge and ideas about the ‘right’ way to eat.

Non-digetic: There is a wide use of background music throughout the documentary which encourages the audience to react a certain way to what they’re seeing. For example, during a shot of McDonalds we hear a childish song playing in the background. This undermines the restaurant and suggests it is for young children and not to be taken as a serious restaurant chain. In turn, the audience are then discouraged from visiting the restaurant as they are given the idea that it is based in an immature setting and so, the music has an influence of the audiences’ beliefs.

Digetic – The digetic sound of the documentary mainly consists of speech and the sound of eating. Examples of speech include the information given by experts during interviews that inform Spurlock on the negative effects of consuming such poor nutrition. Spurlock also talks to the camera about how he’s feeling and at one point he reveals the McDonalds diet has made him feel miserable and lethargic, discouraging the audience from visiting McDonalds.

During a shot of Spurlock eating a McDonalds meal in his car, he is sick and the camera picks up on the noise of his heaving during this. This repels the audience from eating their products as they are exposed to the gruesome effects of eating their food.

Editing

There is not a complex use of editing technique throughout ‘Super Size Me’ as a wide use of editing is not necessary in getting the documentary’s message across and this adds to its realism. More subtle editing techniques are used, for example there are many jump-cuts making it a clean watch through without the camera jumping from place to place. Images have also been inserted to reinforce the theme and the main topic of conversation, as well as supplying the audience with a visual aid to what they’re hearing. As each new day begins, there are fades to and from black which helps to show the passing of time and anchors the end of a scene. This is effective in keeping the audience up to date with Spurlock’s journey and well aware of how far in he is on the McDonalds diet.

Archive material‘Super Size Me’ hosts numerous examples of archive material mainly included to set the scene, illustrate the narrator’s voice, or avoid too many jumpstarts throughout. Archival footage acts as a visual aid in order for the audience to remain interested and occupied in what they’re watching. The archive material is sometimes rather inspiring as at one point, the documentary shows a clip from Jared Fogle’s speech where he is trying the inspire Americans into healthier living. Another piece of inspirational archive material is the clip of a man holding his old pair of pants after loosing a large mass of weight. These display how there are ways to avoid unhealthy lifestyles and the audience should pursue this way of living rather than consuming a diet of junk.

GraphicsGraphics are used throughout the documentary’s entirety. An example are subtitles which are written in Sans Serif making it clear for the viewer to understand what has been said so they don’t miss anything. Days, states, time and maps are also present throughout the documentary placing emphasis on the chronological order. Some graphics are used as scare tactics to the audience to discourage them from eating McDonalds. An example can be found below which are maps displaying the rates of obesity in 1985 and 2002. These demonstrate how obesity is growing in the US and it is a large problem affecting the country.

Propaganda from McDonalds is also included in the documentary which helps to show the viewer how the company manipulate customers and entice them into buying their products, even though they are extremely unhealthy. This gives audiences a wake up call and suggests that they are being brainwashed by McDonalds advertisements and are ignoring the serious impacts their food can have on health.