Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me

The life pursued by the average young person in America is fast paced and scheduled to the point of breaking. As time has progressed this time stretched life style has impacted the need for food that isn’t cooked at home or even at restaurants that cook with traditional methods. This coupled with the swelling number of households with either a single parent or two working parents has increased the reliance on the fast food industry and in turn increased the overweight and obesity rates in the country. In his article “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko addresses this topic and places the blame not on those partaking in these delectable dinners, but in the hands of the fast food industry and their lack of understandable labeling. Zinczenko’s argument is valid and strong due to his equal use of ethos, logos and pathos.

Fat Land Book Review Every new year brings with it a host of new pressing issues and challenges that our nation must confront and overcome, and though economic and global concerns certainly deserve a large part of our attention, as a nation we have almost entirely forgotten or ignored many problems that have been plaguing us for decades. Chiefly among these concerns is the ever growing obesity epidemic, which has seen a dramatic increase over the past several decades and looks to be continuing its trend into our near future. In his book, Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World, Greg Critser delves into many of the significant causes behind this staggering increase in girth our nation has been experiencing, and offers

Though he was mostly concerned about the labor exploitation in industrialized cities, Sinclair’s gripping description of the filthy conditions and frequent contamination of food caused disturbing revelation in the public for the lack of concern over cleanliness and the disgusting conditions of the meat-packing facilities. Sinclair’s exposé and resulting public pressure on President Roosevelt led to the creation of the Meat Inspection Act, the Pure Food and Drug Act, and the Food and Drug Administration, which still regulates all food sold in the United States. Before Sinclair’s book, Americans were blissfully unaware of the state their food was being produced, but due to Sinclair’s “muckraking”, the public were now informed and took the proper procedures needed to right it. More modernly, the movie Super Size Me (2004), a documentary film that follows director Morgan Spurlock through a 30-day period where he consumed only McDonald’s food, highlighted the life-risking and dangerous qualities of fast food and—like The Jungle— attributed to change. Spurlock’s movie received critical and public acclaim, and six weeks after the release, McDonald’s removed the Super Size option from the menu and introduced “Go Active” adult happy meals.

Most of the devices used are intended to highlight the negativity and brutality imposed on both the consumers and workers involved in fast food industries. Schlosser begins the book by building up his credibility through his knowledge of several fast food chain’s humble beginnings in pursuit of the American dream. Schlosser then eases his way into the conniving manner in which fast food industries have infiltrated almost every American household and deceive their consumers. The use of rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, logos, repetition and parallel structures in Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal fulfill his intentions of relaying the demonizing message that fast food chains are unhealthy, stimulate unfit working conditions, and monopolize on the vulnerability of America’s young people and fast-paced

“Even their name is made out of limp French Fries,” she asserted. “Why would you want to eat their food? To her, the M in McDonald’s looked like two yellow, bent-over fries.” The imagery here allows the reader to picture the M in their mind as two fries that are bent because they are covered in grease. Through this vivid description of the M, the author displays her children’s hatred towards McDonalds, the fast food chain that every child loves.

“Don’t Blame the Eater”, written by David Zinczenko, is a short article discussing how fast food is the main cause of childhood obesity. This article came about in relations to two kids filing a lawsuit against McDonalds for making them fat. He begins his piece by sympathizing with these individuals because he used to be like them. Zinczenko then informs the reader of his background and how he fell into the category of being dependent upon quick and easy meals. In an attempt to provide a valid argument, he debates on how kids raise themselves while their parents are at work and that the nutritional values are not labeled upon prepared foods.

In both David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame The Eater” and “ Radley Balko’s “What You Eat is Your Business”, the argument of obesity in America is present and clear from opposing viewpoints. Both articles were written in the early 2000’s, when the popular political topic of the time was obesity and how it would be dealt by our nation in the future. While Zinczenko argues that unhealthy junk food is an unavoidable cultural factor, Balko presents the thought that the government should have no say in it’s citizens diet or eating habits. Zinczenko’s article was written with the rhetorical stratedgy of pathos in mind.

The Weight of the Nation is a four-part film that focuses on the consequences, choices, children in crisis, and challenges of obesity in America. In class, we watched the segment about consequences, and it definitely opened my eyes to many things. Watching this film made me realize and acknowledge all the problems, causes, and possible solutions to this crisis. Coming from a family with many people who are obese, hearing these facts hit me very hard.

Obesity is an issue that affects many people worldwide. In the article “Why Shame Won’t Stop Obesity”, by Dhruv Khullar, Khullar tries to argue that obesity is a major problem in the United States and the way the country is handling this issue is incorrect. Khullar goes to medical school and experiences first hand the problems people with obesity have to deal with. He believes that some people have no option when it comes to what they choose to eat and that food industries are influencing people in the wrong way. He makes a strong and clear argument by identifying issues, providing evidence, solutions, and counter arguments.

Junk food is responsible for the growing rate of obesity. This is outlined by David freedman in his article of “How junk food can end obesity.” David Freedman has credited the “health-food” motion, and followers of it along with Michel Pollan. Freedman claims that if the America desires to stop the obesity epidemic, or at least reduce its effects, they must shift to the fast meals and processed meals enterprise for assist, now not the “health-food” movement.

Obesity has gained a lot of attention in the recent years especially in the 21st century. Right now in America, there is an ongoing epidemic. The cause is not by viruses or bacteria, but by human nature. There is no one way to solve this serious problem. With growing body sizes and serious medical problems associated with obesity, it is a problem that needs to be addressed and changed.

Saletan gives more than enough information on how, when, and what is happening worldwide about obesity. Although he does not give a solution, he still made an eye opening experience while reading this essay. Obesity is now happening worldwide. Yes I said it, worldwide according to Saletan. “Egyptian, Mexican, and South African women are as fat as American”, he claims in the second paragraph.

He also embraces songs throughout the film, that makes a mockery of fast food restaurants throughout the film. For example, at the beginning of the film, he shows a scene of a group of children singing about fast food restaurants to imply how children are addicted to fast food. Spurlock additionally used pictures that mocked McDonalds and is proven among each scene as a technique to psychologically impact the target audience and cause them to question McDonalds. One example of this is when Spurlock shows one of McDonalds prime characters wearing devil horns. Another technique that Spurlock used to influence the target audience to trust that fast food is dangerous is via interviewing a medical professional who states, “obesity is one of the leading causes of demise, after smoking” (Super-Size).

Obesity is a major problem in the United States, and with all the special privileges given to its people, America has become very lazy. With portion sizes rising and physical activity decreasing, it is easy to see how the rates on obesity has risen over the years in America. Obesity is a major problem that needs to be resolved because it affects all people of every gender, age, and race are at risk of being obese. Obesity rates in America have nearly doubled rather tripled within the last twenty years due to the many privileges that the American people have before us. Something must be done to overcome decrease the

To change the world we need to combat obesity! Being that obesity is the 5th leading cause of deaths worldwide it has become a major issue (EASO, n.d.). Obesity is no longer just in the high income countries we associate it with, it’s now prevalent in middle and low income countries as well. This is cause for concern because now 65% of the world’s population lives in a country where more people die from being overweight or obese instead of being underweight. Death is an extreme when it comes to obesity, but still likely, and it’s mostly seen in the elderly.