Good morning/afternoon fellow documentary filmmakers. Within Documentary film, we understand that documentaries have a powerful impact on an audience. The effectiveness of the documentary will aim to evoke thought-provoking and life-changing responses in the audience. Today, my presentation will be a demonstration of this and explore the documentary That Sugar Film as a relevant example of this. Today I will analyze and evaluate key elements from this film to see how powerful it is as a tool for change.
That Sugar Film documents filmmaker, Damon Gameau through his solo journey to discover the effects of eating foods that are perceived as ‘healthy’, however contain high amounts of sugar. The Australian film was released in February 2015, written
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In the beginning of That Sugar Film, Gameau informs the audience of his interests in finding out why eating ‘low fat foods’ is actually making us fatter. The documentary follows Gameau’s journey as he consumes ‘healthy’ foods for thirty days, and we see how much of an impact it has on his body within such a short period of time. Black and white footage and archival film footage was used, along with interviews and juxtaposition.
As propaganda, That Sugar Film is often powerfully effective, going in especially hard against soft drink manufacturers, and exposing some of the dubious claims of the health food industry. From the outset, the audience is positioned to feel shocked and the way they think about ‘healthy’ food is forever changed. Controversial construction of the subject matter presents an experience of the appalling and gruesome situation that communities of people are left in after the vast consumption of high sugar soft drinks. An interview of a 17-year-old who has lost all his teeth due to an addiction that locals call "Mountain Dew Mouth." has been used at this point in the documentary. An extreme-close-up shot is used to magnify the removal of his teeth, positioning the viewers to feel uncomfortable and nervous, highlighting the damaging health effects. This strong appeal to emotion is effective in a way that it makes the audience question drinking soft drink and have a critical view of how destructive sugar can
Michael Moss does a wonderful job describing the sciences junk food companies use to get us to buy their products in his article “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food”. First Moss uses solid facts to describe how junk food companies make their food sell. Secondly he proves that he is very knowledgable about the topic of his article, and that he conducted intensive research and interviews to gain the knowledge. Lastly Moss does a good job of making the article interesting by doing things such as providing facts, dialogue, and questions to keep your attention. Moss’ use of solid facts help describe and give the reader insight on the extremes of what junk food companies will go through to sell and make their products desirable.
Still, it was not convincing enough to restrict processed foods and sugars completely. Director Laurentine Ten Bosch uses qualified experts to speak on certain topics and to enforce further the idea that sugar and processed foods are harmful. Throughout the documentary, many licensed professionals are introduced, along with their jobs and experiences. Some of these professionals include Daniel Vitalis, a traditional and wild foods expert (4:49), Jon Gabriel, an author and weight loss expert (5:30), and Jason Vale, an author and nutrition specialist (12:56). These experts discuss how sugary and processed foods affect the body and mind.
In the first article “Resisting the Moralization of Eating”, by Mary Maxfeild she ¬argues many things against the other author Michael Pollan about how we need to change how the American people eat, and how the government needs to handle obesity better in the United States. This portrays to the other article “Escape from the Western Diet” by Michael Pollan in many ways, as well as many challenges. “The challenge we face today is figuring out how to escape the worst elements of the Western diet and lifestyle without going back to the bush” (Pollan 437). In this paper I will go over many subtopics including: Obesity, health, and food.
The American documentary film, Food, Inc. creates a rhetorical, ceremonial argument that is to anger and disgust consumers that are most prominently of the lower and middle classes by showing them the horrors of the present day industrial food system that tend
This shows the impact on how important it is to make a priority in eating and making well balanced meals. Being able to see the history in how eating habits have changed generation to generation gives an insight on what we need to change. Many people such as Mark never ate a fresh vegetable until 19 years old. This shows that there is a big gap in eating balanced and healthy meals because of the mass production of frozen and canned foods. Mark Stated that, “it cut down on the variety of food we ate” (Mark Bittman 2007 Ted Talk, transcript 10:17).
Every bite and every sip and every meal or course one consume determine how long each of the cells in your body lives its life. One of the most amazing thing that this planet own is the food we all love to share and enjoy. There are various foods around the world and they are amazing but they are also unhealthy. The food is so amazing temps one to have more and more because of how good and tasty it is no matter how unhealthy it is. Mr. Michael Pollon describes the dangers of consuming too much of something and how it affects us by comparing and contrasting the republic of alcohol and fat while also using logos and ethos.
Nowadays in America, we are encountering problems with our food system. The way it’s being processed is affecting everyone. From youngest to oldest, farmers to lawyers and smallest to biggest animal. Consumers are made to believe that they are buying and eating healthy foods , but the labels that led them to believe that are not completely honest. The essay “Escape from the Western Diet” written by Michael Pollan is an explanation of the theories of the western diet.
This ongoing has been a large discussion for many people. He exemplifies that through Eric Schlosser of the “Dark Side of the All-American Meal” (2001) and how San Franciscans, fretted largely about, “the nutritional dangers to their children’s health, began the last century by banning “roving pie vendors” who catered to the “habitual pie-eating” habits of schoolchildren and prohibiting the sale of soft drinks on school campuses.” (Leitcher) The question then becomes at the center of all the health promotions advertised, the advice spoken, and advocacy, to what lengths do one literary novel change the social fabric of how Americans look at food
“I 've eaten this food all my life not knowing what was in it and how powerful the food industry was." (Kenner, Food Inc.) “The industry doesn 't want you to know what you 're eating because if you did, then you might not want to eat it" (Kenner, Food Inc.) Ethos components in the film strengthen the documentary claim about the food
In this book, Michael Polland highlights the main issues in today’s “Western Diet,” breaking down the factors contributing to our unhealthy food consumption. Nutritionism is an idea that we are constantly surrounded by, but how much of it do you really understand? How much of it is truth, and how much is simply manipulation? If you were to look back in time, you’d see the progression of the modern meal, straying further and further from actual food itself.
Obesity is a prevalent issue within the United States. “According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) (2009-2010), approximately 69% of adults are overweight or obese, with more than 78 million adult Americans considered obese”. Today’s society is inundated with a firestorm of information regarding the types of foods that are healthy and will decrease obesity. The most prominent voices in today’s food culture, primarily the wholesome-food movement, believe eating unprocessed food is the only way to live long, healthy lives free of obesity. However, journalist David H. Freedman argues that individuals should not fall prey to these false misconceptions.
In his essay "Escape from the Western Diet," Michael Pollan argues that the diet of Western cultures has led to an epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. He believes that this is due to our reliance on processed foods, which are high in sugars, fats, and refined carbohydrates. Pollan supports his argument by presenting evidence from scientific studies and historical trends. He notes that the rise of the processed food industry in the mid-twentieth century coincided with a sharp increase in rates of obesity and other health problems. He also cites studies that show that people who eat fewer processed foods and more whole, natural foods have better health outcomes.
For many people the ideal meal is inexpensive, fast, and tastes good. When purchasing these quick and inexpensive meals we put very little thought into how that food was actually produced. Food Inc is a documentary produced by filmmaker Robert Kenner and Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, to bring awareness to Americans about the industrial side of food production. Kenner wants us to question how much we really know about the food we have been feeding to our families and to ourselves. He interviews various experts such as food advocates, farmers and authors who have written books about the food industry.
Don’t let the movie title, Milk, fool you. The movie’s title has nothing to do with the milk beverage. Sorry milk enthusiast. On the other hand, for those who love politics then this is the movie for you. This movie is solely focused on American Democracy.