Connor Delaney

Using Supersize Me as a basis, identify the ways in which American Society is represented, both

positively and negatively. In doing so, analyse the ways in which the producer utilises stylistic

devices in order to create meaning for the audience.

In the documentary ‘Supersize Me’ American society is heavily portrayed negatively. The

documentary focuses on the effects of fast food restaurants, particularly McDonalds, as the

presenter can only eat McDonalds for the next 30 days.

The opening shot of the programme is a group

shot of children, the majority of which appear

obese, they are singing a nursery rhyme about all

of the different fast food restaurants. This is a

powerful opening shot which grabs the

audience’s attention and shows the direction the

film will be heading.

The first thing the voiceover says is how America

is now the fattest nation in the world. We are

then shown a graphic to emphasis these

shocking statistics. By using a graphic to

accompany the voiceover the audience will be

able to fully grasp the seriousness the problem

that American society faces.

Throughout, there is a negative portrayal of Americans. The documentary portrays them to be

overweight or obese and we are shown just how accessible fast food chains are, with the presenter

illustrating just how many McDonalds are in

Manhattan, 83 to be exact. The reason there is

such a focus on the negative side to American

society is that if they were to show the positives

of their society the documentary would lose some

of its power. The producer wants the audience to

realise the severity of the situation and wants

people to think twice about visiting a fast food

restaurant. The producer has put a lot of thought

into every detail of the documentary to help shape the meaning. One example is the mise-en-scene

where the presenter is talking to a law professor,

spearheading the attacks against the food

industry. In the frame you can see a table covered

with pieces of paper; this suggests he is doing a

lot of work and research to assist lawyers looking

to sue the fast food industry. If his office looked

empty his words would lose some of their power

and meaning.

Connor Delaney

Whilst watching the documentary it is clear a lot of research has been taken to ensure the producers

preferred meaning is conveyed. During the interview with the Professor of Nutrition from New York

University there are clever cutaways to varying

shots. One of these shots show the shocking

change in the size of drinks that the food chains

offer. The producer has used fast paced editing to

smoothly show how all of the major fast food

chains are guilty of this. These shots are very useful

to shape the desired meaning as they visually

accompany what the Professor is saying.

Throughout the documentary the producer has used either animations or visual representations to

accompany important pieces of information. This is makes the information easier to digest for the

audience and ensures it is clear the direction the documentary is taking. Another example of this

fast-paced editing during cutaways is when the audience hear that the “average American child sees

10000 food advertisements per year”. To illustrate just how many advertisements the child sees the

shot cuts away from the man to adverts dramaticly sped up. The producer knows that the images

and the words combined will create a stronger reaction in the audience.

During this documentary the presenter visits many McDonalds restaurents. Logically not every

employee at McDonalds would be overweight or

borderline obese, however the producer has a

specific way in which he wants American society

to be percieved, subsequently the audience only

see fat McDonalds employees. This, along with

the rest of the techniques, all lead to the

negative representation of 21st century America.

The producer knows that his documentary

cannot merely be a list of ‘shocking’ facts and statistics to generate the desired repsonse from the

audience. That is why throught the programme we see shots such as the obese McDonalds

employees and animations to accompany the important things the doctors and professors are

saying.

At one point in the documentary young

american children are shown flash cards with

pictures of both important figures and fast food

characters. No surprise that the kids all knew

the pictures related to fast food chains yet

failed to know the important figures in history.

One boy mistaked an image of Jesus as George

Bush. This shows two negative things about

American society, the brainwashing fast food restaurents do from such an early age and the gaping

hole in the American education system.

Later on in the documentary the audience are shown the drastic decisions obese people sometimes

make to lose weight. Bruce Howlett is getting a gastric band fitted and by including footage of the

operation in the documentary, the producer has made sure the preffered reading of the programme

Connor Delaney

hits home for viewers. The shots of the operation

may make some people feel squeamish but this is

what he wants, he wants to shock the audience.

The producer has placed this footage near the

latter stages of the documentary. It could be

suggested the purpose of this was to hint that this

is where over-eating and becoming obese gets you.

This Supersize Me documentary looking at the

effects fast food has on American society has been made with a biased viewpoint. The programme

only portrays American society negatively and refuses to show many positives. The reason this was

the right decision is that the producer wanted the audience to receive the preferred meaning. If the

documentary showed both the positive and negatives of American society the meaning would be

lost or almost certainly weakened. The producer is showing his audience the dangers of fast food,

the flaws in the American education system and the severity that obesity has become in America

today. It could be implied by making this documentary he wishes to persuade people to make

changes to their own lives where necessary and to be more aware of what they eat.