Last night I gave in to curiosity and saw the Morgan Spurlock film "Supersize Me!" Before I give any reaction to the film, I feel duty bound to report that I just consumed a Double Quarter Pound Value Meal that was, in fact, supersized. When Mr. Spurlock ordered the same meal in the film, he ended up harfing out the window of his car. The combination of calories and suspect ingredients apparently overwhelmed him. After taking down my order (identical, except that I'm a Diet Coke man), I toyed with the idea of adding a soft serve. Of course, I've been poisoning myself for years. Maybe I, like the hero of "The Princess Bride," have immunized myself against fast food toxins. Mr. Spurlock, on the other hand, lives with a woman described as a "vegan chef." He was like a Baptist teetotaler who decided to break his alcohol fast with a fifth of Old Grand Dad.
In retrospect, it's surprising the film was such a success. When one watches Spurlock go through his traumatic month of McDonald's only and hears about his weight gain and terrible health effects, a few words and concepts float through the brain, things like "control group" and "adequate number of subjects" and "statistical outliers." The film makes this point itself, actually. We are introduced to Don Gorske, who has eaten some 19,000 Big Macs in his lifetime, averaging about two or three a day. He's trim, pink of cheek, and has a very full head of hair. So, Spurlock lists while Gorske thrives. What does any of it prove? Probably the importance of genetics.
1 comment:
When the national news media informed us of how fat we Americans are, I was on my way to McDonalds. I was so depressed that I ordered the Big Mac meal and supersized it, and after eating it all I felt so much better! Randy
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