Documentary analysis (Supersize Me)

Codes and conventions of the documentary “Supersize Me.”

Supersize Me (2004) is an investigative documentary, primarily a cinematic release, on how the fast food industry is killing America. The director, author and onscreen presenter, Morgan Spurlock, aims to find out how thirty days of only eating fast food can affect your body by putting himself to the test. By the end of the exhausting thirty days, Spurlock finds out that he has done the same amount of damage to his liver as a drinker on a binge. Within the documentary you see a mostly negative portrayal of America telling us of the horrors of the American lifestyle.

To understand the codes and conventions used in Supersize Me we have to first explore the codes and conventions used in typical documentaries. There are seven different types of documentary; Docusoaps; Reality TV; Fly on the Wall; Mixed; Self-Reflexive; Docudrama; Fully Narrated. The hybrid documentary ‘docusoaps’ are used to be observational about a lifestyle, individual or a group of people (Eg,One Born Every Minute and My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding). Reality TV, also referred to as ‘infotainment’ would be the documentaries which is a mix of authentic material, serious content and commercial aspects (Eg. Real House wives and LA ink ). Fly on the Wall is a documentary where the cameras are unseen(Eg. Big Brother, and Educating Essex ). Mixed would be a combination of interviews, observation, actual footage, archived material and narration. Self-Reflexive documentaries feature people who are aware of the camera and often talk to it (Eg, Teen Mom). Lastly, fully narrated documentaries have a narrator who speaks all the way through the documentary to convey an argument. Documentaries can be a mixture of these types, borrowing aspects from each.

Supersize Me is a mixture of these seven as it has characteristics from: reality TV, mixed, self-reflexive and fully narrated. Spurlock gives information as entertainment, telling us about the risks of fast food whilst being light-hearted and upbeat. He has interviews (formal and vox pop), actual footage and archived material; he speaks to the camera and conveys a clear argument throughout the documentary. The argument which Morgan Spurlock puts across mostly argues that it is mostly McDonald’s and all of the other fast food chains fault that people eat so poorly, but he also argues that other people such as the government and schools play a major role in this too.

In Supersize Me you see that Spurlock has used a number of stylistic techniques through visual and sound to create the investigative genre of documentary. In visual elements we see: vox pops, formal interviews, labels, background images, animations, graphics, camera movement, credits, stock footage and statistics. For interviews it seems that Spurlock chose to use a mixture of vox pops (where he would as the general public) and formal interviews (which were of trained professionals in the relevant field). Spurlock as an onscreen presenter would stop the general public in New York and ask simple questions. For example, at one point Morgan asks a variety of people what a calorie is. This seems to be used to dramatic effect, as the public seem to be completely lost for words at his question. This is shocking to an audience and makes them feel shocked that people didn’t know that information which is spoken about so often, and even shaken that they may not have known it themselves. The camera follows normal convention for Vox Pops as it stays low, there is a handheld camera used for realism and the public speak to Spurlock rather than the camera. Vox pops give the audience a point of view which they can relate to, as they are a member of the general public themselves. These are used effectively in Supersize me and Spurlock never asks a complicated question, and can often be quite funny.

Formal interviews are then used to give an authoritative outlook on the subject, and are often used as a believable and reliable opinion on the subject matter. Although Spurlock does interview a range of professionals, from doctors to detritions, I feel his interviews could have been more affective due to the fact that some of them came across informal as the backdrops were often untidy and the interview often strayed into an informal jokey tone. Apart from this, the conventions of formal interviews are followed as the professional is placed in two thirds of the screen (usually to the right) at a medium shot. Titles are also used on the formal interviews telling us who the professionals are and their job titles, helping to reinforce their reliability and authority on the subject. These usually add to the context of the documentaries, as in Supersize Me we see that Spurlock’s girlfriend is a vegan chef, therefore showing us an assumed opinion from her without her directly telling the audience.

Something else which Spurlock uses, which follows his genre of an Institutional Documentary, is the handheld camera which is used throughout a lot of the documentary where Spurlock appears himself, being filmed as the on screen presenter. The handheld camera is used to create a sense of inclusion and realism, as though they are really therewith Spurlock investigating. This is quite a common feature of this genre of documentary and I feel that this is used effectively within the documentary for this very effect. Whilst Spurlock speaks to the public or eats an entire supersized big mac meal, the camera remains handheld and makes the audience feel the message of the documentary with complete intensity. An example of where this is particularly effective in terms of realism and gut wrenching shock is where after he eats a giant McDonalds meal, Spurlock leans out of his window to regurgitate the whole meal bag up onto the pavement outside his car window. The camera man leans out across Spurlock, giving us a view of the whole picture. The fact that the handheld camera is used for this specific scene makes it seem less staged and more like you are there with Spurlock.

Animations, graphics, photos and archival footage are used to reinforce its explository and participatory modes, as they are used to back up arguments, further explore them and engage the reader in the argument of the documentary. They are used with particular effect in Supersize Me to add to the humour, which is usually associated with Institutional Documentaries. This brings the tone of the serious, hard hitting facts and topics down and brings it to a more light-hearted tone. An example of this would be the funny and upbeat McDonalds adverts, which are clearly there to be made an example of, but are usually laughed at with Spurlock’s witty banter dubbed on over the top.

This leads onto the audio side of the conventions used in Supersize Me. This is split up into diegetic  and non-diegetic  sound. Every documentary will have both of these types of sound within them and they both help to convey the message of the documentary. Within diegetic sound you hear speech and ambient noise. Most commonly you hear the dialogue of the interviews, which is used effectively as it’s always consistent and relevant. The ambient sound of the documentary, though, could be branded ineffective and unprofessional. In one of the interviews, Spurlock sits down with one of the lawyers which he has come to for factual information. Spurlock and the interviewee are sat in a McDonalds, and as they are speaking you can hear the screams of the children playing in the playground around them. I feel that this should have been cut or reshot as it comes across as distracting and takes away from the interview which is taking place. Although, some could argue that this was purposeful and Spurlock was conveying a message about the children of America and McDonalds.

 Within non-diegetic sound you hear music and voice overs, both which I feel is used to the conventions of the documentary and to full effect. Music is often used ironically and perhaps mockingly in Supersize Me as some of the song choice includes ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ and ‘Rock n Roll McDonalds’, ‘Yummy, Yummy, Yummy’ and the official ‘Supersize Me’ song. There is also classical music played when you see surgery being performed on an overweight man receiving a gastric band implant. This is used for irony and makes the scene feel almost funny.

All of these things come together in creating an image of America. This image is portrayed mostly negative as it criticizes the government, schools, parents and most of all McDonalds and food franchises. In particular Spurlock blames the government for the ways in which schools are run, saying that they do not offer enough physical education and food choices are poor. We see Spurlock visit a school in which for lunch the only options are pizza, chips and fizzy pop. Spurlock does appear to give the school a chance to stand up for itself, with the head teacher saying that ‘They have personal choice’ or that ‘if kids are buying loads of junk food it’s probably to share with the other kids’. Morgan Spurlock follows this up by visiting the   young girl who had bought a whole range of junk food, and she appears to be eating it all to herself. At the next school Spurlock visits they simply state that it is ‘much easier’ for them to buy food that is precooked and pre-packaged. Many times Spurlock questions this, asking whether that was the best way to benefit the children, which is usually followed by links to funding they are receiving from the government. This gives the impression that schools in America are lazy or are not being supported enough by the government.

One of the main things which is also criticized in Supersize Me is the ‘No child left behind’ scheme put into place by George Bush. This meant that PE was cut down to a minimum or scrapped altogether so that children could spend more time studying for things such as maths and English. This is followed up with an interview with a school which has physical education and healthy dinner options. The school is a school for delinquent children and they go on to state that the children’s behaviour drastically changed once they were given healthy meals and regular exercise. Spurlock’s intention with all of these things is to shock an audience and show them direct evidence of healthy living on children, which furthers his argument about the government and schools.

 A further shocking scene in the documentary which is shown to speak to people about the state of American schools and families is the scene where Spurlock shows the children various photos of people such as Jesus and various American presidents. The children struggle with all of the history based or well-known faces but know straight off who Ronald McDonald is without prompt. This is quite a humorous scene although it is also used to make people feel outraged and in disbelief. Something else which is harshly criticized is parents and their approach to their children’s health. One particular hard-hitting scene in the documentary is where Spurlock asks some parents if they can sing the national anthem. Though various different tries the parents continuously fail, yet when they are asked to sing the song on the burger king advert the one mom knows that immediately. Other parents who are interviewed say they don’t always have time to cook a meal or go and work out.

The depiction of America is negative to some extent; on the other hand there are a few scenes in the documentary which do redeem some of America’s aspects. Mostly this includes professionals such as doctors, nutritionists and lawyer, being omniscient and all-knowing, as you and Spurlock trust them wholeheartedly throughout the documentary. Also, there is an extract in which Spurlock complements the fact that New Yorkers walk everywhere, and barely any have cars. He also mentions that he would have to cut down on his walking if he was going to fully complete his test.

Overall, you can see that there are many codes and conventions followed by Supersize Me which lead to the mixed representation of American society. The impression of America can be subjective to an audience, although in Supersize Me you can see that the impression it gives is mostly polemical and biased, as Spurlock doesn’t offer a lot of insight into other opinions, and if he does they are mostly used as humour and taken the mick out of. I think that Supersize Me is extremely effective in getting across its overall message about America, as the codes and conventions used are to their full advantage and create a light-hearted spin on a serious subject.

To watch this documentary: https://youtu.be/jAnCOHCVjyU