Many people might not be familiar with the name Morgan Spurlock but in the early 2000s, Spurlock was the talk of the town. Being a documentary filmmaker and television producer, Spurlock received several accolades throughout his career. His greatest feat, however, was creating the iconic documentary Super Size Me.
Since it was the early 2000s, people hadn’t really given importance to the unhealthiness of fast food or junk food. Being a visionary person, Morgan Spurlock decided to jump on that opportunity and created the 2004 film Super Size Me. His body had some great side effects and Spurlock revealed that his body lost resilience after some time!
Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me Cost Him Greatly
For those of you who do not know what Super Size Me is, it’s a 2004 documentary film where Morgan Spurlock eats food from McDonald’s for 30 days straight. Although it has a very straight premise and linear storyline, the effects… weren’t so predictable.
Starring himself as the test subject, Spurlock actually ate McDonald’s for 30 days while recording his meals and his body. From horrifying revelations to McDonald’s role in the American way of eating food, Spurlock explores it all through his documentary.
After the release of the 2004 film. Spurlock experienced some adverse side effects. In a 2010 interview, the director sat with Civil Eats to talk about his 2004 magnum opus. During the discussions, Spurlock was asked about his health. Well, here’s what he had for a reply:
I think the biggest thing is my ability to gain weight. Ever since making the movie, I can put on four or five pounds in a weekend so easily. Its incredible how my body has kind of lost its resiliency.
He further continued,
As you create fat cells to store fat and you lose weight and those fat cells get smaller, they don’t magically vanish. They are still in your body, still swimming around waiting for you to overeat so they can store more fat.
In a way, Morgan Spurlock indirectly started a movement with his 2004 film. With the release of the film, the world got a shock factor about the fast food that they eat. Following the release of the film, several companies started to include the calorie count right in their menus.
Since the documentary was about eating McDonald’s food for 30 days straight, Morgan Spurlock did not hold back his thoughts while talking about the fast food chain. Stating that the company didn’t want people to find out “how bad the food is”, Spurlock had quite some things to say.
Morgan Spurlock And The McDonald’s Burger
Before we talk about Spurlock’s opinion, we would like to clarify that these statements are 10 years older. Since the interview, several policies (and Burger King’s Moldy Whopper advertisement) have opened people’s eyes regarding fast food.
As the interview continued, Spurlock further talked about how the fast food company didn’t have any nutritional facts about the food that they were making.
In the movie we were trying to find the nutrition information [in McDonald’s stores], and it was behind a door or in the basement. They didn’t even have it out. Its almost like they don’t even want you to know how bad the food is.
He further continued,
Are people going to stop suddenly eating fast food? No. I mean, people haven’t stopped smoking cigarettes. That’s a product [that] when used correctly will kill you. So I think we need to arm people with as much information as possible and then ultimately let them make that choice.
Morgan Spurlock’s family recently confirmed that Spurlock had passed away on 23 May 2024 and the cause of death was cited as complications due to cancer. The director was 53 years of age.
Morgan Spurlock’s greatest accomplishment, Super Size Me received a rating of 7.2/10 on IMDB and a whopping 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Being an eye-opening film, Super Size Me is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
