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Super-Sized Strawman
Stuart K. Hayashi | 29 June 2005
Spurlock new reality TV show paints phony picture of minimum wage.

What The Media Says
   
 
'No time' can still mean nutritious fare (SouthBendTribune.com - 12 Apr 2006)
Dinner from scratch? For working parents, it's often a challenge simply to get home from the office and the day care pickup before 7 p.m.

It's easy to see why some families rely on processed and prepared foods that take two minutes to microwave, and boast colors and flavors designed to please finicky young eaters.

The good news is that experts say some packaged short cuts, such as bagged salad or frozen vegetables, are smart choices. But sophisticated marketing often makes even sugary "kid-friendly" yogurt and sodium-laden macaroni and cheese sound healthy.

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'Super Size Me' filmmaker apologizes for speech at high school (Associated Press - 28 Mar 2006)

ORSHAM, Pa. -
Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock apologized for cursing, calling teachers pot smokers and making insensitive remarks about "retarded" students during a recent speech to Hatboro-Horsham High School students.

"It is never my intent to insult or demean anyone - and I understand how some of my remarks may have offended some in attendance and if you feel they did, then I am deeply sorry," he wrote in "A Letter of Explanation," posted last weekend on his blog.


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Spurlock serves up McInsults - Editorial (The Pitt News - 27 Mar 2006)

Morgan Spurlock, still riding the McWave from his Oscar-nominated documentary “Super Size Me,” has recently abandoned the fast-food world for a new target: teachers and handicapped students. Well, that’s not quite accurate. Spurlock hasn’t stopped ridiculing McDonald’s altogether. He’s still questioning the intelligence of the fast-food giant’s employees, using racial slurs to add injury to insult.

Spurlock is taking his show on the road, visiting colleges and high schools around the country, talking about his experiences and warning people of the dangers of our fast-food nation. His most recent stop was at Hatboro-Horsham High School outside of Philadelphia for the school’s first-ever Health and Wellness Fair.

It seems like a good — no, great — idea. Invite the guy who dined on a McDonald’s-exclusive diet for 30 days to come and talk to kids about the dangers of fast food. He’s entertaining and famous. What better way to persuade teens to develop healthy eating habits?

Shortly before Spurlock delivered his speech to the Hatboro-Horsham student body, he was told that he shouldn’t talk about McDonald’s because a member of the Hatboro-Horsham Education Foundation, the sponsor of Spurlock’s appearance, owned a McDonald’s franchise. Why invite Spurlock, a celebrity associated specifically with his McDonald’s experiment, to a health and wellness fair only to ask him not to talk about it? This is where the trouble started.

This request sparked a performance by Spurlock that was downright inappropriate. Spurlock’s speech packed in profanity, political incorrectness and intolerance. He used an Indian accent to mock McDonald’s employees, portraying them as unintelligent and confused.

Apparently nothing was sacred in the auditorium as Spurlock spewed insults. Teachers “smoking pot in the balcony” and “retarded kids in the back wearing helmets” were just a few of the more memorable moments of Spurlock’s soliloquy.

Sure, the more than 700 students packed in the auditorium thought it was funny, but what about the handicapped kids who were, coincidentally, sitting in the last few rows of the auditorium? Fortunately, teachers escorted them out of the auditorium before they could be subjected to more abuse. But what has Spurlock taught the students?

“The greatest lesson these kids learned today was the importance of free speech,” Spurlock said after the event. We beg to disagree.

Free speech doesn’t mean you’re free of responsibility. Spurlock isn’t ducking the controversy of his statements; however, he is avoiding the responsibility he has to be respectful of his environment. And believe it or not, Mr. Spurlock, dropping the f-bomb in front of a group of high school students won’t make you cool. Neither will making fun of handicapped kids — how old are you, sir?

The students in the auditorium laughed, cheered and offered Spurlock a standing ovation after his hour-long speech. Students rushed the filmmaker for autographs after the presentation. His appearance obviously made an impact, but the message of Spurlock’s visit was blurred and distorted by his ego trip. While the school district should have thought twice about their ridiculous request, Spurlock displayed less tact and maturity than that of his audience with his tasteless remarks and insults.


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Why Do People Care What This Man Thinks? (The Center For Consumer Freedom - 27 Mar 2006)

"Documentarian" Morgan Spurlock
scored some coveted media attention this weekend by giving a profanity-laden speech to Pennsylvania high school students on Friday, during which he also found some time to make fun of the "retarded kids in the back wearing helmets." The student body gave him a standing ovation, minus the special education students (sitting in the back) who were led out by teachers during the speech. Local newspaper The Morning Call reported one teacher "was concerned students might have focused on Spurlock's profanity and insensitive remarks and missed the message, which was the importance of healthy eating."

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Spurlock Speech Causes Stir At Pa. School (The Associated Press - 27 Mar 2006)

HORSHAM, Pa. - The filmmaker who ate nothing but McDonald's meals for a month for his Oscar-nominated film "Super Size Me" gave a profanity-laced, politically incorrect speech at a suburban Philadelphia high school, but not everyone was lovin' it.

Speaking at Hatboro-Horsham High School's first-ever health fair, Morgan Spurlock joked about the intelligence of McDonald's employees, about "retarded kids in the back wearing helmets" and teachers smoking pot in the balcony.


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Lawyerly Arguments in Thank You for Smoking (www.HealthFactsandFears.com - 17 Mar 2006)

When anti-smoking Sen. Ortolan Finistirre (presumably D-VT) challenges tobacco industry public relations "hero" Nick Naylor, in the film Thank You for Smoking, about the need for a skull and crossbones warning on cigarette boxes, Naylor snipes back that if the senator's goal were really to protect the public health, he'd be trying to put the same warning on artery-clogging cheddar cheese. "The great state of Vermont will not apologize for its cheese!" shouts the indignant, self-righteous senator. It was one of many humorous and memorable lines in this enjoyable film version of the Christopher Buckley novel by the same name. And it's not so different from the public health community's broad anti-industry zealotry, which can obscure real public health problems.

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Professor's documentary receives positive reviews at St. Louis debut (Daily Eastern News - 24 Oct 2005)

Eastern professor and chair of family and consumer sciences James Painter's belief that people should eat less is so strong that he made a documentary about it.

"Portion Size Me" debuted Saturday in conjunction with the American Dietetic Association Food and Nutrition Conference in St. Louis, which runs through Tuesday.


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'Portion Size Me" (Journal Gazette and Times-Courier - 18 Oct 2005)

"Portion size is the key to the American obesity epidemic," said Painter, chairman of the EIU School of Family and Consumer Sciences.

To prove his point, Painter created his own documentary, "Portion Size Me," which followed two EIU students who ate nothing but fast food for a month " and lost weight in the process.

Filmed over the summer at 10 restaurants in Coles County, the documentary follows two dietetics graduate students -- 254-pound Aaron Grobengieser and 108-pound Ellen Shike -- who ate portions suitable for their body types, with all of the food coming from fast-food restaurants and gas stations.

Painter told the students to maintain their usual body weight, but both of them ended up losing weight and even lowering their cholesterol.

That's a stark contrast from the experience of the subject in "Super Size Me," as he gained more than 20 pounds and ruined his health after eating a steady diet of fast food for a month.

"It wasn't the food that he ate that caused the problems, it was the portions," Painter said. "We really showed that you can eat fast food and not gain weight."


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Woman's diet of fast food raises many questions (Southbend Tribune - 30 Aug 2005)

Inspired by Morgan Spurlock's 2004 documentary film "Super Size Me," Soso Whaley has lost almost 30 pounds in a total of 90 days of dieting at McDonald's.
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Spurlock Food Scare a Super Size Scam (Fox News - 16 Aug 2005)

"Super Size Me" was in many ways a hoax that generated false public outrage against a food company, while netting Spurlock fame and fortune. In this regard, he's not much different from Anna Ayala (search), the woman who falsely claimed to have found a human finger in her bowl of Wendy's chili last April in order to win a big settlement.

Good police work stopped Ayala's scam, which cost Wendy's $25 million in lost sales, and may cost Ayala up to nine years in prison. Unfortunately, the media, which should be acting as Spurlock's watchdog, have yet to hold Spurlock accountable for his inaccuracies.


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What Others Are Saying About Morgan Spurlock
clear 30-Day Dieters Learn how others tried the McDonald's diet for 30 days and experienced positive results.
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clear Truth in Fitness
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clear Debunk the Junk: Soso Whaley repeats the Super Size Me experiment- while maintaining her health and losing weight!
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clear Me and Mickey D Written, Produced & Directed by Soso R. WhaleyCopyright 2005 Moaning Dog Productions in Association with Third Man Media.

Also look for Me and Mickey D at The MassBay Project Festival in Worcester, MA during November - www.MassBayFilmProject.org.


Soso Before Her McDonald's Diet - February 2005


Soso After 90 Days Eating at McDonald's 30 Pound Weight Loss in April 2005

Me and Mickey D is a creative response to the film "Super Size Me" which debuted in 2004. Unlike the director of "Super Size Me" who engaged in what can only be described as "kamikaze consumption" by eating over 5,000 calories a day under at McDonald's, Ms. Whaley's experience was much different. She enjoyed a 10 pound weight loss, improved her health and lowered her cholesterol by 40 points during her first 30-day "McDiet" in April 2004. A second 30 days in June 2004 eating exclusively at McDonald's resulted in the loss of another 8 pounds, for a total weight loss of 18 pounds. Ms. Whaley again returned to her "McDiet" during February 2005 and she lost another 10 pounds! This documentary not only demonstrates the results of healthy decisions, but also addresses the issue of personal responsibility. Me & Mickey D features music by Spirit Fiddle (www.spiritfiddle.com), drawings by Paul Nowak and interviews with Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Norman Borlaug, Drs. Ruth Kava & Gil Ross of the American Council on Science and Health, Andrew Stuttaford of the National Review Online, and average Americans of all ages.

Watch the trailer for Me & Mickey D: Windows Media (4MB) Quicktime (8MB)

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clear Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyles National Restaurant Association paper.
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clear See Chazz Weaver's Documentary: Down Size Me!
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Media Resources
Esquire Magazine: "McDiculous", 01 May 2004
The Truth about the Film Super Size Me and Morgan Spurlock, 30 Apr 2004
Super Size me: DO THE MATH, 28 Apr 2004
Fact Sheet:: What You Need to Know About the Film Super Size Me, 24 Apr 2004
The Washington Times: "Super-Size Con", 25 Mar 2004
Chicago Sun Times: "Super Size Me is Just Another Sick Reality Show", 12 Mar 2004
Restaurants and Institutions editorial: "Stupor Sized", 15 Feb 2004