Essay Questions

Despite the terrifying findings in Spurlock's documents-movie, people still eat McDonald's meals. Why do you think this is?

People still eat at McDonald's after seeing this film because they do not relate the results of eating fast food that they see on the screen with what they have in their own plate. This is similar to the way in which people still smoke despite irrefutable evidence that it can kill them. Statistics and medical evidence are all well and good...until people are hungry. Fast food is cheap. Fast food is salty and addictive. The body begins to suffer until given more fast food which begins a vicious cycle much like nicotine addiction. It seems almost fanciful to believe this and so this is why the majority of people who consume fast food actually believe they feel better when they eat it.

Do you think the director put his health in jeopardy deliberately? Was this irresponsible?

When the director first embarked on this odyssey, even the science and nutritional professionals were skeptical about the terrifying detrimental effect it would have on his health. If the professionals could not foresee the decline in his health, it would have been hard for a layman to do so. It is difficult o foresee the body breaking down to such a degree, or the astonishing weight gain that occurred in such a short space of time. Because he could not have known what would transpire as a result of the experiment it was not irresponsible but had he been aware of the effects it would have been somewhat irresponsible to gamble with his health in this way.

Do you think McDonald's tried to refute what was presented in the film?

The film essentially blames McDonald's, and other fast food conglomerates, for the epidemic of obesity in America. It shows the detrimental effects on the health of those who eat fast food every day, and it also shows that the damage is far more difficult to undo than it was to create. Although the corporation never exactly addressed the issues in the film, or altered the menu items to make healthier meal options, they changed the way they marketed their food. A little deceptive, certainly, but in a way a sideways admission that he movie had harmed the public' impression of their food. By presenting a new, sporty Ronald McDonald to the public they presented their meals as food that healthy and activity oriented people consumed as part of a regular healthy lifestyle.