FINALY watched Supersize me.

[Lugaru]

Well, this weeks “flix” have been kind to me so far. First of all I felt that I needed a little something to cleanse the palate after so much dense foreign stuff (most recently: branded to kill) so I rented spiderman 2 and it worked like a charm. I’m a Spiderman fan, I’m a Sam Raimi fan, I‘m an Alfred Molina fan... It’s such a great watch. I also rented a movie which I cant put the title of on this board but let’s say it is a dramatization of the great pioneer in independent film who brought us the blaxploitation genre with important films such as watermelon man (one of my favorites).

Now for the real meat though: SUPERSIZE ME!!! I loved this documentary for all the reasons I did not like Fahrenheit 9/11. Supersize me challenges corporations, it challenges the government, it even challenges the viewer to change the way they view fast food. Best part? Something actually came out of it, it was an actual living, breathing experiment that shocked the physicians involved. For those who haven’t seen it one filmmaker who was interested in the MacDonalds lawsuit decides to put himself though a 3 meal a day MacDonalds diet for a month which results not only in the expected weight gain and depression but actually caused real liver and kidney damage. The dvd rocks hard too, it has quite a few nice little features that where produced exclusively for the dvd (such as extra interviews including one with the author of fast food nation and some fun experiments). The feature also has it’s share of charisma, in part from the documentarian side but also because he chose GREAT subjects to interview, every one in that movie is at least a little fun to listen to.

Best part is it reminds us of one of the oldest principles of good health: you are what you eat. Children need to eat smart to be smart. Adults need to eat healthy to be healthy.

 

[htc]

Thanks for the info Lugaru. I've been wanting to watch it, my local library doesn't have it and I've been trying to be cheap and wait out rather than rent it. I think I'll try to go get it soon.

 

[GB]

I have not seen this yet, but it is on my list of movies I want to rent. Has anyone seen or even heard of the response to this movie though? Another filmmaker decided that this movie was very unfair. She said the weight gain and health problems had nothing to do with the fact that this guy ate every meal at McDonalds, but more about the choices he made about what and how much to eat. She did the same sort of movie that he did, but she ate responsibly. She ended up LOSING weight and had no negative health affects. She has submitted the film to some of the festivals (not sure which ones though). I think Tribeca might be one of them.

 

[nicole]

lugaru, that movie was soo gross... That is the reason my family usually NEVER eats fast food. Mc Donalds will never be eatin with me in the room. I remember watching that movie and when it was over my sister was on her over here and she said she was stopping somewhere to get something to eat. I told her NO Mc Donalds. Well, her short term memory kicked in and what do you think she brought ? Mc Donalds. I think I was ready to throw up.... I think it was a good movie for the fact that it IS showing you what will happen if you eat that crap everyday. But, for someone to eat Micky D's everyday 3 times a day they deserve to look that and, it's no ones fault but theirs.

 

[Lugaru]

GB: Im a little curious about that so I should look into it. I kinda get a feeling that this other filmaker is just trying to capitalize on his success through imitation more than retaliation but still... one thing that makes this documentary so succesful though is that it did have rules. Fist of all he had to try everything on the menu at least once. Second if he was ever offered a supresize he had to take it. Why? I've worked in the food industry and they coach you to oversell. In the movie he establishes that supersize is an obcene ammount of food and for macdonalds to offer it is unethical.

Basically what he tries to prove with this movie is that "if we did what macdonalds wants us to do" which is eat there more often and spend more money when we go... we would REALLY be in trouble. Also since Nicole has seen it ask her about the fries experiment... thats FREAKY! I dont want to spoil it but dude... it's bad. Other subjects are touched as well.. for example how every burger is made up from tiny bits of THOUSANDS of different cows (food nation interview) and about our dependancy to sugar. Can a young filmaker live responsibly off macdonalds food? Sure! I used to go to wendies every day to buy 2 $1 salads to acompany whatever lunch I would cook (it's cheaper and less wastefull when your living with just one other person) but next to me there would always be a college student who's lunch was a giant frosty and a box of fries. Not everyone is smart about food and documentaries educate.

Nicole: I wasent too affected by the gross factor since I did my time flipping burgers when I first came to the united states. While I had fun and all I did see things not meant for the human eye, for example what happens when you accidentally leave a box of frozen hamburger patties near a source of heat for a few days...

Still the psychological factor is scary. I dated a girl who grew up in a trailer in the middle of nowhere in West Virginia. When we moved to boston she ate mcdonalds all the time because growing up it was a treat for her (something to do on her birthday or when they would take a trip into town) so those bizzare fry like things and those processed burgers inmediatly made her feel happy. Personally I couldent touch the stuff and often went across the st to wendies for something at least edible, then I would go back and sit down with her eating my wendies at mcdonalds.

 

[GB]

I have not eaten McDonald's since a few years ago when that woman found the chicken head that had fallen into the fryalator. I don't get grossed out easily, but that really did a number on me. I can't picture myself ever eating there again.

When supersize me came out I really wanted to see it. My wife could not bring herself to watch it though. Her brother is mildly retarded and once of his vices is McDonadls. He lived for the stuff. He would supersize everything and always get tons of food. He became very sick (kidney disease, diabetes, and numerous other problems). He became very heavy as well. My wife would break down crying when she thought about it so there was no way she was going to watch this movie that seemed to mirror his life. He would not change his ways either. He knew it was making him sick (although it was not the main cause of most of his illnesses), but he loved his McDonalds and would not give it up. He is actually doing MUCH better now. He does not go to Micky D's much anymore (not his choice though) and he is eating much healthier than he ever has in his life. He has lost a ton of weight and has extended the amount of time before he will need dialysis. Now that he is doing better, DW might not mind watching Supersize Me.

 

[kleenex]

Don't forget the s ex life goes to the crapper as well.

If you have showtime, you can watch the Documentary....

http://www.sho.com/site/schedules/product_page.do?seriesid=0&episodeid=122118


Loved the DVD extra of him seeing how bad the McDonalds food gets over a 10 week period. Could not believe the french fries did not change at all though!!! The other food like the Filet O fish, Fries from a goumet place, and the Big Mac was getting all moldy, dirty, and disgusting except for the McDonalds fries.

 

[keen kook]

I haven't seen "Supersize Me" yet, but I most definitely will. It is a pet theme of mine, that American food is too processed, too full of additives - that's why I would not eat in McD's even at gun point!

A British TV chef, Jamie Oliver ( made famous by the "N aked Chef" series) decided to do something about the school dinners in the UK.

One of the interesting things to come out of his experience was from a family with two tear away boys. At the end of the first day without processed food and sugary drinks the father remarked "Is it just me or is it much calmer in here?"

At the end of a week of stress free, calm behavior, the parents decided to reward the boys for their good behavior and gave them spaghetti in sauce from a tin (loaded with preservatives, food coloring and additives) they also gave them Coke.

Within half an hour of eating this "treat" the boys reverted to their former bad behavior! NOTHING had been changed during the week except for their diet.

Go figure.

 

[Bangbang]

I had to go out and get 2 Big Macs after the movie. I was foaming at the mouth. Those are so freakin good:!:

 

[Lugaru]

It's been some time since I've had a bigmack but I was raised really spoiled... my parents would order from a place called "burger steak" which had HUGE fat burgers. I had never tasted fries like macdonalds growing up too so all Im used to is steak or home fries. Btw I picked up a 10 pound sack of potatoes (less than 2 bucks) at the market and accidentaly left it by the meat section. I need to go back tomorrow and pick a sack up.

Tonight we finally killed the craving:

1 inch thick patties (egg, panko breadcrumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper).
crumbled bacon
bleu cheese slices
a fistfull of salad (I like greens in my sandwich)
sliced purple onion
mayo, mustard, ketchup
Tom went for some texas pete, I went for jalapeno slices.

Man... I had two and that was one and a half burgers two many.