Rhetorical Anlysis

Kaitlin Flanagan

Eng. 030 Sec. 009

Diana Gruendler

4/11/06

Super Size Me

Morgan Spurlock makes an effective argument linking the fast-food industry to the growing obesity epidemic in America in his satirical documentary, Super Size Me. Released in May of 2004, the film joined the onslaught of media concerned with obesity and added to the growing concern of the American public. The movie also had a profound effect on the fast-food industry, as changes were made to McDonald’s menus and others, adding healthier options soon after the movie’s debut. Spurlock uses several different strategies to get his point across, appealing especially to both ethos and logos. The idea behind the movie is shaped by a simple statement from the judge in the lawsuit of two teenage girls from New York against McDonalds saying, “If plaintiffs can allege that McDonalds products’ intended use is to be eaten for every meal of every day…and that doing so would be unreasonably dangerous then they might be able to state a claim,” (qtd. in Super Size Me).

Spurlock takes care to explain the reasoning behind the production of the film by proving just how dire the obesity crisis has become. He uses ethos to show how our culture has become so fast-paced that we rely more on fast-food restaurants for meals. One in every four Americans a day visits a fast-food restaurant. In fact, forty percent of our meals are eaten out, which has spurred the growing waistlines of Americans; so much so that sixty percent of all U.S. adults are overweight, making us the fattest nation in the world (qtd. in Super Size Me). With this in mind he decides to embark on a thirty day journey where he eats three square meals a day comprised solely of items on the McDonalds menu (all of which he must eat at least once). He chooses McDonalds not only because of the lawsuit that was pending at the time, but also because it is the largest in the industry (it makes up...