Morgan Spurlock: the filmmaker who shone a spotlight on McDonald's
Spurlock rose to fame for his controversial documentary Super Size Me
Morgan Spurlock, who has died aged 53, "owed his career to a Big Mac", said The Times.
In 2002, he saw a TV news story about two young women who were suing McDonald's for allegedly misleading them about the nutritional content of its burgers and fries, causing them to gain excess weight. In response, a spokesman for the fast-food giant insisted that McDonald's food could not be linked to obesity, because it was healthy and nutritious.
Super Size Me fame
This gave him the idea for a documentary, in which he would test that claim by eating only food from McDonald's for 30 days. The rules he set himself also stipulated that if he was asked by the server if he'd like to "super-size" his food or drink, he'd always say yes; and he'd adjust his exercise routine, so that he took only the 5,000 steps that is the US average. "Let's find out, I'm ready," he said cheerily to the camera, at the start of the project.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Within a few days, he was vomiting, depressed and developing "McSweats". By the end, he was 24.5lbs heavier, and his body fat levels were up 7%. He had lost his sex drive; and though he felt "grossed out" by the idea of fast food, he was also craving it. It took him 14 months to lose the extra weight, and he claimed that he was thereafter more prone to gaining weight, because his body had lost its "resiliency".
The resulting documentary, "Super Size Me", cost about $60,000 to make and grossed $22 million. It was nominated for an Oscar, and made Spurlock – instantly recognisable with his wide smile and walrus moustache – a household name. It also put renewed focus on the impact of McDonald's in a country where a quarter of people visited a fast-food restaurant every day. McDonald's withdrew its super-size option six weeks after the film premiered, having introduced a new Go Active! menu at the time of the film's release. Spurlock wasn't the first to warn about the dangers posed by multinational giants, said The Daily Telegraph: Naomi Klein's book "No Logo", and Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation", preceded his film by some years. Neither of them, however, had anything like its impact.
Yet many raised doubts about the film. Of course, it was hardly news that a diet consisting of nothing but vast mounds of chips and burgers would be bad for the health, said The Guardian. Spurlock did not help his case by refusing to release logs of his diet; and the revelation that he had been drinking during the shoot further reinforced the view that he was a flashy showman, more interested in entertaining viewers with "gonzo" stunts and grizzly factoids than in asking serious questions about why and how fast-food restaurants have become so ubiquitous, in low-income neighbourhoods in particular.
Rape accusations
Spurlock was born in West Virginia, where his father ran a car- repair shop and his mother worked as a teacher. He loved Monty Python as a child, and recalled practising "silly walks" aged six or seven. After graduating from NYU, he hoped to become a film director. But after a stint working as Woody Allen's assistant on "Bullets Over Broadway", and Luc Besson's on "Leon", he moved into reality TV.
He made some 70 films and TV shows after "Super Size Me", ranging from "Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden" (2008), to "One Direction: This Is Us" (2013); but in a blogpost in 2017, he admitted that he'd been accused of rape at college, and had paid off an assistant who'd accused him of harassing her. "I have been unfaithful to every wife and girlfriend I have ever had," he also wrote, explaining that he had been sexually abused in his youth. The result, said The Washington Post, was "career death"
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Movie theaters are being forced to evolve
The Explainer People are not going to the movies the way they used to — but that does not mean they are not going at all
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
4 tips to make the most of your PTO
The Explainer Maximize your time off and you will return to work actually feeling refreshed
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Video games to play this summer, from 'Destiny 2: The Final Shape' to 'Star Wars Outlaws'
The Week Recommends The end of the 'Light and Darkness Saga' in 'Destiny 2', and a classic Luigi game comes to the Nintendo Switch
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Michael Mosley obituary: television doctor whose work changed thousands of lives
In the Spotlight TV doctor was known for his popularisation of the 5:2 diet and his cheerful willingness to use himself as a guinea pig
By The Week UK Published
-
Beryl Cook / Tom of Finland: an 'odd pairing' for an exhibition?
The Week Recommends Studio Voltaire brings together the two artists for a show that generates an 'unlikely synergy'
By The Week UK Published
-
Bad Boys: Ride or Die – 'glossy, flashy and thoroughly entertaining'
The Week Recommends Will Smith stars in what could be his comeback movie
By The Week UK Published
-
The Dead Don't Hurt: love blooms in 'handsomely crafted' western
The Week Recommends Viggo Mortensen writes, directs and stars in second feature film
By The Week UK Published
-
D-Day: The Unheard Tapes – a 'sombre, vital and masterful' documentary
The Week Recommends The BBC's three-part series is filled with 'diamond quotes' from the people involved in the landings
By The Week UK Published
-
Hit Man: a 'sizzling romance' and 'tense action flick' rolled into one
The Week Recommends Richard Linklater's latest film is 'richly enjoyable'
By The Week UK Published
-
Taylor Swift vs. The Beatles: who's bigger?
In the Spotlight With US megastar's 'Eras' tour arriving in Liverpool, comparisons to the Fab Four and Beatlemania abound
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Ivy Pochoda's 6 favorite books that explore the dark side of human nature
Feature The thriller writer recommends works by Cormac McCarthy, Rachel Kushner, and more
By The Week Staff Published