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What are the main codes and conventions of the documentary genre used in 'Super Size Me'?

How is American society represented in the documentary?

Super Size Me is a polemical documentary by Morgan Spurlock that makes use of the participatory mode. It addresses America's obesity epidemic and the fast food industry's involvement in this by following the presenter as he eats nothing but McDonalds for a month.

The documentary features an on-screen presenter, which is a typical convention of polemical documentaries: he is a likeable and relatable figure, so viewers are more likely to listen to his opinions without feeling ambushed. It also features elements of the reflexive mode, with frequent references to the fact that it is a documentary such as conversations with the person behind the camera and phone calls to McDonalds representatives to try and get them to participate in the documentary.

A prominent feature of the documentary is the use of a handheld camera; this adds to the personal theme of the documentary. The cameraman moves with the camera as the presenter does and is present in the car with him, which makes the audience feel as though they are on the journey with him. A variety of camera techniques are used in the large amount of background footage used, such as panning, zooming and montages of obese people to emphasise the extent of the epidemic.Elements such as animation and graphics are also used, such as the animated sequence demonstrating how McDonalds' chicken nuggets are supposedly made. The animation allows the sequence to show the way they are made whilst remaining entertaining and not unpleasant. Graphics of the McDonalds logo across a world map indicating the amount of McDonalds restaurants across the world are used at the very beginning of the documentary, which immediately informs the audience of how enormous and powerful McDonalds are as a corporation, an important idea which is explored further throughout the documentary. Sound and editing are also important aspects of the documentary genre; a predominant sound feature in Super Size Me is parodic and ironic music, such as the song "Fat-Bottomed Girls" by Queen which plays mockingly over a montage of footage of America's obese population. This adds to the colloquial and mocking tone of the documentary, which is an important characteristic of polemical documentaries as more serious opinionated pieces can have the effect of alienating the audience.The documentary is also edited so that non-diegetic sound, such as music, lines up with the narration and on-screen movement which promotes fluency and a fast pace.It also uses titles effectively for multiple purposes; they are used to identify experts by name and job title, as well as present statistics, subtitles and filming locations.

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Many interviews are conducted throughout the documentary, both vox pops and expert interviews. Camera angles, settings and representations vary in different interviews. The vox pops were usually set on the street or in busy environments with lots of ambient noise and included the presenter in the shot, which emphasised the informality, whilst the expert interviews were carried out much more formally. The mise-en-scene in expert interviews is much more important as the experts are to be presented as credible- they were set in offices or the appropriate environment, such as a hospital or a library. They often featured objects which related to the subject being discussed, such as an expert discussing childhood development was filmed with a children's toy in the background.

The representation of American society in Super Size Me is very strongly negative from the very beginning of the documentary. It begins with various statistics on the obesity epidemic along with footage of obese Americans, putting emphasis on the obese population and ignoring those outside of it- an obviously biased representation typical of polemical documentaries. It is suggested that Americans have no sense of self-responsibility, particularly in the narrators statement that several obese teenagers did what Americans "do best", by shifting the blame away from themselves towards the fast food companies. The fast food companies are also represented extremely negatively, for example the documentary addresses McDonalds' lack of nutrition information, the oversized portions and lack of hygiene standards (such as when the presenter finds a hair in his food). It also addresses how the company is completely aware of its products being harmful and does nothing about it, and criticises its poor quality food production. Other companies such as GMA are also targeted, with one representative stating that they are "part of the problem". The documentary targets the issue of these corporations being aware of their faults and doing nothing to amend them in the pursuit of making more money. There is also a focus on healthy lifestyles for children; as well as addressing McDonalds marketing towards children, a portion of the documentary is conducted in schools and assesses the poor quality, unhealthy school lunches and lack of physical education. One school in particular is represented positively for its healthy lunches, however it is used to cast a shadow over the others by showing the positive effects and little financial impact of providing healthy school lunches.

Though minimal, there is some positive representation included: as well as the healthy eating program in one particular school, there is also mention of another school with an excellent physical education program, which the presenter makes an example of. Other positive representations include the healthy lifestyle of the presenter and his girlfriend, a brief mention of the 40%

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of American adults who are not obese, and the well-educated, health-conscious experts that are interviewed.

Overall, American society is represented negatively, shown to be lazy, make poor choices and lack responsibility. However, it suggests that they are not bad people so much as misinformed and exposed to negative influences such as fast food companies and corporations which warp their judgement. Examples are made of places and people which have successfully undertaken positive change to show that the obesity epidemic could be overcome if action is taken.