Essential Questions Outline:
1. How do [documentaries] affect the rhetorical devices that individuals have at their disposal?
Claim: Directors can manipulate the feelings and opinions of viewers ways that are not possible
through written and orated pieces.
a. Musical selection can help to produce a certain tone that can better convey an individual's
message (ex. slow-paced, soft music contributed to the depressing ambiance of the film when the
doctor told Spurlock that he needed to stop this experiment in order to maintain his health)
b. Facial expressions and mannerisms of Actors/Actresses can help audiences to better understand
the tone of the piece and can provoke desirable emotional responses to the actors. Some things are
better understood visually than through lecturing.
(ex. Spurlock's facial expressions after eating the McDonald's food the 20th day of the experiment)
c. Documentaries are unique in that the images they show help to better illustrate the content being
discussed. Essentially, documentaries utilize both narration and visuals to reach audiences and
portray information. This strategy allows the documentary to be successful in teaching both oral
and spatial learners.
2. How have [documentaries] been perceived and received by the global community?
Claim: Documentaries have met with great success and some even become more successful in
prompting viewers into action than classic written works. But like all other methods of
communication, they have not been without criticism.
Successes
a. Super Size Me was an incredible success earning $30,000,000 in box office. Additionally it cost
only $1,000,000 to film and edit, making this an incredibly profitable endeavor.
b. Within 6 months of the documentaries debut, the "Super Size Me" option was removed in all
McDonald's restaurants. Though McDonald's refuses to acknowledge the documentary as a primary
factor in the removal, the documentary certainly generated and fueled public criticism of the option,
which undoubtedly helped make McDonald's decision easier for them.
c. Super Size Me has been integrated into health education courses across the country. At the
Wissahickon Middle School all 7th grade students are required to take health for a semester. Super
Size Me was used as a supplement to teach the nutrition unit.
Criticisms
a. Many believe that the entire film was staged. There are some theories that Spurlock was not as sick
as he led on.
b. Others dismiss the film's findings because of the lack of scientific research that went into the
documentary. In this manner, Spurlock failed to give him credibility in the scientific community.
c. BBC news states that the "high comedy factor and over-familiarity of the subject matter render it
less powerful than other recent documentaries." This comment demonstrates that documentaries often
have trouble reconciling an emphasis on content and entertainment value.
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