Essay on Rhetorical Analysis: Supersize Me

English 131
Professor Whatley
September 30, 2012
Rhetorical Analysis: Supersize Me In the informative documentary, Supersize Me, Morgan Spurlock investigated if a fast food restaurant, in particular McDonalds, was the main reason for obesity because of the unhealthy food they serve. To support his claim Morgan Spurlock goes on a “McDiet,” where for 30 days straight he can eat only what is being served at McDonalds for each meal of the day. He questions if this diet will make him at risk for obesity or affect his health in a negative way. Spurlock effectively shows that eating unhealthy food everyday increases his risk for obesity but it doesn’t make it the fast food restaurants fault. Human beings also play an important role as to why the obesity rate is constantly increasing.
During the 30 day McDiet process Spurlock demonstrated ethos by interviewing many normal people on the streets of Manhattan asking questions such has how often do they eat fast food a day. Most people would respond saying at least once a week or more. He asked people to recite the Pledge of Allegiance but many failed to do so. If he asked the same people to recite something from a McDonalds’ commercial, that came much easier to recite. Also many young kids were given pictures with many different faces on them. They couldn’t familiarize themselves with any of the faces except one, the picture of Ronald McDonald. McDonalds alone spends about 1.4 billion dollars on advertising per year. These claims proved the fast food industry pays a lot of money for their brand to be remembered.
Spurlock also proves his diet is quite effective to his body in many ways. After the third day he becomes sick in the stomach and below the pelvis area. Soon McDonalds becomes a craving for Spurlock. If he is not eating, he begins to feel sick, depressed, exhausted, and lazy. He gained about 25 pounds, his muscle turned into body fat, he’s taken in way more calories than his body needs, and he also increases his risk of heart failure.
Throughout the film, pathos was displayed in a memorable matter, easy for the audience to catch. When Spurlock became sick after the second day or when he woke up early in the morning of day 22 the audience could tell he wasn’t in the best mood. When Spurlock called his mother to inform her on his increase of liver disease, it was easy get a sense of that “motherly instinct” especially when she stated that she would give up one of her kidneys for her son. When the speaker from the Subway commercial came to the school talking about his dramatic weight loss he touched students who was currently having the same weight issue. One student specifically expressed how she is dealing with her weight issues in high school and how it is not easy losing weight or being obese. When people try all the dieting programs, fat burner pills, and exercising plans and it doesn’t work, their only resort is to surgically remove the fat from the body. The documentary showed a man who couldn’t lose weight on his own and referred to the doctors to surgically put in a

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