Re: Morgan Spurlock

[robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

Interesting how difficult it is to craft a stellar legacy -- it may well
be impossible.

 > From: Noelle <noelle>
 > Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2025 07:25:12 -0700 (PDT)
 >
 > .B. in Savannah, GA, writes: I mostly agreed with your list, having 
 > seen almost everything on it except Hearts and Minds and Hoop 
 > Dreams. I'm definitely going to check those out. But I have to take 
 > issue with Super Size Me. Yes, my family stopped eating at McDonalds 
 > for a year after we saw it. But since then, I've learned that Morgan 
 > Spurlock's medical issues had less to do with eating McDonalds fries 
 > than the prodigious amounts of alcohol he was consuming. And then 
 > there's that one scene with the overweight teenage girl and her 
 > mother, where she tells Jared Fogle that while she'd love to eat 
 > healthy food like Subway, she just can't afford it. Spurlock doesn't 
 > have much to say about that.
 > 
 > You did leave one outstanding documentary off your list: Chris 
 > Rock's Good Hair (2009). A good documentary should expose you to 
 > something you didn't know existed, and despite having dated several 
 > Black women, I had no idea what was involved in taking care of their 
 > hair, or what hair represented in that culture. Aside from that, 
 > it's also a very well-made documentary, striking the perfect balance 
 > between real-life examples and expert talking heads.
 > 
 > P.O. in New York City, NY, writes: Regarding the pick of Super-Size 
 > Me—I saw this when it came out and enjoyed it and found it 
 > impactful, like many of its viewers. I also liked a lot of Morgan 
 > Spurlock's later work (a lot of his TV work, like the Simpsons 20th 
 > anniversary special, was very funny). I do think the revelations 
 > that have come out since about Spurlock warrant its removal from the 
 > list, despite its impact. Much of the premise—that the McDonald's 
 > meals were causing ill health for Spurlock—was likely due to his 
 > alcoholism at the time. The later revelations about his sexual 
 > misconduct don't help either.