RIP Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me)

[Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast]

variety.com/2024/film/obituaries-people-news/morgan-spurlock-dead-super-size-me-1236015338/

Morgan Spurlock, a documentary filmmaker who captured his own psychological and physical symptoms from eating McDonald’s every day for a month in the Oscar-nominated 2004 feature “Super Size Me,” died Thursday in upstate New York due to complications of cancer. He was 53.

Spurlock’s family confirmed his death.

“It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,” says Craig Spurlock, who worked with his brother on several projects. “Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas and generosity. Today the world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I am so proud to have worked together with him.”

[Ultimo Gallos]

Damn and not long after the news about him being a hardcore alcohalic during the filming of Super Size Me.

[tirtefaa]

Kind of surreal that this happened, since I just watched a video a couple days ago that went through his claims about McDonald's, and how they debunked many of his claims he made in his documentary.

[fw91]

I show “super size me” every semester to my students. I’m not sure if they pay attention to anything else, but they always pay attention then. RIP.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

May 24, 2024 9:16:19 GMT -5 tirtefaa said:

Kind of surreal that this happened, since I just watched a video a couple days ago that went through his claims about McDonald's, and how they debunked many of his claims he made in his documentary.

I’m still amazed the documentary got the traction it did, as even when it was released it could be pretty easily picked apart. Now that we know he was drinking like a gallon of hard liquor a day while filming it, it really doesn’t hold up.

The entire premise of it was pretty ridiculous “I’m gonna prove it’s unhealthy to eat the biggest meal available at a fast food restaurant 3 meals a day!”. Well no f***ing shit!

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

That’s a shame. I try not to comment on people’s deaths unless I’ve met them or interacted in some way, but Super Size Me was such a captivating documentary. I remember watching it for the first time in a nearly empty discount movie theater in Arlington, MA. I even wrote about it in one of my college application essays. RIP.

[lucas_lee]

This man will forever have a tainted legacy (just look up what he admitted to doing in college) but he helped usher in a new era of documentaries

[Cranjis McBasketball]

May 24, 2024 14:24:24 GMT -5 The Summer of Muskrat XVII said:

May 24, 2024 9:16:19 GMT -5 tirtefaa said:

Kind of surreal that this happened, since I just watched a video a couple days ago that went through his claims about McDonald's, and how they debunked many of his claims he made in his documentary.

I’m still amazed the documentary got the traction it did, as even when it was released it could be pretty easily picked apart. Now that we know he was drinking like a gallon of hard liquor a day while filming it, it really doesn’t hold up.

The entire premise of it was pretty ridiculous “I’m gonna prove it’s unhealthy to eat the biggest meal available at a fast food restaurant 3 meals a day!”. Well no f***ing shit!

Such a weird legacy of a film. Post anything about McDonald’s online and you’ll get bombarded with how it’s not actually food, never decays, haven’t ever ate there. Post something about Super Size Me and you’ll get bombarded with how McDonald’s is practically health food and he’s just a liar.

I enjoyed the documentary when I saw it shortly after it came out and enjoyed it. McDonald’s is totally safe and fine to eat and has the best fries.

[KingPooper]

May 24, 2024 10:10:27 GMT -5 fw91 said:

I show “super size me” every semester to my students. I’m not sure if they pay attention to anything else, but they always pay attention then. RIP.

What do you teach?

[fw91]

May 24, 2024 21:01:15 GMT -5 KingPooper said:

May 24, 2024 10:10:27 GMT -5 fw91 said:

I show “super size me” every semester to my students. I’m not sure if they pay attention to anything else, but they always pay attention then. RIP.

What do you teach?

Despite my not so voluptuous figure, PE/Health. i like to spend some time on fast food in my health classes because it's more of a real life discussion than "eat your veggies" kids.

[A Platypus Rave]

May 24, 2024 14:24:24 GMT -5 The Summer of Muskrat XVII said:

May 24, 2024 9:16:19 GMT -5 tirtefaa said:

Kind of surreal that this happened, since I just watched a video a couple days ago that went through his claims about McDonald's, and how they debunked many of his claims he made in his documentary.

I’m still amazed the documentary got the traction it did, as even when it was released it could be pretty easily picked apart. Now that we know he was drinking like a gallon of hard liquor a day while filming it, it really doesn’t hold up.

The doctor even kinda says several times that it is literally not possible that he is having these issues from fatty foods alone.

"You have the liver of an alcoholic after a bender"

Some of his reactions like the shaking after eating and the puking after trying to eat a hamburger pretty early on also are signs of alcoholism. (the shakes from your bodies detoxing and his stomach being full of hundreds of calories of alcohol.)

Also why no one was able to duplicate his findings, and why he refused to release a curated list of what he ingested during that time. (In fact, multiple people have replicated the 30 days of nothing but fast food and lost weight.)

still it's sad when someone dies young, and of course f*** cancer.

[fw91]

You see to me, what I enjoy about the documentary is not Morgan’s binge. To me that’s the B plot. Everything else is fascinating. The history of fast food, the marketing techniques, the mind tricks that we fall for, and our own eating habits. To me it’s much more than guy who eats McDonald’s for 30 days straight,”

[Gunhaver]

I actually didn't know about the alcoholism thing but figured the doc was really deceptive anyway. But man, that Whitest Kids U Know parody is really unfortunate now.

I remember watching and liking his FX show 30 Days. Don't know that I could go back to it now, though.

[Cyno]

Years ago, famous Twitter shitposter dril successfully predicted Spurlock's cause of death and was only off by a couple of days for the date of death. I'm scared now.

[Mozenrath]

May 25, 2024 21:42:18 GMT -5 Cyno said:

Years ago, famous Twitter shitposter dril successfully predicted Spurlock's cause of death and was only off by a couple of days for the date of death. I'm scared now.

I assume now that people really do want to try to f*** the flag at the Betsy Ross museum.

[bob]

I love his documentary POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

it's a documentary funded entirely by product placement about product placement

[cosmo]

So when Paul Reubens died, an indie art-house theater about an hour from me ran Pee Wee's Big Adventure a few days later as a tribute.

Am I an awful person for wanting to see them run a double feature of Super Size Me and that Michael Keaton movie The Founder now?

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

May 25, 2024 2:32:58 GMT -5 A Platypus Rave said:

May 24, 2024 14:24:24 GMT -5 The Summer of Muskrat XVII said:

I’m still amazed the documentary got the traction it did, as even when it was released it could be pretty easily picked apart. Now that we know he was drinking like a gallon of hard liquor a day while filming it, it really doesn’t hold up.

The doctor even kinda says several times that it is literally not possible that he is having these issues from fatty foods alone.

"You have the liver of an alcoholic after a bender"

Some of his reactions like the shaking after eating and the puking after trying to eat a hamburger pretty early on also are signs of alcoholism. (the shakes from your bodies detoxing and his stomach being full of hundreds of calories of alcohol.)

Also why no one was able to duplicate his findings, and why he refused to release a curated list of what he ingested during that time. (In fact, multiple people have replicated the 30 days of nothing but fast food and lost weight.)

still it's sad when someone dies young, and of course f*** cancer.

Granted, I haven’t seen the movie since it first released on VHS/DVD, so I don’t directly remember the scenes you’re describing but as an alcoholic, some of the shit you’re describing are blatantly signs of alcoholism. Moodiness, f***ed up circulation, shaky hands, nausea from small amounts of food. I’ve had all those, they suck and they can be directly tied to when I’m binge drinking. And I’m only a beer drinker, can’t imagine how rough it is for someone whose drink of choice is rye or vodka