Morgan Spurlock Watch

Comedy Central Signs Spurlock

News from yesterday:

Super Size Me auteur Morgan Spurlock is adding a new cable address to his résumé, taking his documentarian's eye and flair for wry humor to Comedy Central.

As part of a two-project deal between Comedy Central and Sony Pictures Television, Spurlock will develop and star in Public Nuisance, a satirical romp in which the filmmaker and his team of irreverent social critics take on a number of hot-button issues, including sex, the media and religion.

Oops!

Yesterday, the San Francisco Examiner recommended Spurlock Watch to its readers, though not exactly in the way it intended. The paper wrote:

Check out the blog of Morgan Spurlock, better known as the "Super Size Me" guy and star of the new show "30 Days." Log on to http://spurlockwatch.typepad.com/front and see what the guy who ate fast food 24/7 for an entire month really thinks. The site has only been up since June so you have some time to check up and get in on what is fast becoming a popular blog. The site contains a ton of stuff about McDonald's, so if you're a fan of the chain don't go. However, if you are a fan of chatter about popular culture and American corporate governance check it out.

If that's what brought you here, welcome! But this site is not Morgan Spurlock's blog. In fact, it's a blog devoted to holding Mr. Spurlock accountable for the inaccuracies and factual distortions in his movie, book, and TV show.

Still, have a look around!

Wiki

Someone kindly listed this site on Morgan Spurlock's Wikipedia entry.

I clicked over, however, and saw that the body of Spurlock's entry didn't contain a single sentence laying out the position of Super Size Me critics. So I added the following, which I think is a pretty fair assessment of their criticisms:

Spurlock's critics contend that his movie was a dishonest depiction of how fast food -- or any food, really -- fits in with a regular diet. Spurlock deliberately ate 5,000 calories per day, more than twice what's recommended. It isn't difficult, in fact, to eat a McDonalds diet for each meal at under 2,000 calories per day (including a double cheeseburger and fries for dinner). Spurlock also intentionally avoided any physical activity during his McDonalds diet. That such a drastic diet-exercise regimine would cause deleterious effects on his health, critics say, is self-evident. Five thousand calories per day of any food will cause immediate, noticeable weight gain in all but the most serious and rigorous of athletes.

We'll see if it stays up.

Amazon Reviews

Here's the Amazon review page for Spurlock's book.

If you've read it and want to sketch up a quick review, go for it.

Why Bother With This Guy?

That's probably what you're asking yourself.

When I began to read Morgan Spurlock's Don't Eat This Book I sort of figured it'd be filled with many of the misleading and outright fallacious claims and representations he makes in his movie.  I figured I'd find enough examples to write an op-ed, or perhaps a book review.  I began by putting Post-It notes on pages with examples I might want to use.

By the time I'd finished two chapters, there were Post-It notes on every page Spurlock may chide McDonalds for the lack of nutritional value in its food, but Spurlock's book is completely bankrupt of intellectual value.

It's tempting to dismiss Spurlock as an unserious guy whom serious people don't take seriously.  That's probably true. But young people, people who aren't naturally skeptical, and people who are already suspicious of corporations do take him seriously.  His TV show debuted to 3 million viewers.  The NY Times recently fawned all over him.  And of course, Super Size Me was enormously successful.

There's certainly no questioning Spurlock's talent with a camera.  And he has a bit of charisma that makes him likeable, and believable.

The problem is that he's fast and loose with the truth.  He's consumed by a loathing of business and capitalism -- to the point of refusing to allow accuracy to get in the way of making his point. And I think someone needs to hold him accountable. I'd like to prime the people who watch his show, read his books, and take his advice to take in Morgan Spurlock, Inc. with a super-sized portion of skepticism.

This blog will primarily be devoted to debunking claims Spurlock makes in his book. But we'll also post critiques of his television series, public appearances, and similar Spurlockian lore as needed.