Super Sized Saviour

Morgan Spurlock, Super Size Me and Theories of the Atonement

Frightening Numbers

„A typical American child sees 10.000 advertisments for food each year on television. 95% of them are for sugared cereal, soda, fast food or candy,“ says one of the experts Morgan Spurlock interviews in the film Super Size Me.[1] Surrounded by propaganda and advertisments that encourage the consumption of fast food and unhealthy food the filmmaker got the idea to use use himself as a test subject in order to find out what the effects of comsuming only food from McDonalds would be.

He did this for a month and that month is the subject matter of the film Super Size Me. In between his trips to McDonalds the audience is educated about healthy and unhealthy lifestyles, food, nourishments, the importance of exercise, and marketing.[2]

During the process Spurlock was under the supervision of doctors and nutritionists. They weren’t quite sure before what the effects would be on him and judging by their responses in the film it could be said that the effects came as a surprise to them. In fact they told him more than once that he should quit this “silly experiment”. He didn’t.

The diet had a huge effect on Spurlock. He gained a lot of weight, become a fast-food addict and was filled with despair and hopelessness. It affected his sex-life, his liver started to look like the liver of an alcoholic to name a few things. After the experiment it took him eight weeks to get the liver and cholesterol back to normal and it took over a year to gain back his former weight.

Super Size Me was made in 2003. The film was well received and made an impact at once, both on audience and on the companies in the fast food industry. McDonalds took the super size meals off the menu shortly after the film premiered at the Sundance festival and they have since emphasized salads and healthy food more than before. The company denies that Spurlock’s film had any effect on this.

The Passion of the Spurlock

The night before Spurlock has his first McDonalds meal his girlfriend (who is a vegetarian and a great cook) prepares a wholesome vegetarian meal. The title of this scene (shown in intertitles) is “The Last Supper” and in the intertitles we see an imitation of the famous fresco of the last supper by Leonardo da Vinci. In the original Jesus and his disciples sit at a table; in the new version Ronald McDonald is in the place of Jesus and cartoon figures stand in for the disciples. On the table is a Big Mac, coke and some fries.

It is inevitable to start thinking of the last supper and of Holy Thursday and thus of the passion of Jesus Christ. It is also the case the Spurlock 30-days with McDonalds are finished with another meal which is also described as a last supper: The Last McMeal.

By framing his story in this manner Spurlock directs the viewer of the film to the passion. Just as Jesus Christ suffered Spurlock suffers. And it seems to be the case with both of these “passions” that they are not a goal in themselves but rather they point to some other goal or a deeper meaning.

I think that it is possible can speak of these 30 days in Spurlock’s life as a passion and of the film as a Passion of Spurlock. One might even venture so far as to speak of Spurlock as a Christ-figure, for his story has direct connotations to the story of Jesus Christ and he seems to be some sort of redeemer in the film (one who redeems from gluttony and obesity).

Victory and Example

In that respect it may be of interest to discuss what kind of Christ-figure he could be, what kind of redeemer or liberator. What is the situation that redemption is needed from and to what kind of situation, and how does this happen? In this respect we can make use of two classical images of the atonement. On the one hand the so called Christus-Victor motif, on the other hand the interpretation that the death of Christ and the cross is an advertisment of God’s love and a moral example.[3]

The Christus-Victor motif is directed towards powers that are outside of man. Gustav Aulén describes it thus in his book Christus Victor:

Christ — Christus Victor — fights against and triumphs over the evil powers of the world, the ‘tyrants’ under which mankind is in bondage and suffering.[4]

It is also possible to make use of a modern re-interpretation of this model, e.g. the one proposed in Darby Kathleen Ray’s book Deceiving the Devil. She writes:

According to the patristic model [the Christus-Victor model], God is the one who, through Jesus the Christ, liberates humankind from bondage to evil. In this liberating event God is understood to act in accordance with the rules of “fair play,” recognizing the reality and even legitimacy of the devil’s hold over human beings, and working to overcome the power of evil not through using brute force, not by simply destroying Satan or wiping evil from the face of the earth, but by exposing the injustice at the root of evil and allowing this injustice to discredit the devil and hence loosen its hold over humankind.[5]

Spurlock challenges the fast food industry in the film and he describes it as evil. He picks out the company that is most widespread, has the most appeal and can affect most people. He wishes to show how this company and others in the industry are contributing to sin and enslavement (which in this case is exemplified in addiction, obesity and numerous health problems). He also does this by playing by their rules. And he seems to have done this with good results, not least if we look to the fact that the super size meals disappeared from the McDonalds menus and the increased emphasis on salads.

The moral-example motif is on the other hand directed towards the individual himself. Perhaps we can connect the form of this motif that we find in the Enlightenment with Super Size Me. For them Jesus was less a saviour and more a martyr, teacher, moral example and role model. In accordance with that the passion and cross were considered effective to the extent that they influenced men, as inspiration and encouragement to follow the moral example of Jesus. Christ.[6]

This seems to be in accordance with what Spurlock wants to do in and with his film. He wishes to increase knowledge about food culture and create awareness about it. Diminish obesity, encourage people to exercise more, lobby for better food in schools. And last but not least he wants to show in clear terms what happens when food — especially fast food — is consumed in excess. And he is willing to embark on that journey (his own via dolorosa) for others, as a teacher and a moral example. This is to some extent emphasized at the end of his commentary on the DVD when he addresses the viewer and says: “Thanks for buying the DVD. Please share it with your friends. Pass it on …”[7]

Evaluation and critique

Finally I want to leave you with a few questions and thoughts regarding the benefit of such an approach, both for our understanding of the film and our understanding of theories of the atonement.

In the case of Super Size Me the approach taken here is based on clues and themes found within the film itself, thus the film itself contains keys or pointers to its own interpretation. Examining the film as a passion story and using theories of the atonement as hermeneutical tools is an example of an approach that tries to do justice both to the context of the film and it’s inner themes or workings.[8]

When it comes to the possibility of using films like these to illustrate and perhaps critique theories of the atonement a number of points can be made. First of all I think that this film lends it self quite well to illustrate classical and contemporary theories or images of the atonement. It shows that the reality (or realities) we are dealing with are not simple and that images of the atonement shouldn’t be approached in an either/or manner. It shows how the atonement can both be directed towards humans and realities or powers outside of them and it gives concrete examples of the effects of the atonement.

Thus I would say that the film can both be used to illustrate and show the atonement in a concrete manner, using known examples, and to show and perhaps create awareness of the limitations of such theories.[9]

Conclusion

To summarize: There are several clues that indicate that we can interpret Super Size Me as a passion. And it seems to both possible and useful to examine the film in the light of well known theories of the atonement. Morgan Spurlock suffers for others to teach and he challenges negative (evil) forces in our society.

He enters the situation of the common man (and is in-carn-ated) and deals with the sins of gluttony and obesity so that others don’t have to do that. He is closer to death than life at the end of that period. This is done in order to liberate others from the sin and suffering of obesity. Thus the passion is for others and for god.

As a Christ-figure Spurlock may be the dream-prince of the Enlightenment, his passion has the main goal of fighting against the vice of obesity, to enlighten and to encourage positive change. Thus we might perhaps call the American filmmaker a Super-Size Enlightenment Saviour.

Bibliography

Film

Super Size Me (Morgan Spurlock: 2004). The region 1 DVD was used.

Books

Aulén, Gustaf: Christus Victor. An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Idea of the Atonement, transl. A. G. Herbert, Collier Books, New York 1969.

Biblían.1981. Hið íslenska Biblíufélag, Reykjavík.

Corrigan, Timothy & Patricia White: The Film Experience. An Introduction, Bedford / St. Martins, Boston & New York 2004.

Einar Sigurbjörnsson. 1993. Credo. Kristin trúfræði, 2. útg.. Háskólaútgáfan-Guðfræðistofnun, Reykjavík.

Green, Joel B. & Mark D. Baker 2000: Recovering the Scandal of the Cross. Atonement in New Testament and Contemporary Contexts, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove IL.

McGrath, Alister E.. 2001. Christian Theology. An Introduction. , 3. útg. Oxford.

Ray, Darby Kathleen. 1988. Deceiving the Devil. Atonement, Abuse and Ransom. Pilgrim Press, Cleveland.

Weaver, J. Denny. 2001. The Nonviolent Atonement, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids.

Notes

[1] A specialist who is interviewed in Super Size Me, min. 0:44.

[2] Spurlock had five basic rules which he followed during the McDonalds-month: 1. He could only buy Super-Size meals when they were offered to him by McDonalds staff. 2. He had to eat all of his meals at McDonalds and could only drink water that was bought there. 3. He had to eat everything on the menu at least once. 4. He had to eat three meals a day. 5. One in every 10 meals should be a salad.

[3] Einar Sigurbjörnsson: Credo, 265ff.

[4] Aulén: Christus Victor, 4.

[5] Ray: Deceiving the Devil, 137–8.

[6] McGrath: Christian Theology, 427.

[7] Morgan Spurlock, directors commentary on Super Size Me, min. 1:38.

[8] Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White write in The Film Experience that: “Many narratives in Western cultures, for instance, center in individuals, their fates and their self-knowledge, and many Western narrative models — such as the Judeo-Christian one that assumes a progressive movement from a fall to a redemption — reflect our basic cultural belief in individual and social development.” Corrigan & White: The Film Experience, 218.

[9] In this respect I would like to quote Ray from Deceiving the Devil who writes about the task of theology today that it: “[S]hould not have as its goal the articulation of singular interpretations and univocal truths but should aim to multiply possibilities, to open up various vistas of meaning, to diversify methodologies and canons, and to devise multiple strategies for transformation, recognizing at all times the contingent, contestable character of all our constructs.” Ray: Deceiving the Devil, 116.