The art of the documentary is really going downhill. In the 70s and 80s people perfected a way of making documentaries without any narrative, just letting the sequence of images tell the story. Koyaanisqatsi, Atomic Café, Gimme Shelter are examples of this; they are all works of art. Making and understanding such a doc requires a greater amount of effort, but it yields a more satisfying experience.
Nowadays filmmakers have reverted to the primitive form of beating us over the head with their message, telling us at every turn what we should think. Supersize Me falls exactly into this category, we are given no chance to think for ourselves. The message is a good one, no quarrel there, but ultimately the film resembles the fast food it criticizes - superficially appealing but unedifying.
There has been a whole slew of docs like this - Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Corporation - and I have been unwilling to take issue because I agree with the messages they contain. But I don't want this unimaginative and conventional style to become the norm! I ask documentary-makers to study Godfrey Reggio and the Maysles brothers, so they can learn how to purvey their message with elegance.
Nowadays filmmakers have reverted to the primitive form of beating us over the head with their message, telling us at every turn what we should think. Supersize Me falls exactly into this category, we are given no chance to think for ourselves. The message is a good one, no quarrel there, but ultimately the film resembles the fast food it criticizes - superficially appealing but unedifying.
There has been a whole slew of docs like this - Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Corporation - and I have been unwilling to take issue because I agree with the messages they contain. But I don't want this unimaginative and conventional style to become the norm! I ask documentary-makers to study Godfrey Reggio and the Maysles brothers, so they can learn how to purvey their message with elegance.