super-size me

xuli · Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 7:48 pm Post subject:

Just saw it! Over all I thought it was really well done.

I did agree with commenters who said he talked a little too much about his penis though. What was up with that?

Also ... while I thought the girlfriend was great, there were two things in the film that bothered me -- one was the way he starts out by showing all those pictures of his mom in the kitchen, saying, "When I grew up, my mom was cooking *all* *the* *time*" like those were the good old days. And then the girlfriend is shown cooking for him all the time too and she's the one who puts him on the detox diet.

It's funny, I love cooking, I love crafty stuff (obviously, I'm on this board), but I get weird when it's representations by men of women doing those things, versus representations by women of themselves doing those things.

stprcsm · Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 117 Location: NoVa

interesting point.
mothers often did cook all the time becuase of lack of convienience foods/eating out. his GF cooked becuase that is her profession. it seems to me that this guy just got lucky in his ability to skate through life with women who always cooked for him.

but thinking about it, when I or my mother cook, we always make a full meal, not always "healthy" but balanced. when my dad or brother cooked for the family it was like box mac and cheese and hot dogs. Granted they didnt cook as often as my mother or I so in the long run we ate really well.

its funny, my mother taught me to cook. in fact I did most of the cooking from when I was about 7 untill I moved out, and now that Im back home for the summer I cook most nights. She taught me all about how to cook but also little details like serving colorful veg with bland colored fish how to tell if raw meat is seasoned well w/o tasting it ( my old roomate used to taste raw hamburg -blech)

the point of this really long post is, maybe just becuase Im a girl my mother took the time to teach me these things that she never taught to my brothers ( or my father) or maybe I just showed and intrest. either way Im SOOOO glad Im not forced to eat nasty prepared stuff all the time ( Im also glad she taught me how to sew so I dont have to choose from that clothes on the rack!)

xuli · Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 10:44 pm Post subject:

Snufkin · Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 1:41 am Post subject:

Xuli, you're totally right about how he never portrays either woman in his life other than in the context of cooking for him! And while he probably didn't consciously mean to portray his girlfriend other than in the context of cooking for him and his sex life (glad I'm not the only one who wondered why he focused more the effects on his penis than his colon), it doesn't exactly send the best message.

As for parents teaching daughters to cook, I saw it with a friend I grew up with and we talked about it afterwards. In my family, I was taught from a pretty early age how to cook. It was my responsibility to pack me and my dad's lunch every night. And once my mom started working/going to grad school, I was responsible for cooking dinner every night. So while it perpetuated my dad being another guy who's had female relatives feed him his entire life, it did teach me the basics of preparing food/meals for myself. My friend didn't get assigned those responsibilities growing up and doesn't cook as much as an adult. To be fair, it was just her and her mom, so I'm sure there wasn't as much time for cooking lessons in their household. But she eats out a lot more than I do and when we used to live together, I usually did most of the cooking.
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twilight · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 330 Location: New Mexico

By the way, I love this board. This thread has been the most interesting and intelligent discussion of the movie I've been involved in. (just feeling lovvvvyyy right now)

Anyway, the last few posts have got me thinking about my childhood eating habits. My mother hated cooking. During my high school years I ate mostly manufactured food. Poptarts or honey bun for breakfast, generic high school cafeteria lunch, microwave dinners for supper. And artificial cookies and chips for snacks.

Ech. Nowadays, I eat a lot of organic food. I used to eat out more because I hated to cook. I realize now that my bad mother-daughter relationship influenced my relationship to cooking. Now that I've done therapy about my mother issues I'm starting to like cooking.
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stprcsm · Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 117 Location: NoVa

stprcsm · Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 117 Location: NoVa

xuli · Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2004 9:16 pm Post subject:

topazdebutante · Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Posts: 38

I loved this movie. I have a question. Did he ever add up how much it cost him to eat there everyday? I think that would be interesting to know.

Also, I had to laugh when the lobbysit guy admitted that they were part of the problem. The first thing I thought as a communication student is he is so going to get canned. Lo and Behold he did.

Also, McDonalds says they werent influenced by this but now they offer apples instead of fries in kids meals as well as chocolate and regular milk. Their salads are probably better than fried foods but as he pointed out if you use the dressing then they arent really any better.

I think this movie should be shown in college nutrition classes so that it can be discussed. I know I would have loved to do that.
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