One thing that’s undeniable is that documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) is a funny guy. He is funny in the way a class clown is funny. He mines laughs by breaking rules and pushing buttons. He has an innate charisma that is likable in a sloppy, jestery kind of way.
And Spurlock makes documentaries that feel like highbrow Jackass stunts. Rather than simply mortifying his body for dropped-jawed amusement, Spurlock wraps his stunts into the complicated web of consummeristic American culture, playing sacrificial victim to a world that values product over people.
The results are undeniably compelling.
The problem with the creeping influence of advertising is not awareness; it is whether art can work outside of that influence — if movies can be made without subjecting themselves to some amount of corporate branding or product promotion. In this way, Spurlock doesn’t solve a problem, he merely acknowledges it. Sure, he does so in an entertaining way. But isn’t every good commercial entertaining on some level? Read More
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