He became known for his documentary denouncing the ravages of fast food. American documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock died this Thursday at the age of 53, his relatives announced to the specialist sites Variety and Deadline.
The director died of cancer in New York State, the sites said. “It was a sad day when we said goodbye to my brother Morgan. He gave so much through his art, his ideas and his generosity. Today the world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I’m so proud to have worked with him,” reacted his brother Craig Spurlock.
Morgan Spurlock became known in 2004 with his documentary “Super Size Me”, where he decided to only eat at the fast food chain McDonald’s morning, noon and evening, for a month. On the menu, huge hamburgers, fries, cakes, sausages and super-sweet drinks.
Films against fast food
Consequence: after thirty days of experience, the director had gained 11 kg, suffered from liver dysfunction and experienced depressive symptoms, according to the doctors who were following him. The objective of the film was to denounce the harmful effects of fast food and to prove that these push consumption to the extreme.
The film was an international success, prompting Morgan Spurlock to launch a reality TV show on a similar concept, including spending thirty days in a Virginia prison. In 2017, the director also published a second part of his first film, entitled “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!” “.
In this documentary, Morgan Spurlock opened a fast-food fried chicken restaurant and attempted to deceive its customers, in order to demonstrate how easy it is for fast-food chains to lie about the quality of their food.
In 2017, in the midst of the #MeToo movement, the filmmaker confided on social networks to being “part of the problem”. In particular, he admitted to having been unfaithful and to having signed an agreement with a former colleague in a sexual harassment case. He also admitted to having been accused of rape while he was still a student.
A confession which then ended his career as a documentary filmmaker, also pushing him to resign from his production company, Warrior Poets.
