April 5, 2005

Fat Fast Food Documentary, Super Size Me, to Screen

(North Adams, Mass.)-- The provocative documentary on the costs of fast food dieting, Super Size Me, will screen at MASS MoCA on Thursday, May 5th at 8 P.M. in Club B-10. Super Size Me follows director Morgan Spurlock on his quest to find out why so many Americans are overweight or obese and what kind of affect this nutritional collapse has had on the health of American children. This detailed journey reveals the demise of Spurlock's health and wellbeing while continuing to eat only McDonald's meals three times a day for an entire month and accepting every offer to be super-sized. Following the film will be a post-screening discussion with the director, Morgan Spurlock.

"With wry humor and a reporter's curiosity, Spurlock chronicles the toll on his body and mind, with pit stops along the way to take a hard look at our fast-food culture. The result is a provocative, enlightening film that should be shown in every classroom in the country -- and to every parent." -Richard Roeper, Sun Times columnist.

Spurlock was inspired to make Super Size Me after watching a report about the two girls who sued McDonald's, blaming fast food for their obesity. With the idea in hand, he traveled to more than twenty cities and over 25,000 miles to interview experts including Surgeon Generals, teachers and kids on why they believe Americans have expanding waistbands. In order to get a thorough understanding of this greasy epidemic, Spurlock had to become the subject leaving his wholesome diet behind and maintaining a McDonald's only regime. The decline of his physical condition: total gain of 25 pounds, high blood pressure, 65 point increase in cholesterol, symptoms of toxic shock to the liver, unhealthy skin, drop in energy, chest pains, and decreased sex drive; is enough to make everybody hold the mayo and run to the gym.

The screening of Super Size Me will be held in Club B-10 at MASS MoCA. The Cinema Lounge series, supported by Holly Angell Hardman, focuses on timely documentaries about social change in conjunction with MASS MoCA's exhibition The Interventionists: Art in the Social Sphere. Doors open at 7 pm for food and drink from Lickety Split before the screening. Club B-10 features comfortable couches and café tables as well as a full bar.

North Adams Regional Hospital and the REACH Foundation are co-sponsors of the film.

Tickets for Super Size Me are $6. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available in advance through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 11 am until 5 pm (closed Tuesdays). Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located off Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org