Tuesday, February 14, 2012
On The Topic of Mr. Spurlock and his "Little Adventure" With the Supersizes
I think that the film Supersize Me would actually be very helpful to any and all beginner level Economics classes. The reason I say this is that the issue of externalities is clearly quite an important one in the field of economics, sometimes shaping how businesses operate, and the two best examples of externalities that come from businesses that I can think of are pollution from factories and reduced health from fast food. The latter is perhaps the most widely used example, and Spurlock's film so clearly demonstrates the effects of McDonald's business model that nary a student would be able to forget the concept of an externality. Who, after all, can forget the sight of Spurlock throwing up out of a car window after consuming the result of McDonald's supersize business practice? It's a good film to begin with, albeit crude at times, but nonetheless illuminating from health standpoints and from an economic standpoint.
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ReplyDeleteThis was not my first time seeing Supersize Me but I was still just as disgusted as I was when I saw it for my first time when it came out. However, I do find the movie fascinating. There are so many people in the world that dont have the education on what to eat and what not to eat. It also doesn't help that McDonalds is so inexpensive. It is also very convenient because there are so many of them. In terms of externalities, the externalities are evident and definitely overweigh the benefits of having a successful company based out of the United States. While the food may be very inexpensive, health bills will far exceed those costs when on maintains the disgusting habits of eating the fat foods. Fast food will end up killing us and there will be no economy to benefit.
ReplyDeleteSam: you must have seen the film before because I skipped the barfing scene. Some critics have objected to a few of Spurlock's more outlandish claims. Even so, he sends a powerful message!
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