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Morgan Spurlock Pranks All Of Columbus In New Fast Food Documentary

In his new documentary set in Columbus, Morgan Spurlock once again calls out the fast food industry while pranking trusting consumers.

Morgan Spurlock, famous for the documentary “Super Size Me”, will be releasing a new film in September that takes place entirely in our own Columbus, Ohio. Titled “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken”, the documentary is sure to take some open shots at fast food and the food industry as a whole.

Last November, Spurlock set up a dummy restaurant right here in the city. It advertised farm to table cooking, a popular trend in restaurants today as most people look to eat healthier animal products raised in humane conditions. Once customers were led inside the restaurant, however, things took a different turn. Around the restaurant itself were signs indicating that the chickens were instead raised in inhumane industrial farms. Not only that, but other notices openly acknowledged the use of psychological marketing, aimed at suckering customers into believing what they were eating was safe and healthy.

The film is clearly meant to call out corporate food chains on deceitful practices, once again making a stooge of an industry that is often less than benign. Still, others worry that the movie may make Columbus out to look dumb or foolish. It’s worth pointing out, however, that it was more or less the point. Not Columbus specifically, of course, but consumers in general.

Spurlock’s first experience with our city was in the first episode of his show, “30 Days”. In the show, he spends a month living a lifestyle that many often don’t think to consider. In this particular episode, he chose to cover the life of someone living on minimum wage, and when it came down to choosing a location to film that experience he chose good old Columbus, Ohio. His reasoning behind that choice is one he openly admits during filming: Columbus represents the perfect microcosm of American life. Our population reflects that of the national average in terms of diversity and economic variance, which is a major reason why we’re a huge test food market in the first place. It’s also exactly why Spurlock once again chose Columbus to film his new documentary. We represent everything that is typical in the average customer. It isn’t just Columbus getting duped, it’s the American consumer.

None of us should feel bad for getting taken in by the well-intended prank. Besides, the allure of farm fresh chicken is pretty much low hanging fruit. Who wouldn’t walk right into that? The documentary premieres at The Toronto International Film Festival sometime between September 7 and 17. Specific film scheduling will be released on their website August 22.