Documentary Film Analysis: Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead

1. Documentary Film Analysis: Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead

2. Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead • Audience • Average Americans • Unhealthy eaters • Those who feel defeated by their health problems • Purposes • To inspire others to get healthy by chronicling his own health journey • To demystify the juicing process and healthy eating • To prove that healthy eating can reduce the need for medication and result in significant weight loss • Issues • Health/obesity • Overreliance on prescription drugs

3. Background Info. for Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead • Released in 2010 • Features Joe Cross • Australian entrepreneur • Ethos: • Experiencing multiple health problems • Lived a life of excess and irresponsibility • Undergoes 60-day juicing cleanse • The Journey • Travels throughout the U.S. • Interviews and advises random people

4. Organizational Structure • Begins at the end • Follows the chronology of Joe’s 60-day fast and outlines his results • Switches focus to Phil Staples’ juice fast and weight loss journey

5. Key Rhetorical Strategies • Logos • Provides his own health statistics at various points throughout the 60 days • Compares the cost of a heart attack to the cost of buying fresh fruits and vegetables • We eat like cavemen, but we don’t live like them. • Pathos • Tells a man in a diner that he thinks watching his children grow up is worth the effort of dieting. • Phil expresses frustration because he just wants to be understood; he’s not angry – he’s in pain. • Phil is the underdog; his triumph evokes pride and enthusiasm.

6. Diction/Detail • The problem: • Calls his gut a “masterpiece” • “Suicide via food” • Images • Lying in bed, lethargic and sick • Pills lined up on table • Tone: regretful and depressing, laced with sarcasm • The solution: • Interviews with other juice fasters • Images • Time lapse photos of his body • Colorful fruits and vegetables • Cartoons • Tone: hopeful and optimistic

7. Rhetorical Highlights • Analogy • Mosquito bite compared to autoimmune diseases • Examples • Extreme dieters • Reluctant dieters • Provides juice samples to people on the street • Woman who fasted for 10 days • Concessions to opposition • “It doesn’t seem logical to not eat food.” • “I know what you’re thinking . . .” • Acknowledges that fasting is extreme

8. The argument is effective! • Highlights the extremity of the problem of obesity and other diet-related illnesses in the U.S. • Demonstrates the simplicity of juicing. • Provides examples of extreme weight loss (and improved health) as a result of juicing. • Joe • Phil • Siong

9. The clips you’re about to see . . . • Phil’s Story • Begins with a desperate phone call to Joe asking for help • Illustrates his depression and hopelessness due to obesity and other health problems • Transitions to proof of his weight loss and decreased meds • Ultimately, triumphant music plays as Phil exercises and recovers his sense of self • Watch carefully for: • Appeals to emotion (hope, pride, etc.) • Positive imagery • Statistical support