Morgan Spurlock and 30 Days

[Djj1973]

Anyone logging time with this show on FX? If you are not familiar with this guy he did the documentary called Super Size Me (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390521/). Where he ate McDonalds food for Breakfast Lunch and Dinner for 30 days. If you have not seen the movie I would recommend it. His TV show is basically the same premise where he has people do something for 30 days. He had a Christian conservative live with a gay man in San Fran. He had a white Christian live with and worship in a mosque for 30 days. The one I saw last night was with him and his Girlfriend living on minimum wage for 30 days. Its a great show and I highly recommend it.

[JoeR]

Ditto the recommendation. Great show.

The episode with the christian living as a muslim....Hamtramck is where I live!

[The Big Bog]

I recommend it too. It's not sensational like 99% of other reality TV shows on the air today. More documentary like in nature.

I was particularly fond of the very first installment--where they were attempting and failing to survive on minimum wage. All it took was one emergency room visit for them to fall completely in the red.

Spurlock is a good everyman liberal--not "elitist" at all like we're so often painted to be. :rolleyes: Great Bubba appeal.

[JoeR]

I loved the part in the hormone therapy episode where he drove to mexico and bought prescription drugs without any difficulty whatsoever.

[Djj1973]

I recommend it too. It's not sensational like 99% of other reality TV shows on the air today. More documentary like in nature.

I was particularly fond of the very first installment--where they were attempting and failing to survive on minimum wage. All it took was one emergency room visit for them to fall completely in the red.

Spurlock is a good everyman liberal--not "elitist" at all like we're so often painted to be. :rolleyes: Great Bubba appeal.


Did you notice that they were in the black by 500 dollars before they introduced the Medical bill? That’s more than most people I work with put away in savings. I am not sure you can call that going into the red, as the hospital would have taken payment that they could have well afforded. I also noticed that aside from going to the thrift stores, they did not apply for welfare. They could have received food stamps and medical care if they had. It was probably not legal as they do technically earn more money, they just chose not to spend it that month.

I do not know Spurlock's political affiliation though I would not be surprised if he was left leaning. Aside from leaving out social programs (welfare) I do think that he is a fair/balanced documentarian. Someone Moore could learn a thing or to from.

The thing that I got out of the documentary was that you could live on the current Minimum wage and still live (not great but live). Spurlock whether he intended to or not demonstrated that with the right work ethic, you could survive in this country. I do not know how much his girlfriend was making but he started at 7/hour and ended up making 8/hour.

[Churlant]

An excellent show. Season finale is up this week and personally I'm afraid it might not be back. seems a bit too smart, not to mention politically controversial, to remain on the air.

-JC

[The Big Bog]

Did you notice that they were in the black by 500 dollars before they introduced the Medical bill? That’s more than most people I work with put away in savings. I am not sure you can call that going into the red, as the hospital would have taken payment that they could have well afforded. I also noticed that aside from going to the thrift stores, they did not apply for welfare. They could have received food stamps and medical care if they had. It was probably not legal as they do technically earn more money, they just chose not to spend it that month.

I do not know Spurlock's political affiliation though I would not be surprised if he was left leaning. Aside from leaving out social programs (welfare) I do think that he is a fair/balanced documentarian. Someone Moore could learn a thing or to from.

The thing that I got out of the documentary was that you could live on the current Minimum wage and still live (not great but live). Spurlock whether he intended to or not demonstrated that with the right work ethic, you could survive in this country. I do not know how much his girlfriend was making but he started at 7/hour and ended up making 8/hour.

Aw, Dj, always the Pollyana! :lol:

I don't think demonstrating that Americans could "merely live" on minimum wage was the point of that show at all. I mean, one could say the same thing about the millions of impoverished folk in Africa: "Oh well, at least they're SURVIVING so what have they got to complain about???" C'mon, the point of that show was that the quality of their life sucked *** on minimum wage. I think most Americans would rather shoot themselves than live like they did--freezing, sleeping on the floor with roaches, with no health insurance, and eating Spaghetti-O's every day. Sheesh.

Plus, you cheat in your analysis of the show. You can't say, "Well, if it hadn't been for those doctor visits, they would have stayed in the black." Ah, but that's not what happened was it? They DID get sick/injured. They DID have to see a doctor; they DID have to visit the emergency room. The show DID end with the two of them way in the red. You can't change the outcome of what actually happened to fit your point of view which, I guess, is that poor people living on minimum wage can "survive" in America as long as they don't ever get sick. :rolleyes:

Oh, and Spurlock is a died-in-the-wool liberal if ever there was one, bless his heart. :flowers:

[The Big Bog]

An excellent show. Season finale is up this week and personally I'm afraid it might not be back. seems a bit too smart, not to mention politically controversial, to remain on the air.

-JC
It won't be back. It lacks the requisite reality-TV cast of famewhores needed to hold the average American's attention these days.

[Churlant]

It won't be back. It lacks the requisite reality-TV cast of famewhores needed to hold the average American's attention these days.

Perhaps... but you might notice, tomorrow's episode has plenty of college chicks getting drunk...

Me, I just don't think the message will sink in - unless one is predisposed to sinking, in which case they probably already get it. Djj has illustrated this point, actually...

...min wage isn't so bad... if you didn't get sick, you'd be fine... you can get welfare, you can get food stamps, you can get free furniture in every city in every state, everyone makes $7-$8 instead of $5.15, no biggie, etc etc and so forth...

-JC

[JoeR]

I don't know how long the show could go on even if they were renewed for another season. How many situations could they really do? It would at least lose its relevancy quickly.

[Djj1973]

Perhaps... but you might notice, tomorrow's episode has plenty of college chicks getting drunk...

Me, I just don't think the message will sink in - unless one is predisposed to sinking, in which case they probably already get it. Djj has illustrated this point, actually...

...min wage isn't so bad... if you didn't get sick, you'd be fine... you can get welfare, you can get food stamps, you can get free furniture in every city in every state, everyone makes $7-$8 instead of $5.15, no biggie, etc etc and so forth...

-JC

Am I the one who missed the point? Morgan counld not find a job that paid 5.15 an hour he had to settle for a 7/hour and a week later an 8/hour. My point with the doctor bills is that he had additional options that he failed to mention. One of those being Medicare. The other would be making a liveable payment plan with the hospital. Instead he applied the whole amount against the left over cash he had. Which turned out to be close to 500 dollars. He could have used that money to upgrade several things to improve his life one being finding a better place to live another being paying for a trade school.