The American director Morgan Spurlock, known for the documentary ‘Super Size Me’ (2004) in which he ate at McDonald’s every day for a month, died on Thursday at the age of 53 due to “complications derived from cancer,” his family reported this week. Friday.
“It was a sad day as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan. He contributed so much through his art, ideas and generosity. The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man,” said his brother Craig Spurlock, who worked with Morgan on various projects, in the statement.
Spurlock achieved international recognition after the groundbreaking ‘Super Size Me’, which received an Oscar nomination, opened the debate on eating problems and the risks of fast food abuse in the US, and still serves as an educational tool in schools and institutes throughout the country.
The documentary filmmaker, a native of West Virginia, filmed the second version of his Oscar-winning audiovisual piece, titled ‘Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken’ (2019), focusing on the pressures of large fast food chains on small family poultry farms, but this second installment was not as widely accepted.
Spurlock’s legacy condenses dozens of projects where he dealt with controversial issues for American society that included the work of the migrant population (’30 Days’), the War in Afghanistan (‘Where in the world is Osama Bin Laden?’), the power of marketing in the capitalist system (‘The Greatest Movie Ever Sold’) and the fashion of body modifications (‘7 Deadly Sins’), among others.
Spurlock’s bet, according to his relatives, was always the same “to fearlessly challenge modern conventions using humor and wit to shed light on problems,” the statement reads.
Through his production company Warrior Poets, Spurlock also developed dozens of nationally broadcast television series in the United States for more than 13 years.
Spurlock’s family asked in their statement this Friday that those who wish can make donations to the American Cancer Society – Hope Lodge (New York) “in honor of Morgan.”
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