Fast Food Nation: The Movie
If you haven’t yet read Fast Food Nation
I got to attend an advance screening last night at Century Theaters on Ethan Way, and the movie was an interestingly dramatized version of the statistics-heavy book. Directed by Richard Linklater (of “Slackers” fame), the story focuses on a fast food executive, an immigrant couple working in the meat industry, and a teenager who staffs the counter at the fast food restaurant. Through these stories, you learn about the emotionless business decisions that go into making that burger and fries that 25% of Americans eat every day.
“Eating in the United States should no longer be a form of high-risk behavior,” Schlosser wrote in his groundbreaking book. Both the movie and (especially) the book will give even the heartiest meat eater pause to consider where their food comes from and how eating locally or from smaller-scale producers might just be a matter of life and death.
Hi Ann,
Did you like the movie? Was it well made? I’ve read the book, which I enjoyed, though I thought it wasn’t nearly as well written, or well balanced in perspective, as Omnivore’s Dilemma.
I heard the author and director on NPR this morning. I love the book and certainly will see the film.
I agree with you Elise, although I liked both books I felt Michael Pollan had a more balanced approach which is refreshing when delving into these topics.
I liked the movie and I think they did a good job of translating a statistics-heavy book into a dramatization. It was a little simplistic, but I think the subject is so complicated that the filmmaker had to simplify it to bring it to screen. Hopefully it will get people who wouldn’t read the book to think about the issue a bit.
just watched Fast Food Nation, it’s impactful to say the least… earlier today i passed up a sausage mcmuffin because of it.