Introduction
Documentaries have been important for shedding light on many socially important issues. The recent shift towards a healthier lifestyle and an overall increased awareness of the importance of one’s death has also become possible due to the influence of documentaries. The food industry has been a topic of investigation for many documentaries, as the ethics of many food industry practices have been questioned by many in recent decades.
The harm of sugar and the lies of the industry regarding its effects have become the target of several documentaries as well. In particular, two documentaries that focus on the impact of sugar and the lies of corporations are Sugar Coated and Fed Up. Despite the shared goal, the two documentaries differ in approach, focus, and overall message. This paper aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the documentaries and identify the similarities and differences in how they portray the industry, their target audience, and their underlying message.
Approach
The creators of the documentaries decided to take a different approach to raising awareness on the issue. The documentary Sugar Coated mainly focuses on interviewing professionals, such as doctors, nutritionists, dieticians, and other specialists in the food industry, as well as marketing specialists (Sugar Coated). The goal is to point out what professional opinion on the effects of sugar consists of so that the audience can see how the health risks are downplayed by the corporations (Sugar Coated). The approach is more investigative, shedding light on the tactics that the sugar industry employs to manipulate public opinion.
Fed Up, on the other hand, takes a less scientific approach and focuses more on the emotional side of the issue. In particular, the narrative is built upon the stories of children who were trapped in an unhealthy lifestyle due to the hidden sugar presence in all the products (Fed Up). One of the main issues discussed in the documentary is the problem of child obesity. It also focuses more on health issues than on marketing tactics.
Target Audience
While both documentaries aim to raise awareness among the public overall, the primary target audience of Sugar Coated and Fed Up is different. Sugar Coated, taking a more scientific and investigative approach, focuses on a more educated audience who already understands the basics of the topic. It targets people who, being somewhat aware of the detrimental effects of sugar, want to understand the corporate influence on public health policies. It is also aimed at people interested in knowing what deceptive marketing strategies corporations can apply, how to avoid being influenced by these strategies, and how to protect others from this influence (Sugar Coated). In general, the audience that would be interested in this documentary is the one that is concerned with consumer behavior and how it is manipulated.
Fed Up, on the other hand, mainly discusses the alarming rise of childhood obesity; thus, its target audience is parents, educators, and policymakers (Fed Up). This documentary targets parents so that they make more conscious choices regarding their children’s diets and lifestyles. It also discusses the issues that sugar can cause in children, in particular, so that parents understand the severity of the problem. On the other hand, its goal is also to influence educators, especially policymakers, as policymakers are partially responsible for the trend in child obesity (Fed Up). Thus, not only does it urge parents to better protect their children’s health, but it also urges policymakers to take proper action to preserve the well-being of current and future generations.
Message
The general message of both documentaries is similar: both Sugar Coated and Fed Up emphasize sugar’s harm and the industry’s unethical policies. The deeper message is, however, different: Sugar Coated advocates for stricter regulations of the sugar industry and calls for more transparency in it (Sugar Coated). It also sends a message to the consumers so that they make more informed choices regarding their food intake.
Fed Up, however, sends a message to individuals and communities to take action against the status quo. It urges people to make more conscious decisions regarding their diets and start demanding changes in food policies. Thus, the main difference between the messages is that Fed Up directly asks people to mobilize and act as authors of public health initiatives, which Sugar Coated does not.
Conclusion
While both documentaries discuss the dark sides of the sugar industry and how sugar affects the health of the population, their approaches, target audiences, and underlying messages are different. Sugar Coated takes a more investigative approach, targets people interested in understanding corporate manipulations, and sends a message to people to make more conscious consumer decisions. Fed Up, on the other hand, applies emotional storytelling, targets people and communities, and urges them to demand changes from policymakers.
Works Cited
Fed Up. Directed by Stephanie Stoechtig, Atlas Films, 2014.
Sugar Coated. Directed by Michele Hozer, The Cutting Factory, 2015.