Spurlock Speech Causes Stir at Pa. School

[Tab]

HORSHAM, Pa. - The filmmaker who ate nothing but McDonald's meals for a month for his Oscar-nominated film "Super Size Me" gave a profanity-laced, politically incorrect speech at a suburban Philadelphia high school, but not everyone was lovin' it.

Speaking at Hatboro-Horsham High School's first-ever health fair, Morgan Spurlock joked about the intelligence of McDonald's employees, about "retarded kids in the back wearing helmets" and teachers smoking pot in the balcony.

The special education students in the back row were led by teachers out of the hourlong presentation.

"If you put the whole package together, the use of the F-word and poking fun at teachers and the comments about special-needs students, it just wasn't appropriate," Superintendent William Lessa said.

Most of the 700 students laughed, gave him a standing ovation and mobbed him for autographs. A speech Spurlock was to make at the school later Friday night for community members was canceled.

Spurlock said he's never had a complaint after giving similar talks at other high schools and colleges. He said he had been told shortly before his appearance not to talk about McDonald's because a board member of the Hatboro-Horsham Education Foundation, which sponsored the appearance, owns a franchise.
...
"The greatest lesson those kids learned today was the importance of free speech," Spurlock said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060326/ap_on_en_mo/filmmaker_speech

[joeybee12]

1. I can see everything except the comment about the special needs

kids. That's just fucking rude and uncalled for.

[Faygo Kid]

3. Agreed. That's the mark of a cheap bully.

Picking on those kids is low. And, it encourages the other students to do the same. Free speech my ass. Just because you can say it, doesn't make it right to do so. I hope this account is wrong; if not, he loses all credibility with me. If anyone has information refuting his making these comments, I would like to see it.

[xchrom]

5. agreed.

[fujiyama]

9. I'm with you

Taking on McDonalds is fine. I think it's great to inform kids about the dangers of corporate (and political) propaganda. I also don't think the swearing is a big deal because most kids are exposed to that (then again it depends on the age of the kids).

But insulting people with mental retardation was unecessary.

[Pushed To The Left]

10. I agree. Very disappointing comments by Spurlock n/t

[KittyWampus]

25. Actually, we have no idea what his entire comment was. And Mediawhores

make it their specialty to find a way to butcher comments to suit their needs.

[ClusterFreak]

2. Talking trash about McDonalds is fine...

...but "retarded kids" with helmets, and pot-smoking reachers, f-this,
f-that...seems a *little* over the top.

[1932]

4. Context probably matters.

If Spurlock said "McDonalds employs special needs people and exploits them in ways that violate state employment regulations" I suspect people wouldn't be upset.

[Mabus]

7. "If you put the whole package together....

"If you put the whole package together, the use of the F-word and poking fun at teachers and the comments about special-needs students, it just wasn't appropriate," Superintendent William Lessa said.

This is the sentence that popped at me. I'd also like to know the context because I don't trust the MSM when they use selected quotes without giving context.

[Occulus]

8. True, and I long ago learned a lesson about such types:

never EVER believe a school administrator when they claim something "wasn't appropriate". They will lie to make themselves look good 100% of the time.

Add to that the way the MSM cheerypicks quotes and parts of quotes, and I really wouldn't make too much of it until I heard a recording of what was actually said.

[JustDoIt]

22. Stop making excuses,

1932

Just had about ENOUGH of it.

Spurlock is an asshole and he was known as one even before this incident.

[Guaranteed]

28. Well, case closed, then!

Why don't we get some facts about what he actually said, and then people can judge his character on their own.

[LostinVA]

31. I've never heard that he was an asshole -- links?

[JustDoIt]

36. He has made the McDonalds joke

many times before- questioning the intelligence of McDonald's employees etc.

But did you actually expect that Spurlock would have worked a minimum wage job? No, he grew up loaded.

Gotta love that socialism eh pasty fuck?

God, could they have picked a whiter, more overprivileged loser to do these documentaries? Haha. He was rejected FIVE times by USC film school. The admissions directors laughed at his applications because he was never seen as that smart or insightful.


YEAH GOATEEE BOOOOOYYYY. You are Sooooo awesome.

Fuck Spurlock. :)

[LostinVA]

38. My. someone has an agenda -- your last name Kroc? Huh?

I've heard the context of the McDonald's quote -- I've read his book and seen him in interviews. You apparently haven't and don't understand the point and what he said.

Who cares if he grew up "loaded"? And, I would like to see proof of that. That doesn't mean he doesn't have a right to to criticize people who are exploiting Americans. It also doesn't make what he says any less true.

Link to the film school? And, if true... so what? Seen some of the shit made by film school grads? Gosh, so you have ESP, knowing what the Admission officer did and said? Did you know that if indeed they told you that (hahahhahaha) they were breaking the law?

You really have some kind of personal problem... or you're an ex of his. Very disturbing personal attacks against someone you don't know.

I found his documentary and his TV show very enlightening, very well done. AS well as his book. Maybe you just can't get over... whatever weird thing it is.... to see what many other people have seen. Oh well... your loss.

Yup, I have no time for this infestation of DU the last few days -- IGNORE!

[JustDoIt]

39. Go on

shaman pray

[flamingyouth]

40. Are you the admissions director for the USC film school?

Wow, I'm impressed to have you here at DU. Welcome.

[Fenris]

41. Maybe he got rejected?

:shrug:

[flamingyouth]

43. He appears to have been rejected from here

;)

[MrPrax]

6. Another jerk-off opportunist...

passed off as a Progressive simply because he is critical of a scummy corporation (take a number, asshole...your not alone)

Kinda like the way Galloway was sold...

[400Years]

11. I would need to read a transcript of the speech before commenting

I have no idea what he actually said. If you do, please post it.

[MrPrax]

13. Sure...the MSM might be lying...

but then again Super Size boy might be trying to 'curry' hip points with high school students by doing the same thing a litany of 'stand up' comics, popular with Y'out, did throughout the '90s'--trash political correctness as an act of rebellion, making them think that 'bigotry' and 'racism' is kewl and people who object are 'assholes'...

[400Years]

14. might is the key word

every thing else that comes afterward is just speculation based on whatever it is you want to believe. Like I said I'll hold my judgement until more information is available.

[MrPrax]

17. Oh...might?

Oh I thought the key word here was: "teachers broke common assembly protocols and walked special ed students from the hall in protest"...so I and those teachers need to get confirmation from the media?

You mean we have to wait for an objective third party to tell us whether or not this young man made disgusting remarks about special needs students.

You can wait--I wont...I have no evidence to suggest that this didn't happen as reported, you are simply ignoring the evidence and cutting him some slack...that's all.

[400Years]

18. I don't know what happened and niether do you really

fact is, all kinds of shit is reported in the media that distorts what happened and in fact often paints a picture that is exactly the opposite of what really happened.

Like I said, I'll wait to judge when all the facts are in.

You can do whatever you want since you have so much trust in an information source that is proven to be full of half-truths, spin, and outright lies.

I have no particular interest in this guy, but I do know the media distorts the truth on a regular basis. Only a naive fool would continue to not question what they read in this day and age.

[hexola]

24. I do know he has apologized...

presumably for something...

http://blogs.indiewire.com/morganspurlock/

[hexola]

21. ...speaking at the finest high schools in Amercia...

Speaking engagements at high schools? - he's pretty much scraping the bottom...

I guess he cant even get on Dr. Phil!

[Billy Burnett]

33. Speaking at high schools is "scraping the bottom"?

How quaint. :puke:

Personally, I'm glad that high school students are getting exposed to a wide range of views. They can decide for themselves.

Lets not forget the Supersize Me doc illustrated the level of corporatization that feeding the kids is today. Prison food vendors/corporations. Toxic foods. Poison. School boards are selling out the kids to corporate killers. Government is selling out the kids to corporate killers.

I guess that if we consider that public high schools are "pretty much scraping the bottom" then the corporatization of poisonous nutrition being shoveled at the kids, that Spurlock showed, is appropriate.

[LostinVA]

34. I don't agree with you at all on this

Holding lectures at colleges and high schools is certainly not scrapping the bottom -- in any way.

[hexola]

23. Transcript? Are you serious?

The guy is speaking at a high school...!!!!

[Guaranteed]

27. What did he say???? nt

[KittyWampus]

35. In his own words, from the link :-)

"...it should be made clear that the only person I called “retarded” was myself when I was unable to hear a question from the audience. Having done work with special needs children in the past, something this hurtful would never come from my lips. I did make an aside about kids sleeping in the back wearing helmets, which was done with no malicious intent (I was playing it as a slacker reference to the Jon Heder character in the upcoming film “Benchwarmers,” a reference which was lost and, as I was later told, there were no actual students wearing helmets in the back).

I have also been portrayed as someone who spewed profanity for a full hour. To set the record straight, I said only five “dirty” words during the entire speech.

The Superintendent said to me backstage that the only words he had problems with were the “F-Bombs,” (of which there were only two) so perhaps I should have toned down even those two uses, but as another student told me, it’s nothing they hadn’t heard before.

It has also been said that I insulted faculty, when in actuality, all I was doing was making a joke at their expense for the enjoyment of the students. While the main floor of the auditorium was full, 7 or 8 teachers sat up in the balcony. During the Q&A after my talk, I asked them if they had any questions for me. They shook their heads no and I said to the kids, “You see, while you guys sit down here and watch, the teachers sit up in the balcony and smoke pot.” The students roared with laughter, and once again, that was all I wanted to do: entertain the kids.

Lastly, in the article it quoted me as saying that the greatest lesson those kids learned was the importance of freedom of speech. When saying that, I did not mean that you have the right to insult anyone at will (as many people have interpreted it.) I was referring to the fact that the group that hired me to speak asked that I not mention McDonald’s in any of my talk because one of their board members owns a franchise. That would be like asking Neil Armstrong to speak but tell him he can’t bring up walking on the moon, so needless to say, I didn’t agree to their censorship. "

[neuvocat]

12. Way to go there, genius.

If you want to greatly damage the gains you have made with your film while also giving your opposition a chance to demonize you, you couldn't have done much better than this.

[DrunkenMaster]

15. Anyone Actually Read the Transcript?

I would certainly do so before condemning him.

[sendero]

16. Do you have...

.. a link?

[DrunkenMaster]

19. not yet

I'm trying to find one, though....

[Guaranteed]

26. That's right. When I read this article, I noticed it was strikingly

devoid of DETAILS. In fact, it seemed like a hit piece.

What, EXACTLY, did he say??

[wicket]

20. kick

:kick:

[western mass]

29. Here's Spurlock's side of the story...

http://blogs.indiewire.com/morganspurlock/archives/007620.html

[Guaranteed]

30. And, whattaya know, a totally believable and reasonable explanation.

I have to say that some folks need to read with a more critical eye.

Most of this stuff you can spot a mile away.

[WinkyDink]

37. Sorry. He behaved like the adolescents in the bleachers. And using

the word "retarded" AT ALL was egregious.
He sounds like a jerk.

[wicket]

32. Now that is certainly a horse of a different color

Thanks for posting this.

[Fenris]

42. Perfectly logical, rational explanation.