By Moira Richardson,
Contributor

Morgan Spurlock, author of Super Size Me, spoke on October 6, 2005 to a rapt audience in Seton Hill University�s (SHU) Cecilian Hall as a part of the university�s �An Inspiring Perspective� Lecture Series.

�You can do anything,� said Spurlock. �You can change the world.�

As he strived to answer the question of how one person can make a difference, Spurlock discussed making of Super Size Me, a film that has been shown in 70 countries and led to an impressive series of what Spurlock wryly termed �coincidences� in the way that McDonalds conducts business.

As Spurlock regaled the audience with a steady stream of fast food facts, his voice slipped into the steady mode of someone who had polished his story many times.

He was the ringmaster, his audience willing puppets as he performed.

�What a lecture of comic proportions!� said Bethany Hutira, junior.

�You just know that somewhere in the world, a vegan is crying� said Spurlock as he described his ideal burger, one made by a �walking health violation.�

Spurlock�s jokes about Saturday morning cartoons, McDonalds personalities, and �crack-like French fries� cushioned his major concern: the influence of American food corporations on our world, our media, and our bodies.

His speech was a brilliant routine, a blend of answers and comedy that kept the audience laughing and engaged as he built a crescendo calling for Americans to become �conscious consumers.�

�We all need to be aware of what we put into our bodies,� said Spurlock.

�We�ve given corporations all the freedom and the powers of the individual yet without any of the accountability of a person,� Spurlock said.

He also said, �If you feed 46 million people a day, there�s some responsibility on your side.�

�The fact is if you don�t believe in the corporations, you don�t believe in how they do business, you don�t support what they do, then don�t buy it,� Spurlock said.

�If you really want change to happen, start spending your money somewhere else.�

Frank Klapak, SHU professor of Commmunication, said in his opening remarks, �Morgan demands that we look at ourselves and our own perception of our ideal of the American dream, and he asks us to define it.�

When asked after the lecture if Morgan Spurlock had met his expectations, Klapak said, �No, he went beyond.�

Morgan Spurlock is just a regular guy who had a �really great bad idea:� one �tryptophane haze� induced thought that changed the world.

�Find that thing that matters most. Find it. Believe in it. Fight for it,� said Spurlock.

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