Primary Source Analysis

I think that this little clip of one of my personal favorites, South Park, could definitely fit our theme of food in this class and be used for my analysis. If I choose this one I would only want to analyze the parts of the episode that involve Cartman fining for KFC. The scenes of Cartman really demonstrate just how dependent Americans have become on fast food and its role in our society. I think it also does a good job of inferring negative effects of fast food on the younger people in the U.S. as well.



This is my second primary source that I just happened to come across while looking for a different clip. It’s a little bit strange, but I think it does a very good job of demonstrating the negative effects fast food has had on society. It also shows the very negative effects of fast food on the body as well as the semi-addictive qualities it can have on people much like in the above South Park clip.

The Thurminator

Food has always been one of my favorite things in life, whether it was being used as a way to try and gain weight for football in the fall to just providing some sort of excitement for friends and myself when we were together. Food has always been a way for me to relate to new people and to bond with old friends because it can tell so much about ones personality. Part of my personality is that i am competitive and surprisingly, food has provided me with a great way to compete with friends in a very fun, easygoing manner.

I have always enjoyed watching food shows and the food network. One of my favorite shows of all time is “Man vs. Food”. My friends and I use to watch the show all the time and be amazed by all of different crazy food creations. While watching, somebody normally brought it upon themselves to start the smack talking and saying who could and could not finish the meals being shown on this show. Since this was a regular occurrence, everyone knew that one day it would have to come down to everyone actually trying to finish one of these meals and see once and for all who could handle these crazy food creations.

Prior to coming to school here in Columbus, an episode of “Man vs. Food’ came out with a restaurant named the Thurmon Café as the host. The restaurant, known for burgers, has a two pound cheeseburger loaded with ham, two massive beef patties, tons of vegetables, and a signature sauce all weighing in total two pounds. This finally provided a few friends and me with the opportunity to solve the food eating competition we had always talked about.

When the burger arrived in front of me, I was in immediate disbelief at the size. In my mind, there was no way I was going to finish the burger. The first couple bites of the burger were delicious. Half way through, the burger was disgusting. When it came down to finally only being a few bites until the end, which I still cannot believe I got to, I was the only one who still had a chance to finish the burger. I was ready to throw in the towel, but I had little option of that when my friends got involved and forced me to attempt to finish. I hung in and finished the burger and was victorious amongst my friends.

Ok, so it may be a little bit dramatic, but it was still pretty cool to be able to eat the same meal the host of one of my favorite shows enjoyed as well. It really just shows the relationships I have with my friends and just how much we all have in common. So much can be related to us through our eating habits and even fun can come from it as well. The fact that we were sitting at a restaurant competing to see who can eat more is an example of each of our competitive personalities. It also, in a way, shows how we can be supportive of one another as well. It may only be something as simple as finishing a cheeseburger, but in the end encouragement was needed to actually finish the entire sandwich. In all, it was a cool experience and I definitely plan on returning the Thurmon Café another time.