30 Days with Morgan Spurlock

Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen Dec 17, 2006

Looking for a fascinating television show that goes beyond the gimmicks of reality TV and offers an intelligent discussion on diversity and social issues? Looking for an educational resource that encourages students to think about these issues and identify with the perspectives of others? Teachers and students, check out the new television show by Morgan Spurlock, the documentarian best known for Supersize Me. The program is called 30 Days, and it's being shown on the FX Network.

The premise of 30 Days is this: a person takes on a new identity for 30 days in order to see the world through a radically different perspective and to illustrate the complexities of a social issue. In one episode, a devout Christian moves in with an American Muslim family for 30 days and participates in their everyday activities, including prayer. In another, a young, all-American straight man moves in with a gay resident of San Francisco's Castro district for 30 days and accompanies him to gay softball games and bars. In the pilot episode, Spurlock himself spent 30 days in a prison. Other issues covered in the program include illegal immigration, binge drinking, and the minimum wage.

What makes 30 Days an effective and appropriate classroom resource is Spurlock's approach. Yes, Spurlock has an obvious political agenda, not all that different than the agenda of the more controversial documentarian Michael Moore. Unlike Moore, however, Spurlock does not condemn the folks he disagrees with, like the homophobic straight guy and most of the other participants in his documentaries. While Moore mocks and vilifies the "enemy," Spurlock presents them as sympathetic. As the philosopher Kenneth Burke argued, persuasion is most effective and most humane when the "other side" is presented not as evil, but as mistaken. (Burke called this the "comic frame.") Viewers who disagrees with Spurlock's position are given a sympathetic protagonist with whom to identify, and thus may be more likely to consider Spurlock's arguments.

The creative and non-confrontational approach of 30 Days makes it a great educational resource to use during classroom discussions about social issues. Perhaps teachers can invite students to imagine where they might spend their own 30 days, and what they might learn from this experience.