Would you like to supersize this article?
Yes. Yes, you would.
You're an American—a big fella in a big country. You drive a lifted Ford Super Diesel truck with a “Bad Ass Boys Drive Bad Ass Toys” window sticker.
You're so yesterday.
In fact, according to the folks at Orange Coast College's fashion department, which will feature the supersizing trend prominently in its “Trend Forecasting” class starting April 5, you're so last year.
Everything's big now—your Big Mac, your fries, your governor's Hummer collection, your bill for the war in Iraq, this clause—but already, things are starting to shrink.
For this, you can thank indie filmmaker Morgan Spurlock with an oversized novelty wallet card (and an oversized novelty check inside). And Katie Couric, for having him on the Today show. Always thank Katie Couric.
To better understand our obsession with getting more—as in more obese, more prone to mood swings, more susceptible to Mad Cow disease—Spurlock himself ate nothing but McDonald's for 30 days. And he filmed himself and other bad eaters as their livers turned to pt.
Mmm, pt.
Spurlock sacrificed his health for you, for a spot at Sundance (where his film, Supersize Me, killed) and for a major distribution deal. And he got it all—along with the liver of a goose and the life expectancy of a Cro-Mag.
“Supersizing [is] one of those things I talk about as an emerging trend,” said OCC course instructor Cheri Lawell. “It's very far-reaching because it started with the grocery industry, then it migrated to Costco, Food 4 Less, fast food.”
The car industry horned in on the act with the SUV, and the rest is history.
“Do we need bigger cars to carry bigger bodies that we've created by eating bigger meals?” Lawell asks.
The answer, until recently, was yes.
Then the Mini Cooper started zipping tinily around town, and stars started showing up to the Oscars in hybrids. In your face, new Dodge Hemi!
On HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David got rear-ended in his eco-friendly Toyota Prius. (Really, he asked for it.) And some people are even saying our national budget deficit is too big, but we call those people Dennis Kucinich.
On March 2, the big worm turned: the Kansas City Star reported that, in response to Spurlock's documentary—coming soon to a googolplex near you—McDonald's will phase out supersizing by the end of the year.
Heart disease, we hardly knew ye.
So enroll, if you must, to become a trend spotter at Costa Mesa's OCC. But keep in mind that leaving the table hungry is what's in now.
What's next? The opposite of that.
At one point, Lawell predicted the next big thing would be the anti-thin fad. Then she awoke from her fast-food coma.
“Trend Forecasting” (Fashion 118) at Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Rd., Costa Mesa, (714) 432-5072. Eight-week, 1.5-unit course starts April 5. $27. Registration required.
