Tribute Recommends: 30 Days

I have heard much buzz, moreso in the past, over the eye-opening Super Size Me. I have never taken a particularly close look at it simply because the terrible nutritional value of fast food is a given for me. The closest I got to paying attention was witnessing the McDonald's-free feasting campaign of my fellow blogger friend at The Midwestern Position.

Little did I know, however, that Morgan Spurlock, the creative genius behind Super Size Me, is a fellow West Virginian, born in Parkersburg and raised in Beckley. My Spurlock obsession was sparked by the viewing of his current project, 30 Days, a show on FX. I had not even heard of this show when I saw my first preview for it last week.

The premise for the show is to see what change can come about from walking in the shoes of another for 30 days. What grabbed my attention and made me watch this week's episode was that it placed Spurlock in a West Virginia coal mine for 30 days. My father has been a coal miner since before my birth, so this has always been a part of my life, but more on the periphery due to an inability to conceptualize exactly what it's like to go into the Earth for work everyday. So, it was very interesting to watch the show, both because it was definitely something close to Spurlock and something close to me.

Spurlock's discussions, both with just the camera as well as with others, are very engaging and smart. In addition to walking in the steps of a miner, he chose to do a segment on the issue of mountain top removal and surface mining, a very hot topic in the state. The emotion the surfaced in those interviews and expression of the facts were expertly captured. The hidden beauties of the state are many; the mountains hold most of them. Yet, these coal companies blow up the mountains to access coal that would be next to impossible to mine. A unique situation yet all too common theme of the human condition: do we curb our consumption habits or just continue to consume, assuming that by some miracle of God the environment will renew itself?

The show is in it's 3rd season. It's on Tuesdays at 10pm, with an encore at 11pm. I highly recommend choosing one to which you can relate and checking it out. Informative and entertaining.