Bigger, Stronger, Faster* is a 2008 documentary by Christopher Bell about steroid use in America, focusing primarily on the controversy, hypocrisy and debate in sports regarding anabolic steroids. While discussing celebrities famous for their muscles such as Hulk Hogan, Arnold Schwarznegger, and Sylvester Stallone, and who have later admitted to using steroids. Filmmaker Bell also focuses on his own family, speaking with his parents, and his brothers Mark and Mike Bell, who both have used steroids.
*the side effects of being American
The arguments that Bigger, Stronger, Faster present are very interesting. Just exactly how dangerous are anabolic steroids? The truth is, that like anything else in life, the effects from steroids are going to be different for different people, and abuse is also going to make a difference. But there is very little evidence of the harm that it can cause.
Steroids are used for medical purposes, but the huge controversy is when it is used in sports, because of the “unfair advantage” that it can give a player. But can’t anything give an edge? Bigger, Stronger, Faster gives the example of Tiger Woods who had Lasik eye surgery, and now has 20/15 vision, which is better than perfect eye vision. Isn’t this also an “unfair advantage”?
Christopher Bell manages to get a lot of interesting interviews, including with Carl Lewis, disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson (disqualified from Olympics for doping), and even Stan Lee. He tries to get an interview with Schwarznegger, but only manages to shake his hand (and make the front page of the Los Angeles Times).
random trivia: There is a high school tutor who speaks on Bigger, Faster, Stronger who I’m sure looked familiar to some people, but maybe they couldn’t quite figure out who he was. It took me a little while to figure it out. It was contestant Tim Urban from season 6 of The Apprentice.
Bigger, Faster, Stronger shows us a huge side of sports and body building that are generally ignored by mainstream America. Almost everybody in sports is using something to get an edge, because it is expected, and because it is necessary to actually be able to compete. Christopher Bell’s documentary is a very entertaining, and educational look at the steroids debate.
related links
IMDB | Wikipedia | Interview with Christopher Bell on ThinkTalk
Official Website
trailer
OMGosh! Thank you so much for telling me who the high school tutor was. I have been going bonkers trying to figure it out. I knew I “knew him”, but didn’t know where. I was trying to remember child actors and people I went to school with. Crazy. Thank you for giving some sanity back. Haha.
Jeff Rodgers
November 15th, 2008