The American Way: Steroids?

The documentary "Bigger, Faster, Stronger" exposes a new side to the raging steroid controversy. Presenting the issue in a very fair, unbiased, and wholesome way was a noticeably prominent goal of the director, Christopher Bell. The documentary is centered around Christopher Bell and his family, which includes two bodybuilding brothers currently on steroids. From this center point, the documentary unfolds and tackles the broad issue of steroid use in sports, recreation, and jobs. Christopher Bell plays a very active role in the documentary being both in front of the camera during interviews and leading the camera through the world of the documentary.

The documentary's focus was on two main issues: how American's idolize athletes such as Hulk Hogan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and film stars such as Sylvester Stallone; and how there is a lack of consistency in defining what is a performing enhancing drug. The film questions, for instance, Tiger Woods' laser eye surgery to have 20/15 vision or how musicians and fighter pilots take adrenaline boosters to perform better. The question is where does one draw the line.

The documentary did a terrific job interviewing a wide variety of subjects: opponents, proponents, doctors, users, athletes, etc. This gave the documentary a well rounded foundation of information that the viewer could then use to make judgments of how they felt about the use of steroids. Each subject gave an opinion or a piece of information that Christopher would then look at in greater depth and often pose a question to the viewer in regards to what was said. This style kept the viewer engaged in the film by participation.

In the end there was no final judgment presented by Christopher about the use of steroids in America. The film ended with a question and left it up to the viewer to navigate their own feelings. I felt that the film, to a minute degree, and inadvertently, accepted the use of steroids and performing enchanting drugs as part of an American lifestyle. Americans are being torn by two conflicting ideologies: the idea that one should never cheat, and the American desire to be the best, and the result is what is seen in this documentary.