Bigger, Stronger, Faster*

On Wednesday, December 9, I watched the film, Bigger, Stronger, Faster*, a 2008 documentary film directed by Christopher Bell about the use of anabolic steroids. The film focuses on steroid usage as performance enhancing drugs in the United States and how this practice relates to the American Dream.
Christopher Bell directs the film as narrator and interviewer of many public figures. Bell examines the lack of consistency in how America views drugs, cheating, and the lengths people go the achieve success. Much of America views steroids as a way to cheat, but ignores the fact that it is a extreme health risk that does damage to the human body and has similar effects to many drugs including meth amphetamines and cocaine.
The movie had me thinking about the lengths people go to achieve their goals, but forget about other people’s feelings, respect, and their own health. Christopher Bell incorporates his two brother’s usage of anabolic steroids, and the farm it has done to their bodies and the health of their relationship with their families. In fact, Bell’s brother, Mike, died seven months after the film was released due to effects related to his use of anabolic steroids.
Bell intelligently asked questions to many of the well-renowned public figures in his interviews, including male fitness model Christian Boeving, his brothers, and parents of deceased children due to their addiction to anabolic steroids. Chris’s father brought out a good point, however, when he was trying to defend Arnold Schwarzenegger’s position on steroids by explaining that all men have faults; why should Bell go about cleaning out another man’s closet when he has yet to clean out his own?
Overall, I was very intrigued by Bell’s explanation and story behind the usages of steroids and their relationship to the American Dream. The transformation and development for the obsession of the human body has been steadily increasing since the 1960’s. The film made me hate the cheaters in professional sports, but later would make me feel sympathetic for them and understanding their use. In conclusion, Bigger, Stronger, Faster* presents many interesting ideas on the use of steroids; you should definitely watch this movie if you are interested in the physical, emotional, and psychological effects of steroids.