VICE (2013) s05e08 Episode Script

1 Shane Smith: This week on Vice: the globalization of our fast food industry.
(chants) (all chant) (speaking foreign language) Gianna Toboni: People aren't going to nightclubs or bars.
They go to fast food restaurants instead.
They've changed the culture of our eating habits.
Smith: And then, Thomas Morton explores the world of Nigerian cinema.
Lancelot Imasuen: Action! Edegbe, put this boy down.
I said put him down, now! Lancelot: Cut, cut, cut.
(theme music playing) Yeung: Go! Go! Go! Refugee: We are not animals! In season one of Vice, we looked at how big tobacco shifted business strategies abroad after American consumers became aware of the health issues related to smoking.
When the lawsuits came, restrictions came, taxation came.
It just changed the game.
You need to become more creative in a different way.
Smith: Now it's happening again, only in a different industry as customers in the US move away from fast food and towards healthier options.
McDonald's, for example, the world's largest fast food chain, has seen American customer traffic drop for four straight years.
But in response to this change in consumer patterns, the fast food industry is now focusing on some new, and in some cases surprising, global markets.
Walking down this one block, you have Hardee's, KFC, and McDonald's, Johnny Rockets, Subway-- the list goes on.
And that's pretty common today in Kuwait and in many countries throughout the Middle East.
Kuwaitis are obsessed with American fast food.
What do you like to order at McDonald's? (speaks foreign language) You see McDonald's not as much as mosques, but you see it quite a lot.
Like, there's fast food everywhere, yo! What brought you here to Burger King today? Uh, she did.
(chuckles) (speaks English) (boy speaks foreign language) Toboni: This is Gulf Road here.
It has some of the most beautiful beachfront properties, but instead of seeing big, fancy hotels, private homes, you see McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, and Pizza Hut.
Could I go with the, uh, the Big Mac, and Chicken McNuggets? Thank you.
Demand for delivery is so high, chains like Domino's have designated call centers to keep up with the nonstop orders.
This is Ashraf Rashwan, the general manager of Domino's restaurants in Kuwait.
About 10 or 15 percent of our customer order at least four times a week.
People are still ordering when it's 120 degrees outside? Yes.
Nobody can resist, uh, pizza.
They love it.
They love it.
Toboni: And it's not just the customers that love it.
(rhythmic clapping) (chants) (all chant) (man chants) (all chant) (man chants) (all chant) (repeats chant twice) All: Woo! - Woo! Listen up! God.
No wonder you guys are a hit.
(laughs) How does it look? Fantastic.
Looks good? Yeah, I'm sure.
Okay.
There are probably 20 people in this kitchen right now.
You have people taking out the dough, putting the sauce on, toppings, some people throwing it into the oven, and then it'll be my turn to take the pizza and go out on a delivery run.
(bell dings) Order's ready! Okay, let's go.
Let's go.
Okay.
Okay.
Have you ever delivered to the same person twice in one day? (speaks English) This is your Cheese Feast.
First delivery complete.
(driver speaks) Got a Mercedes out in front.
Pretty good.
You've got a range of customers.
Two large pizza.
One Italiano-- no Italian sausage-- and one Super Cheese.
Thank you.
Thank you.
(speaks Arabic) Thank you.
Nailed it.
Toboni: As consumers in the US become more healthconscious, fast-food sales are plateauing.
But in Kuwait, they're only going up.
At the American University of Kuwait, we spoke with the chairman of the Department of Marketing, Dr.
Mohsen Bagnied.
Why did American fast food originally come to Kuwait? The beginning of fast food, I would say it's part of the Americanization of the culture here.
Anything American is popular here.
Toboni: While the first American franchises like KFC and Hardee's opened in Kuwait in the '70s and '80s, the fast food industry here really only exploded after the Gulf War, with locations popping up all over Kuwait in the '90s and 2000s.
Mohsen: Many families look at it as a fun way to spend the weekend or evening, to take the kids and go to someplace which is inexpensive, American style.
So, it is popular for outings.
Why is it so easy for American companies to open franchises here? The cost of doing business here is not as expensive as in the US taxwise and otherwise.
They bring labor from overseas, cheap labor, so the cost of operation is not expensive, but the return is very good.
They are making very good profit, and it's gonna continue like that for a while.
Toboni: Shopping malls are the biggest attraction in Kuwait City, and the food courts here are pretty much always packed.
We went to the biggest one in the city, The Avenues Mall, to join Sameera and her family for dinner.
(speaking foreign language) (speaks foreign language) Toboni: Have any of you had health concerns, do you think, as a result of this? (speaks foreign language) (Sameera speaks) Is this your last Big Mac? Toboni: Sumeera's not alone.
Nearly 40 percent of Kuwait's adult population is obese, leading to a sharp rise in weight-reduction surgeries in recent years.
Bariatric surgeon Dr.
Mohammad Jamal says fast food along with other factors unique to Kuwait, have created a perfect storm for obesity.
It changed the culture of our eating habits.
Fast food became a habit associated with going out, and this is something that is very particular to the Gulf countries, I think.
We don't have any other form of entertainment.
Part of that has to do with Kuwait being a dry country.
Probably.
So, people aren't going to nightclubs or bars.
They go to fast food restaurants instead.
It is the place to be seen, the restaurants.
I think heat is also a major part of why we are obese.
It's the hottest place on Earth, and that prevents a lot of people from exercising and, probably, food becomes their-- their comfort.
Is this the largest public health crisis facing Kuwait? Definitely.
Obstructive sleep apnea is rising, hypertension, diabetes, different kinds of cancer, and heart disease-- they are all rising because of obesity.
You would think that, in the US, you guys have a major problem with food.
We do have a much worse problem.
I don't think the people of Kuwait realize that.
Toboni: Kuwait is now one of the most obese nations on Earth.
It has roughly double the percentage of diabetic adults than the US.
Sameera's own 15-year-old niece was diagnosed as pre-diabetic and is now on the verge of major health issues.
She joined us as we visited the Yarmouk diabetes clinic to speak with Dr.
Ghada Ebrahim, president of the Kuwait Society for Diabetic Foot and Wound Management.
(speaking foreign language) (Ghada speaks) (Ghada speaking) Toboni: As Lateefa awaited her test results, Dr.
Ghada showed us the various side effects of diabetes.
(Ghada speaking English) Toboni: Lateefa's test results came back negative, but, as Dr.
Ghada warned, she's still dangerously close to becoming diabetic.
How do you feel about hearing all this? Umm (speaking English) Toboni: Whether fast food companies bear any responsibility here is up for debate, though some see parallels between fast food and another major American industry.
Tobacco is a killer, for sure.
Now, fast food, unfortunately, the health implication-- many people are not aware of it, and even if they are aware, they don't take it serious.
There is no warning.
The cigarettes, you have it written-- "These cigarettes will kill you.
" Do we have that on fast food? We don't.
Do they publish nutrition like in the US? I mean, people, at least when they make a decision, they know what they are getting into.
And they are doing that to avoid lawsuits.
Because if you do it when you know, it's your fault.
Toboni: These companies aren't just operating in Kuwait.
They span the Middle East, and it doesn't stop there.
America fast food brands populate more than 100 countries around the world, occupying six continents.
Biscuit with the chicken fillet is what I like.
That's probably what I'll get.
I'll go with that too.
Okay.
Toboni: Yeah, I'll follow suit.
Andy Puzder: We're each gonna have the chicken fillet biscuit.
Okay, would y'all like that in a combo? Uh, yeah, we should get combos, so you-- Toboni: Andy Puzder was the CEO of one of these parent companies, CKE Restaurants, which owns Hardee's and Carl's Jr.
There you go.
Thank you so much.
You are so welcome.
We reached out to CEOs at all of the main fast food chains in the US.
You're the only one that agreed.
(laughs) And all of them asked whether we were gonna touch on the health of fast food.
Uh-huh.
Why do you think people are so concerned about that? Well, I-- you know, we have healthy products, so if you tell me you want to talk about healthy products, I'm actually anxious to talk to you.
We have low-fat products, we have low-carb products, we have gluten-sensitive products.
I can't say we sell a lot of them, but we have them.
I think what a lot of people wonder is for somebody who eats three meals a day at a fast food restaurant for years on end, develops obesity, diabetes, has to have bariatric surgery, who's to blame? Who's responsible? Is that the individual? Is it the government for not having regulations in place? Is it the company for not educating the consumer? Well, first of all, it shouldn't be the government.
I mean, how much do we want the government to tell us what to do? It's a matter of personal responsibility, and you have to take responsibility for your life.
I always tell people I'm not the food police.
I don't tell people what they're supposed to eat or what they have to eat.
I'm here to serve people what they want to eat.
That's the business I'm in.
Toboni: And right now, business is good.
In fact, the global fast food industry is projected to be worth over $600 billion by 2019.
Puzder: We opened our first restaurant in the Middle East in 1980 in Kuwait.
You know, it was our first international restaurant.
Over the past three years, we have opened more restaurants outside the United States than inside.
So, what are some of the untapped regions right now in the world? Well, I'd really like to see us be more in Africa.
Newscaster: The latest entrant into the Nairobi restaurant and fast food scene is Hardee's, known for its famous American char-grilled burger We're talking to people in Tunisia.
We've been trying to open in Nigeria, love to be in South Africa.
It is amazing how much people love America, despite what you hear to the contrary.
This land of opportunity, this place where your future's always open and there's no government oppression or repression.
So, I think it's an idea that really appeals to people all over the world.
Businesses are like-- you know, they're like anything else-- when you stop growing, you start dying, and we don't want to start dying.
For nearly a hundred years, Hollywood has essentially had a monopoly on the movie business.
But now, local film industries are thriving all over the world, producing movies tailored for local audiences.
It cost me $5 million.
Saved your life.
(screams) Smith: In Nigeria, for example, the film industry is now worth more than $3 billion and has helped Nigeria overtake South Africa as the continent's biggest economy.
(people chattering) Hi, it's Thomas Morton, and it's premiere night at the Lagos Civic Center.
Pascal Atuma's new film, Bloodlines, opens tomorrow.
It's a nice red carpet event.
It's drawn out all the hottest stars-- Ramsey Noah, Genevieve Nnanji, Rita Dominic.
If you're not familiar with any of these names, odds are pretty good you're not African, because these are the biggest stars of Nigeria's homegrown cinema, Nollywood-- the second-biggest "ollywood" in the world after Bollywood.
Hollywood is actually third.
Nollywood began with 1992's Living in Bondage, a sexy, sacrificial cult thriller made, according to legend, by an electronics merchant turned amateur film director who simply had too many blank tapes to sell.
This VHS masterpiece inspired an entire movement of DIY filmmaking.
Now Nollywood movies are watched religiously, not only across Nigeria, but Africa-wide.
The revenue has yet to fully materialize, in large part because the primary means of distribution is piracy, but in terms of output, they outstrip Hollywood by a full order of magnitude.
(laughs) With dreams of making it as a genuine Nollywood movie star, I set out for Alaba, Lagos' biggest film market, to do my homework.
Despite existing for some, like, 20 years and change, Nollywood has produced more movies than America has in the one hundred.
It's an extremely large, intimidating corpus of action films, witchcraft features, and then sequels upon sequels upon sequels.
How did Nollywood get bigger than Hollywood? (speaking English) Morton: Because Nollywood cranks out some 2,000-plus new titles a year, there are auditions for numerous Nollywood films every day n Lagos, posted to various websites like Facebook and Naija.
com.
Never given much thought to acting.
I think getting into Hollywood always seemed off-limits, but maybe I'll have a shot.
I can be, if not the Elijah Wood of Nigeria, maybe it's Pat Morita.
Is there an audition fee? No.
Okay, thank you.
Even limiting myself to the ones offering roles for English speakers and that didn't charge a dubious audition fee, I still managed to sign up for six try-outs in one afternoon.
(speaks English) Morning.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Peter Ballings.
I am the-- (Cyril speaks) I'm sorry.
It didn't say that in the script.
Thank you.
Well hope that went okay.
You'd think with an industry that produces this many movies at this frequency, that there'd be roles basically for everybody, but every audition you go to is just packed with folks.
(Victor Okpala speaks) (speaks foreign language) Shit.
She's good.
(speaks English) (woman speaks) (woman 2 speaks) (speaking English) (shouts) I-- I just got-- You have the wrong guy.
I just got off the plane.
Man: Take it easy.
You have the wrong guy.
You have the wrong guy.
(shouts) If I could call my embassy-- (men shout) (chuckles) Definitely picking up elements of kind of the Nollywood acting style, which is extremely manneristic, some would say almost, like, Kabuki-theater-esque.
I-- I've been trying-- I've been trying to correct my acting, 'cause where-- where I've grown up, all the movies I watched kind of value a natural approach.
And I found here, it feels almost like more overacting.
(Gregory speaking English) That's just-- that's how Nigerians act in general, not on-screen.
Okay.
(shouts, sobs) (shouts) Yes.
Can I use the baby powder? Okay.
(shouting nonsense) (speaks calmly) (applause) (Thomas laughs) So, today I'm reading for the part of Reverend Dr.
Peterson in a production by Lancelot Imasuen.
(Lancelot speaks English) Morton: He's kind of like the Fassbender of the Nollywood scene.
He puts out an inordinate amount of movies.
(Lancelot speaks) (woman speaks) (grunts) Lancelot: That's fine.
(applause) I'm a little nervous about the competition, except I don't see any other white faces here, and the role I'm reading for is specifically Caucasian, so I may have lucked out.
(Lancelot speaks) Edegbe, please! (cries) Edegbe! Shut up! Ow! Edegbe! I said just shut up! Hey, what's going on here? Edegbe, please.
(sobs) Edegbe, put him down! I said put him down, now! Man: Y-Y-Y-You're siding with him? Morton: Your mother abandoned you.
Nobody knows her true whereabouts right now.
Lancelot: Ah Morton: All right? Man: That's good.
It's all right.
(Lancelot speaks) Okay? (laughs) Guess I got the part.
See how long that lasts.
(Lancelot speaks) (singing in foreign language) (people singing) (woman speaks English) (man speaks) (people speak) (speaks English) Edegbe, Edegbe! Edegbe, please! Shut-- shut up! (crying) What's going on here? Edegbe, put this boy down.
I said put him down, now! Edegbe, don't-- don't-- please! (speaks indiscernibly) (screams) Please! Edegbe, please! Edegbe, please! What's going here? Edegbe, please! Edegbe, please! Edegbe, put that boy down now.
I said now! (stammers) Good day.
(Lancelot speaks) (applause) Yes, my child.
(laughs) (motor whirring) Morton: We're shooting a couple of river scenes, which I guess are the erotic part of this movie.
It involves one of the female leads swimming and being spied on by the male lead.
Unfortunately, there's somebody clearing the brush with some sort of electric mower.
(speaking English) (Lancelot shouts) (motor whirring) Man: Oh! Oh God! Woman: Oh no! (Thomas speaks) Man: God! The shoot's really taking a turn for the Fitzgeraldo.
(man speaks) (Lancelot speaks) I don't want you worrying about Ebvu.
As long as she focuses on her studies, remains chaste (Rachel speaking) Now, now, you're doing a great job with Ebvu.
You have to admit that.
You've taught her very well.
(sighs) Tell me something, though.
What was her mother like? Thank you.
Oh, just with the costume and everything-- All the movie magic, you know? Right.
Yeah.
So, first day I'm on set for Accounts of Smith.
It's been about four days since the audition, which is an eternity in Nollywood time.
I think they've shot, probably, most of the movie.
Sound, are you happy? I am portraying Knox King, a seeming humanitarian who harbors dark secrets.
I guess this is my-- my headquarters.
Segun Arinze is the big name for this piece.
He's playing Abel, who I guess is my rival human trafficker.
Makeup! All right, let's go.
Standing by.
Action! Like I said, Knox nobody steals from me lives to tell the story, or enjoy the bounty.
Think about it.
(inhales deeply) Chris: Cut.
(people chattering) Chris is just staging the big action number.
Despite seeming a little rough around the edges, this is actually what counts as a Nollywood big-budget blockbuster.
Thank you.
You doing it forward or behind me? How they go? (handcuffs click) According to everybody, this is the direction Nollywood's kinda heading in-- bigger and more expensive movies.
Chris is kind of an exemplar of the new generation of Nollywood actors who aim to ape the West.
Not necessarily in storytelling or content, but definitely in quality of production.
You got sound at speed.
Action! (man speaking) Morton: What? Diversity International? It's a charity.
Do you know who I am? Knox King.
Why don't you call your boss and ask him? (sobbing) Morton: You're gonna be in a heap of trouble when he realizes I'm on the back of your truck, with a pair of handcuffs on.
(sobs, screams) Chris: Cut.
Morton: Not only are Nollywood's production values growing, the old distribution network of VHS and DVD pirates are being supplanted by cable TV channels, like Africa Magic.
and online streaming services like iROKOtv, your basic African Netflix.
This is a pretty far cry from what I assume most Westerners think of when they think of Africa.
For a film industry, it's kind of had a reputation more akin to, like, folk art than a full-fledged cinematic industry which is actually what it-- what it is.
The evolution of Nollywood has enabled Nigerians to skirt the old bugaboo of Western cultural hegemony and actually carve out their own film culture for themselves and the rest of the continent to enjoy.
Oh! There I am.
I don't want you worrying about Ubve.
Morton: What'd you think of my performance? Average.
Okay.
(laughs) That's fair.
(Lancelot speaks) Morton: Yeah? Do you think Nigeria's films will be the vessel for preserving the culture? All right.
Ready? Yeah, I'm ready.
Action.
I want fire to consume this domicile! Morton: As Nollywood's gotten bigger, people have started to recognize the sociopolitical potential behind Nigerian cinema, and not just energetic directors like Lancelot Imasuen.
Ben Murray-Bruce is a Nigerian media mogul who runs the biggest theater chain in Nigeria and who just made it into the Senate.
So, he's a senator now, effectively making Nollywood pop culture into pop politics.
Morton: Right.
Stop! Stop! What are you doing? (Lancelot speaks) (laughs) That Golden Lion