Bigger, Stronger, Faster*

Article originally written in French by Solo the CyberpunK and translated in English by DarkEvil.
See original here.

It's a documentary about the use of steroids in America. The subtitle being "The Side Effects of Being American". The question asked by the movie is: "how much is this drug used in the United States?" Only when you look at the whole question from some distance do you realize that not only is publicized, but frankly approved by the people.

The Bell brothers talk about their childhood. When they were young, they liked wrestling and action movies. Hulk Hogan, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were their idols. Unfortunately for them, their family has a tendency to have some additional weight. They were bullied at school. So they decided to train to become like their models. They had no other choice but to start using steroids to perform as well. When he realized that all of his childhood heroes were using steroids, Christopher Bell decided to go a little further in his questioning.

The documentary is essential to open the eyes of a nation so clearly stuck in this ideal that they forget about the side effects. For example, the impact that this ideal will have for future generations, about performance or even the conditions of victory. This is the exact problem they're having in sports. If all athletes use steroids, the loser is the one who doesn't take them. What can you do in this case?

I particularly liked the scene where they made their own miracle pills on their own legally, demonstrating the enormous faults in the system...

Opinion time: When I ask people why they go to the gym, they answer back "To be in shape." Meanwhile, I see them lifting weights and I never see them trying to improve their aerobic capacity. Being in shape doesn't mean you need enormous muscles, but a body that can withstand exercising for a prolonged period of time. These people who spend each night at the gym are not trying to get in shape, they want muscles. They want to achieve an ideal, a body that others will admire. They want to be like their models we can see everywhere (who use steroids for the majority). At this point, it's an obsession, a problem for their society.