What is the "American Cannibal" referred to in the title of the movie of the same name?

“American Cannibal” refers to a reality TV show. The phrase is the name of the proposed series at the center of the 2006 documentary American Cannibal: The Road to Reality.

The documentary follows the chaotic attempt to produce the show and the circumstances that led to its shutdown. Its premise was connected to Mitchell Allen, a promoter associated with the publicity surrounding the Paris Hilton sex tape. The film presents the project as an example of reality television pushed toward sensationalism.

A common mix-up is to treat American Cannibal as the name of a historical person or a fictional cannibal character. In this context, “American Cannibal” is not describing the documentary’s subject as an actual cannibal; it is the title of the reality program being developed. The documentary uses the failed production as its story and examines the boundary between manufactured entertainment and real-life scandal.