Global Realization

This is an essay I wrote for my English class. Let me know what you think, and please rate, thanks.

The Golden Arches are a normal sight for Americans, but today it is also a normal sight for people around the world. McDonalds is the tipping point for many people around the world to begin their process of Americanization, individually or as a country. In Eric Schlosser’s chapter “Global Realization”, from his book Fast Food Nation, he allows readers to see that fast food isn’t just unhealthy, it is a lot more than that; it is changing cultures around the world. He shows that the American fast food industry is homogenizing the world, threatening distinctive, cultural identities and global health. Schlosser advances his theory through stable examples and shows how cultures begin to break down and turn to American ways in numerous countries.

Schlosser points out that Las Vegas is “an entirely man-made creation, a city that lives for the present, that has little connection to its surrounding landscape, that cares little about its own past.”(533). Las Vegas represents something that is out of place, that doesn’t belong. Schlosser always states that “...what Las Vegas really sells, the most brilliant illusion of all, a loss that feels like winning.”(534). Every year hotels are torn down and then a new one replaces them. People don’t want a history, they want Las Vegas. Schlosser says that McDonalds presents the same illusion to consumers. When a person eats McDonalds, it tastes good and it looks good. Also it is very inexpensive. So when a person goes to McDonalds, they feel satisfied. Unfortunately, their body doesn’t feel the same. McDonalds food is very unhealthy and fattening. Schlosser sees Las Vegas as a metaphor, representing McDonalds as something that doesn’t belong, but is accepted by anybody who goes there. Schlosser claims that along with the health problems, it is changing cultures and diets around the world, changing cities forever.

Next Schlosser introduces us to Plauen, a little town between Berlin and Munich. Schlosser says, “For decades Plauen has been on the margins of history, far removed from the centers of power; nevertheless, events there have oddly foreshadowed the rise and fall of great social movements.” (525). The foreshadowing Schlosser writes about is the start of a homogenized world. It started in 1990 with McDonalds being the first new building erected in Plauen since the beginning of the new Germany. When Schlosser goes to Plauen he finds that people in the area don’t even consider McDonalds foreign. Plauen has lost a sense of culture through McDonalds and even the diet has changed. People flock to McDonalds to get their burger and free toy with a happy meal. McDonalds is a normal sight for Germans, but now it isn’t only the restaurants that are familiar but other things such as square dancing and American cars. Schlosser notes that, “And for a few hours the spirit of the American West fills this funky bar deep in the heart of Saxony, in a town that has seen too much history, and the old dream lives on, the dream of freedom without limits, self-reliance, and a wide-open frontier.” (548).

Also, Schlosser provides readers with the information that there is an importation of foreign agricultural systems and he tells us why. Schlosser said “In order to diminish fears of American imperialism, the chains try to purchase as much food as possible in the countries where they operate. Instead of importing food, they import entire systems of agricultural production.”(529). The culture of farming in certain countries, such as India, is being altered by American companies coming in and teaching new farming ways to them along with a different type of food to be farmed. American agriculture is taking over Australia, India, and even China. French fry plants are popping up all over, American corporations are buying land to raise cattle, and American food is being grown. These examples only further advance Schlosser’s argument by proving the fact that countries are succumbing to Americana and are in danger of losing their cultural identity.

Schlosser asserts that with the loss of culture and traditional agricultural systems, there comes the problem of loss of traditional diets, even health problems throughout the globe. Japan is one of the primary examples of loss of diet. The japanese man, Den Fujita, who brought McDonalds to Japan 30 years ago said, “If we eat McDonald’s hamburgers and potatoes for a thousand years, we will become taller, our skin will become white, and our hair will be blonde.”(Schlosser, 530). The diet in Japan consisted of rice, fish, and vegetables, but now “about one-third of all Japanese men in their thirties are overweight.” (Schlosser, 540). These examples go to show that Schlosser’s argument is correct in saying that there is a change in traditional diets. Schlosser points out that obesity is a problem in most of the 50 states, but now it has spread to many other parts of the world due to the “McDonaldization” of many other countries. Schlosser tells readers that, “Until recently, societies rarely enjoyed an overabundance of cheap food. As a result, our bodies are far more efficient at gaining weight than losing it.” (540). This change in diet isn’t only causing obesity in places it had never existed, but it is changing that whole way new, younger generations look at food.

Towards the end Schlosser brings all these different issues together with the subject of world wide resistance (to American culture). Schlosser informs readers that, “A generation ago American embassies and oil companies were the most likely targets of overseas demonstrations against ‘U.S. imperialism’. Today fast-food restaurants have assumed that symbolic role, with McDonalds a particular favorite.”(540). Schlosser gives several different examples of McDonalds being bombed in at least five countries. The other support Schlosser gives is the McLibel trial, where two people fought against McDonalds by handing out leaflets that pointed out everything wrong with McDonalds (true and false). Steele and Morris were the two activists who decided to take on McDonalds in the courts, and fought for their beliefs for over ten years. They only represent a small part of what Schlosser is trying to prove. Steele and Morris are Schlosser’s example of world resistance but they only targeted McDonalds while others target Americana indirectly by destroying American restaurants such as KFC and McDonalds. World resistance of American imperialism differs from country to country, but nevertheless, it is existent and thriving.

Schlosser’s chapter “Global Realization” is about how there is a threat imposed on distinct cultural identities by the fast food industry and how the industry is beginning the homogenization of the world. With the rapid spread of the fast food industry, many others have also responded in the same way Schlosser did, and they help advance his argument even further.

In Eetta Prince-Gibson’s “The Burger They Love to Hate”, the argument of Schlosser is greatly backed by her similar point and views. Gibson points out that, “McDonalds sells a brand- that is, it sells homogeneity. It attracts customers with the comforting promise that wherever they roam, wherever on the globe they find themselves, no matter what cultural challenges they face, a Big Mac and fries will always look and taste the same.”. Schlosser shows us that the fast food industry is homogenizing the world and Gibson helps to point that out.

Another person to have the same view as Schlosser is James Watson who wrote “China’s Big Mac Attack”. Watson states that, “McDonalds should be the poster child of cultural imperialism”. Schlosser asserts that America is trying to camouflage their imperialism through importing agricultural systems and Watson recognizes that. Watson backs up Schlosser through examples of China being imperialized by McDonalds without even knowing it. Watson helps readers to realize that homogenization really is taking place and that Schlosser is not the only person seeing it throughout the world.

Schlosser uses world wide problems as examples to back up his claim that the American fast food industry is homogenizing the world, threatening distinctive, cultural identities and global health. All of Schlosser’s examples reinforce that his claim really is happening all around the world. Readers can now begin to recognize what is happening around our globe and could lend a hand in stopping the spread of homogenization.

Share this post on:

 •    •    •    •    •