The second chapter in Fast Food Nation had several themes that mainly dealt with the relationship between Walt Disney and Ray Kroc, synergy and marketing techniques, and the rise of a nationwide indusrty. The book showed how through these various themes brought about the expansion of business and indusrty giants such as McDonalds and Disneyland. This chapter showed the expansion and rise to power and connection of the McDonald's franchise along with the Disney empire.
Reading Quiz 2: Questions for Fast Food Nation
1). How did Ray Kroc change the mission of McDonald’s, and how has that affected our larger society?
- Ray Kroc has changed the mission of McDonald's through his buying of "the right to franchise McDonald's nationwide"(FFN PG 35). This was a very important change that affected today's society because now we have millions of McDonald's nationwide in almost every place we go making it one of the richiest companies in the nation.
- Mr. Kroc also developed McDonald's into a more child oriented through his introduction of "playplaces" and direct marketing to children through television and child appearal. This strategy brought millions of dollars to the McDonald's name and affected our view of the value of fast food. This caused families to view eating at a McDonald's or other fast food restaurant as quality family time.
2). Why does Schlosser compare Kroc and Disney?
- Scholsser compared Kroc and Disney because both of these men were pioneers of their kind and developed million dollar industries that have afffected society. Both of these men used a market strategy of synergy(FFN PG 40). They used market stategies that were directed towards children at the most valuable time. The two powerful men were also compared to each othe because eventually McDonald's stores emerged in Disneyland and Disney toys' were sold and distributed in their restaurants. Showing how fast food has made its' way into another important aspect of society and business.
Short Takes Summary
The essays we read in 'Short Takes' this week were all written by women and had a common theme of motherhood. The women authors described situations with their mothers, with the exception of Sonja Livingston (Ghetto Girls). The authors often told us about strange quirks and qualities of these mothers that made them unique, such as never mentioning a sister or never knowing that there was a gun in the house and being terrified when it was found. In Livingston's essay she does not discuss her own mother, but writes to young girls who might experience the situations she obviously went through herself and warns them to do the right thing. Her voice in the essay is one of maternal instinct, because she obviously cares for the girls she writes to as if they are her own children.
Reading Quiz 2: Questions for Short Takes
3). Valerie Miner says denial is “a different approach to truth” in her essay “Ritual Meals” (309). How do the perspectives of the female authors in these ‘mother essays’ – their “approaches to truth” – differ from their male counterparts? How are they similar?
Denial of Truth in Mother essays:
- The essays proposed that a mother spends her life 'passively smiling' while her husband rages. Though she may be in an unhappy marriage, that from the tone of the essay could have even been abusive, the mother remains passive, smiling, denying that anything is wrong. Just as she is doing in the photo, the writer is describing, though her father just died, her smile is 'flawless'. Ghetto Girls Guide showed the girls that the author is criticizing and trying to advise, are blind to the tricks and the lies that the men they are surrounded by try to impose on them. Actually being blind isn't an apt description, because these girls know what these men are like, and how they will play them, and sweet talk them to get what they want. The girls are in denial. They try to make excuses to themselves, on behalf of these men, and eat up the lies and excuses that the men themselves feed them. They believe what they want to believe. The author is trying to advise these girls against this denial of truth, by telling them they should give in.
- The essays about fathers had authors whose expectations of the fathers were not met, but sort of not expected to be met. The authors all had fathers who either betrayed them or wanted to leave or never showed up at all, and the authors seemed hardened by these situations. In the essays written by women their perspectives were coming from more vulnerable people. They described their mothers meticulously and with care. In the Ghetto Girls Guide essay, the author is trying to protect her women readers and therefore has a maternal viewpoint.
4). How does the structure of Sonja Livingston’s essay “The Ghetto Girls’ Guide to Dating and Romance” affect it’s point or thesis? Why do you think she uses this approach? Include the central idea in your response.
- The stucture of “The Ghetto Girls’ Guide to Dating and Romance” was set up into a manner that resembled an instructual manual or manifesto that was geared towards a " do it yourself" type of format. This was shown from the way it was numbered and was vaguely detailed.
6 comments:
Group 3: Response to Reading Quiz 2
1) Our discussion followed very similar lines as the lead group's. In addition, we also noted that Kroc was one of the first early owners/founders of fast food chains to take a somewhat active political role. This is shown by the donation that Kroc gave to President Nixon's reelection campaign in 1972, which many believe influenced the passing of the "McDonald's Bill" that would allow employers to reduce the wages of 16 and 17 year olds from $1.60 to $1.28 an hour (Fast Food Nation, p.37).
2) Again, our discussion followed the lead group's posting very closely, with a few additional thoughts. Our group believes that Schlosser compared Kroc to Disney because they both implemented factory lines, previously used mostly in auto factories, into these businesses. Also, they both took a managerial role in their businesses, leaving the creative and financial details to others (Fast Food Nation, p. 33).
3) Our group had several points in addition to the ones posted by the lead group. First, the mother stories seemed to focus specifically on the two people involved, rather than the broader family situation. This is especially apparent in Ritual Meals by Valerie Miner, but an exception to this point is shown in Sonja Livingston's The Ghetto Girl's Guide to Dating and Romance. Second, all of these stories by women use more specific details to reveal the point of the story, whereas the father stories make their point with a broader overview. Finally, the mother stories have a tone that focuses more on a view of the future, rather than the present.
The mother stories are similar to the father stories in that they are somewhat pessimistic in tone, and show a dissatisfaction with the status quo.
4) The instruction manual style of The Ghetto Girl's Guide to Dating and Romance, described by the lead group, gives the essay a sense of authority, similar to a government publication/advisory. Also, this format separates each idea and makes each distinct, while eliminating distracting transitions that would be necessary in a more traditional essay format.
Group 4: Response to Reading Quiz 2
1)Our group very much agrees with the statements of the lead group and group 3. Ray Kroc revolutionized the franchise that was McDonald's. He specifically targeted children and his method was through TV commericials and promoting "family time." Kroc explained that when a child sees a McDonald's commercial , they'll bring along family members and that brings more customers and greater profit(FFN p.41).
2)Our group had separate opinion on this question. We believed that Schlosser compared Kroc and Disney not just for their business practices,but how they sold products so easily to children. Both implemented mascots as the general appearance of their companies. Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse appealed to kids which leads to the eventual profit. Both mascots became so big, they even had a rivalry between them (FFN p.41).
3)The lead group and group 3 have very similar elements that our group came up with with the exception of a few. The female authors are more cautious with their words and form their essays with a deep resounding plot and tone, almost as if their essays were a beating heart, quiet and subtle on the outside, but more powerful and complex as you read deeper into it. The father essays were more blunt. The reader was able to pick up on the authors feelings and se from their perspective easier than from the female authors save for Sonja Livingston and her essay. Both female and male authors inject sorrow into their essays. The authors harness their feelings inside themselves and fill the pages with that raw, painful emotion from abandonment to anguish.
4)Our group agrees with the lead groups interpretation of The Ghetto Girl's Guide to Dating and Romance in the sense that it's more of a manual than an essay. Gives little description, but with an assertive tone that the reader will know what to do after reading this.
Group4 - Overall this was a very good response. You used good examples from the text to add to the discussion. So here are a few things to think about. I'll number by question.
1.Good example 2. Good example. 3. Cautious? Blunt? Give examples from the text. 4. So what is the author's point? What does she reveal of herself?
Group 3 - Overall this was a very good response. You used good examples from the text to add to the discussion. So here are a few things to think about. I'll number by question.
1.Good example 2. Good example. 3. Why not "GG"? That's not two people? 'Broader'? Need examples from text to show that. 'Pessimistic'? How? Give examples from the text. 4. So how do the sections flow? What is the organizing principle?
Group 1 - Hey Folks, thanks for taking the lead in this first week. Overall your quiz lead was very successful, and we should have a great discussion. So here are some things to think about. I'll number by question. But first, the summaries -- In FFN, it is Schlosser, not the book, who does the things you describe. Use the author's name more. Make your summary of ST more general. You get caught up in the one essay "GG."
1. Fine start, but the effects need more exploration and a larger understanding. 2. Need more examples from the text here. 3. All of the essays do that? And in "GG" she is telling the girls they should give in? That's unclear. Use more examples from the text. Men don't describe meticulously? And Livingston is 'maternal'? How? 4. "Vaguely detailed"? What does that mena? Use more Examples from the text.
Q1 - How did Ray Kroc change the mission of McDonald's, and how has that affected our larger society?
Ray not only introduced the idea of wide-spread franchising to the fast food industry, he also changed the target audience of McDonald's advertising to focus heavily on children. Ray also was a pioneering executor of the synergy between companies- he recognized, for example, the value of owning a McDonald's restaurant that was stationed inside of Walt Disney's new "Disneyland" theme park. Although the deal initially didn't come to fruition, the seed had been planted. The effects on our society of Kroc's changes are widespread- children's advertising as an entire industry was arguably born from the first appearance of Willard Scott as Ronald McDonald, and has only grown in magnitude since. Also, the rise of franchising in industry has had an immense impact on our economy and the entire world's economy- without McDonald's, without Starbucks, without WalMart, what would the landscape of American retail look like? What would the factories in Korea produce, and for whom? How much would that ten dollar CD walkman REALLY cost if we were to pay for its material cost, rather than benefit from the economy of scale that franchising has afforded us? There are ripple effects that go even further beyond that, but clearly, Kroc has made an indelible mark on society.
Q2 - Why does Schlosser compare Kroc and Disney?
Kroc and Disney had much in common- both were about the same age, served in the armed forces together, both were excellent entrepreneurs with a distaste for union influence, and both were better at managing and directing people than creating original concepts. Both men also saw the value in children as consumers, and recognized that if they targeted children and pitched their product to them, the children were extremely effective "closers" and could make their parents into repeat customers.
Q3 - Valerie Miner says denial is "a different approach to truth" in her essay "Ritual Meals" (p. 309). How do the perspectives of the female authors in these 'mother essays' - their "approaches to truth" - differ from their male counterparts? How are they similar?
In reading the female authors essays', I felt that the authors were a bit less confrontational toward motherhood than the male authors were toward fatherhood. For example, in Stuart Dybek's 'Confession' and Sebastian Matthews' 'Kind of Blue', there was a good deal of exposition of the characters; a sort of showing the emperor without his clothes, but no resolution or even equilibrium reached. The point of the male essays seemed to be to expose a side of fatherhood, generally a negative one, as a way to bely expectation and societal norms, whereas the female essays seem to strive for a greater reveal after the initial disappointment, as evidenced in Valerie Miner's 'Ritual Meals'. In 'Meals', a sense of disappointment the character feels in her mother later gives way to an unspoken and deeper understanding after the revelation of the mother's never-mentioned sister who was adopted years earlier. This increased focus on bonding or at least acceptance continues in Joyce Thompson's 'Getting Rid of the Gun', as the character begins with one impression of her mother and her habits, and comes away with a stronger bond and deeper understanding later.
Q4 - How does the structure of Sonja Livingston's essay "The Ghetto Girls' Guide to Dating and Romance" affect it's point or thesis? Why do you think she uses this approach? Include the central idea in your response.
I believe Sonja Livingston chose the numbered approach to her essay as a way to tie many different incidents, time periods, and people into a common thread. By "cutting the fat" of history and context, the reader is only given enough of an experience to draw a parallel between the presented and numbered events. In this way, and with these universal women's issues, a "fill in the blank" approach makes the space between words more personal to the reader, and pushes the central idea - that mistakes repeat, lessons are often learned the hard way, and many times you'll see a different face, but the words never change - into becoming a more elemental and instinctively grasped concept.
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