Blogging this one a bit late, as it’s been a busy week. I had a big freelance deadline, spazzed my lower back out, and hosted my sister-in-law and her husband while waddling about like a duck. But better late than never, right?
I originally intended to draw a cartoon about that douchetastic governor of Maine who wanted to remove a mural depicting the history of labor from the Department of Labor. But while checking Daily Show clips to see if they’d done my idea (they had, dammit), I came across this utterly ridiculous McDonald’s ad touting the artisanal nature of Big Macs. It’s only 17 seconds — check it out!
I just love the perky smile on the McDonald’s employee’s face as she pours her heart and soul into that Big Mac. Notice those chic, Asian-style bowls she’s grabbing the pickles and lettuce from. Why do I get the feeling those are not standard-issue at all McDonald’s? And then there’s the barn. Why, all Big Macs start out in cute little red barns, don’tcha know! Heck, why go to your local farmer’s market at all when you can get hand-crafted, 100% beef burgers, lovingly made just for you by a chipper woman in a cute ponytail?
On a related note, my friend Anne pointed me to this article, in which a photographer compares advertised images of fast food with what you actually get.
[UPDATE: Here’s a video on how burgers are prepped to look perfect in ads — fascinating!]
“Heck, why go to your local farmer’s market at all when you can get hand-crafted,”
Maybe because there are no “local farmers market’s” in your area? Or because they charge $4 for a single tomato? Or possibly because it’s still winter in some areas and there’s nothing growing? Or maybe there is a farmer’s market, once a week, during business hours, in a park on the other side of your hundred+ square mile city that recently cut bus service so that getting there would require six plus hours because of all the transfers to buses that don’t arrive until an hour after the one you’re transferring from?
But I guess it’s easy to pass judgement on someone who just wants something hot and tasty with the couple dollars and five minutes they have while they walk between jobs.
Funny how it isn’t ok to judge anyone else for their lifestyle, but it’s ok to take potshots at people because you don’t happen to approve of what they eat. Really progressive of you.
I really do not think she was at all casting judgment on anyone who goes to McDonalds, especially since the post and the comic were quite clearly making fun of the commercial, not the customers. She didn’t even mention McDonalds customers.
Erin raises great points (though I agree with Toitle that I didn’t interpret the cartoon as judgemental). I’m from rural Nova Scotia and our industry is fishing- I’d be hard pressed to find fresh, locally grown vegetables in my community because stuff doesn’t really grow here unless it has gills, and nobody really raises livestock so I can’t buy my meat local- only seafood (which we do). Also, we’re poor fishermen-types and couldn’t afford locally-grown organic free-range anything even if the one farmer on the other side of our province was able to bring their stuff closer to where we are to vend.
So in conclusion: Farmers markets are great, but a pipe dream for lots of people- including (and sometimes especially) rural peeps.
I think the comic is making fun of McDonald’s for targeting people who do have access to farmers’ markets. You could read the commercial a couple of different ways – for instance, as trying to get people who don’t have access to local or organic food to believe that a McDonald’s hamburger is just as good – but I don’t see Jen taking “potshots” at people who eat fast food.
That’s how I read it.
Loved the link comparing ads to reality. Not that it was a surprise, since I can do this for myself every time I’m sitting at a fast food joint, chewing and comparing what I’m holding in my hands to the ads plastered on the walls. But even though everyone knows the product doesn’t look like the ads, it’s still good to see it laid out like that.
I wonder how effective it is. Because even when we’re aware of advertising tricks and manipulations, we’re still influenced by them, no? When I have a craving for a fast food burger, I don’t think, “mmmm, a squished lump of processed gunk containing meat from 50 to 100 cows plus some limp lettuce and a soggy tasteless tomato”, even though on an intellectual level I know that’s what I’m going to get. So I think the advertising works even on people who know the message is crap, which is what makes it so insidious.
If that Big Mac ad is not misleading or deceptive, we need to change the definition of what’s misleading or deceptive.
I’m really sorry you got hurt and hope you’re ok, but can you please delete/replace that phrase. It’s ableist and you could just as easily say “injured my lower back.”
Wouldn’t spazz refer to spasm? In this case, at any rate? Rather than the insult?
I mean, if the word has to go, then you know, that’s not my choice. Just asking.
Why do you guys have so much beef with McDonalds?
I know that was cringingly bad.. but I just couldn’t help myself :P
Compare any restaurant’s ad with what you actually see on your plate. Fast food isn’t anything unique in the food industry in that regard. Although by it’s very nature it likely reaches more people.
I found this line hilarious given that McDonald’s tries quite hard to be the same everywhere. I mean, people go to McDonald’s when in foreign countries just because they know it’ll be familiar.
And let’s not forget the Hardee’s “Miss Turkey” advertisement, which deserves its very own spot in burger-advertisement infamy. Blech.
I am agog to know what “Asian-style” is. I saw some bowls in that ad that had some East Asian design elements, but Asia is a big place, and some more specific language would prevent offense.
With all due respect, is “East Asia” not a big place, too? Is there a racist stereotype invoked in describing the bowls as “Asian style” rather than “East Asian” style? Or in using the word “style” rather than the phrase “design elements”?
I think it’s offensive to invoke racist stereotypes. But I don’t think the language you’re objecting to did that.
If someone refers to “Jewish style crafts,” I know what they mean (mainly because my parents house has so many things they’ve bought at Jewish craft fairs, so I’m familiar with the styles). They could be more specific than just saying “Jewish,” if they knew enough about Jewish crafts to be able to identify something more narrowly, but if they don’t know things more specifically — and most people don’t — I don’t think the mere word “Jewish” is offensive, in that context.
Regarding the bowls, I don’t know enough to identify them more specifically than “Asian influenced.” I could come up with an alternate phrase to avoid saying the A-word (i.e., “chic sqare-shaped bowls”), but do we really want to turn “Asian” into “the A-word” — that is, a word that people avoid using in everyday language?
Well, otoh, they’re probably talking about ashkenazic crafts, which may exclude sephardic and mizrahi Jews from the definition of Jewish as it’s being used there (and which is kind of common, right?)
Sinitic cultural complex =/= all of Asia? (but generally is what’s being referred to as East Asia, if I understand correctly) And the sinitic cultural complex is sort of analogous to Ashkenazic Jews in this context. Again, assuming I understand correctly, it’s fairly rational to talk about the Sinitic cultural complex as a unit, not to say that it isn’t a big area, but there’s a lot of shared cultural stuff.
News item: McDonald’s makes >Working Mother’stop 10 in list of best companies for hourly workers to work for.
I’ve actually been in a McDonald’s in Japan. This was a Venture Scout trip with 23 boys and 12 girls ages 15 – 19. We’d been in the country 9 days by then. There was a bit of what I’ll call “foreign food fatigue” at that point. Now, we were in a foreign country with a non-Western culture and we pumped the kids up about immersing themselves in things no matter how unfamilar they were. But when you tell a bunch of American kids they’re going to eat a lot of seafood they’re thinking cod or shrimp. Deep-fried sea cucumber and pickled sea urchin is bait, not a dinner entree.
So as we were driving down a highway and the golden arches popped up on the other side the bus erupted. I went up to the front of the bus and told the Japanese driver “Turn here!” and pointed. He did so and I have to confess I was one of the first people off of the bus, which emptied into that Mickey D’s. The menus were Japanese on one side and English on the other. There was one in plastic on the counter – we ordered by pointing to it and holding up fingers for how many we wanted. The burger meat looked a little lighter than in the US and didn’t taste quite as “beefy”. They didn’t have Chicken McNuggets, they had fish nuggets, and they were served with a standard-looking McDonald’s sauce container that had wasabi in it. I ordered up a quarter-pounder and the fish nuggets and the fish nuggets were pretty good – they should have them here. I stayed away from the wasabi though, sticking to tartar sauce.
It was a huge boost to the group morale, I have to tell you. It was the first satisfactory meal a lot of the kids had had in days.
Amp – I would absolutely want more specific language than “Jewish-style.” I mean, which Jews? If it’s a conversation among people who are already using “Jewish” as a shorthand for “Ashkenazim” or “Sephardim,” I’d get that, but this post wasn’t setting that context for “Asian” at all. Like, those bowls? Not so evocative of Pakistan, which is also in Asia.
I am of the somewhat informed opinion that those bowls have East Asian design elements, rather than some other part of Asia. I would love to have more knowledge to narrow it down, and could probably easily get that knowledge using the internets.
Your last point used that infinite regression argument that is actually quite a popular bingo square for those arguing against “politically correct” language. Knowing you and your politics, I’m obviously giving you the benefit of the doubt, but I’m sad that you see my frustration as being somehow synonymous with trying to make “Asian” the “A-word,” rather than asking for more specificity when throwing around adjectives. I have exactly the same problem when I see foods referred to as “Asian,” when in fact they mean “This has ginger and soy sauce in it, and possibly mandarin oranges.”
Erin @1, I think the comic was exactly the opposite of your reading. It’s making fun of upper-class ‘foodies’ and their inclinations in food – suggesting that you can market fast food to them as long as you tart it up with the right buzzwords.
For the record… I’m married to someone with a Ph.D in cultural anthropology specializing in SE Asia. I have a BA in cultural anthropology myself. I’ve spent nearly a month in Indonesia; I’ve drunk holy water at a Balinese ritual. I’ve had Chinese housemates and a Malaysian housemate who taught me how to cook Thai food. To put it simply, I’m well aware that Asia is a big and varied place. Sure, the bowls look more Japanese than Pakistani. But to get worked up over a general reference to Asian design motifs in an innocuous context such as this is to remind me why the left is doomed.
But when you tell a bunch of American kids they’re going to eat a lot of seafood they’re thinking cod or shrimp. Deep-fried sea cucumber and pickled sea urchin is bait, not a dinner entree.
You forgot the word “white.”
Thanks for the benefit of the doubt — I appreciate it.
However, you didn’t just ask for “more specificity when throwing around adjectives.” You said, or at least strongly implied, that not being specific is offensive (“more specific language would prevent offense”).
I can see an argument that being more specific is better. But I don’t agree that being non-specific is offensive. It’s great that you (and Jen!) have solid and specific knowledge of Asia, but what is someone who doesn’t have that knowledge supposed to say?
Suppose someone asks me what’s on display at the museum this month, and I respond “an exhibit of African-style masks.”
Africa’s a big continent, and Niger is not interchangeable with Ethiopia is not interchangeable with Zambia is not interchangeable with Egypt. By the standards suggested by comment #13, to avoid giving offense, I should avoid saying that the masks are “African.” But there’s no other word I can use which is as accurate and evocative.
@Amp – I would expect that if the masks were African, you’d say “African,” rather than “African-style,” which means nothing, by virtue of meaning anything. I don’t see any offense there. Maybe my objection wasn’t stated clearly. “Asian-style” is a pointless generalization, so why not either go as specific as possible (“Japanese-style”) or leave it at “chic?”
@Jen – I certainly don’t disagree with your post. McDonalds wearing the trappings of artisanal food production is hilarious and ill-fitting, and utterly to be mocked. But reading your post, I got that metaphorical jab in the eye (“Asian-style”) and thought I’d point it out, thinking wrongly that you might give a damn. The subtext of your response is that your many Asian friends make you an honorary Asian, so this Asian should STFU and stop destroying the Left with her complaining. Oh, that I had that power.
@Amp – I’ll face head-on the risk of overexplaining!
“Asian-style” only makes sense in a culture where East Asian signifiers rule, where someone can talk about loving “Asian girls” and have someone else nod understandingly, where Asian Chicken Salad, Asian Wraps, Asian this/that/the other mean something here only because we’ve never really stopped using “Oriental.” We just replaced it with “Asian,” or in this case, “Asian-style.”
Just like “Jewish-style” doesn’t mean anything generally without ignoring non-Ashkenazi Jewish culture, or “African-style” often doesn’t mean anything to USians without ignoring the existence of North and East Africa, “Asian-style” doesn’t mean anything without ignoring anything that doesn’t fit our really skewed cultural referents for “Asian,” the adjective.
I should point out here that I’ve heard enough people from East Asia refer to themselves as “Asian” that I personally use the term in deference to their self-identification. I actually did use the term “East Asian” for awhile, but it felt weird being more specific than actual members of the group I was referring to.
Or is referring to cultural artifacts (ie, the bowls in the commercial) a different matter?
I think referring to cultural artifacts is generally a different matter.
Jen, your response is unkind. To be equally unkind, when people get worked up over someone else stating their opinions on language use–especially language use that the writer finds trivial and thus should not be dramatically emotionally attached to–it reminds me why the left is doomed.
Your cartoons are neat. I like your posts. I seem to recall you did a cartoon on fat politics once that was rockadilly. I don’t mean this to come across as harsh at you personally, just, you know. That came across as pretty dismissive and condescending.
Also, I think it’s a matter of formulation. “I am Jewish” does not imply the exclusion of non-Ashkenazi Jews. “I look like a Jew” may, since it interlocks with the idea of all Jews looking like Ashkenazi Jews. On the other hand, “When people look at me, they can often tell I’m Jewish” may be better because, again, it does not indicate that there is only one type of Jewish appearance. But “I can always tell Jews on sight,” probably does, again, interlock with the erasure of non-Ashkenazi Jews.
I think the idea is that “I am Asian” does not indicate that all Asians are like me, whereas “Asian-style bowl” condenses Asian-style with East Asian style. (And the power dynamics there track because East Asia predominates in American conceptions of Asia; I know I usually specify “South Asian” but less often specify “East Asian” unless I’m talking about specific cultural markers that kick my anthro brain into motion.)
I don’t necessarily agree with Katie that the phrase needs to be avoided (like the use of “lame” or “idiotic” this is a fight in which I have no dog, and really whatever language the people concerned agree on using will be ultimately fine from my perspective), but bringing it up does raise interesting questions about linguistic and cultural erasure.
You know, it’s interesting, I immediately, without thinking about it, put my own scare quotes around the phrase Asian-style and read it as an ironic comment about McDonald’s–because of course they would be more interested in “Asian-style” than something authentic and therefore specific. Not saying this is what Jen intended, especially since there were no scare quotes; nor am I suggesting that Katie’s point is a minor one–I actually think it’s important to pay attention to these kinds of language issues especially in seemingly insignificant contexts–it’s just always interesting to me how different different readings of the same text can be.