To what extent McDonald's is a symbol of Americanization throughout the world?

Thèmes abordés

McDonald's, Americanization, popular culture, medias

Résumé du document

Since the end of the Second World War, the USA is became a superpower. This superpower leans on economic and military aspects but also on culture. The spreading of the American culture, the « American Way of Life », throughout the world is usually called Americanization. Americanization is the globalization of political, economic and cultural habits in the world according to the US model. This influence is mainly based upon popular culture, medias (movies, series and sitcoms) or American brands which show an ideal vision of the American model.

Our study will focus on the world's Americanization through the example of the worldwide company McDonald's. So we are going to wonder to what extent McDonald's is a symbol of Americanization. First of all, we are going to present the history and the philosophy of McDonald's and to defne more precisely the notion of Americanization, then we will study to what extent McDonald's is a tool of Americanization by its size and brand recognition and at last we will wonder what critics can be made about McDonald's and Americanization.

Extraits

[...] McDonald's : A symbol of Americanization Problem : To what extent McDonald's is a symbol of Americanization throughout the world? Plan : –Introduction I / Characteristics of a world phenomenon A / McDonald's history and philosophy B / The phenomenon of Americanization II / McDonald's: a worldwide company A / A multinational company B / A “tool” of Americanization III / Critics about McDonald's and more generally about Americanization A / McDonald's aspects open to criticism B / Americanization: a threat to cultural diversity ? [...]

[...] It was the great event - people stands in line for some hours to visit it – as it was one of the frst American brands to install in the Communist USSR. Still today, the installation of a McDonald's is often controversial such as in 1999 when José Bové, a French alter-globalist, dismantles a McDonald's under construction in Millau as it was a symbol of Globalization, American imperialism and of the harmfulness of Capitalism. In 1993, the American sociologist George Riter created the concept of McDonaldization of the Society. [...]

[...] The phenomenon of Americanization started from the Second World War when the USA entered the war in 1941. When the G.I.s disembarked in Europe they brought with them typical American products such as chewing-gum, cigaretes, Coca-Cola, flms or music. That was the frst step of the diffusion of the American Way of Life. After World War Two, the USA has asserted itself as the leader of the Western World. This diffusion of the American model keeps on spreading with the bipolarization of the world during the Cold War which opposed the American and Soviet models. [...]

[...] Today, the power of seduction and the atractiveness of the USA are usually called “Soft power”, by opposition to the “Hard Power” made of economic and military elements. This drawing by Andy Singer compares the Americanization to a military invasion. This makes us understand the importance of American brands (here Texaco, Nike, Coca-Cola, Windows . ) and pop culture (symbolizes here by Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse, Goofy Goof and Donald Duck) in this world phenomenon. Today Americanization is mainly conveyed by media and popular culture and American brands. [...]

[...] Among these restaurants are located in the USA, so approximately 60% of McDonald's restaurants are situated outside American territory. In all the countries where McDonald's is present, it is the company that has the most important number of fast food restaurants in the country, except in Belgium and Canada. It employs more than 1,7 million people in the world and serves around 65 million customers daily, the equivalent of the French population. In 2010, McDonald's Corporation was the most important worldwide Fast Food restaurant chain as it holds approximately 20% of market shares of the Fast Food Industry with a revenue of 24.075 billion what ranks it the 110th biggest US company. [...]