McDonald’s: An Iconic Chinese Restaurant

McDonalds is an iconic figure in America, almost all(prenominal) household has eaten thither at least once, but what ab come out other countries around the world? In Golden Arches eastside McDonalds in East Asia, James Watson uses the logos rhetorical appeal to suck his points about the iconic McDonalds status in China byout McDonalds in Hong Kong. He does this most effectively via his galore(postnominal) uses of evidence he poised from talking to the Chinese people in Hong Kong that patronize the restaurant, evidence gathered from speaking with the management of the McDonalds in Hong Kong and his own observations.James Watsons McDonalds in Hong Kong begins by showing the reader the impressiveness of food to the Cantonese customer. Cantonese people are proud of their food and most of the ripened generations are able to describe a single meal in detail many years after eating it. The author goes on to describe how McDonalds has incorporated themselves into the local culture by accepting and embracing local beliefs instead of trying to change them and by being adaptable in the running of the furrow.Watson also describes the emergence of a new culture springing out of the American based business by bringing former non-practices like celebrating birthdays into practice and providing areas impregnable for juvenilityer generations to form their own identities through group activities. Food is an integral part of human life all over the world, but in China food is also an integral part of human society. Older generations of Chinese people are frequently able to describe in exact detail a single meal from imbibe to finish including where the food came from and what dishes were used in the serving of the meal.As evidenced within the text Mr. patch recountedin exacting detailthe flavor and texture of each dish, the sequence of spices, and the order of presentation (77). This is fitting to note only because the meal, according to the author, took place fif ty years prior (78). Clearly, Mr. Man is an older humanity at the time this interview takes place, but other generations of Chinese people also place importance on food. Children did not celebrate birthdays in China until recently and the parties that are held are ranked by the pillow slip of fruit on the cake.Watson states, the birthday cake is an infallible status marker among younger consumers specifically, the type and quality of fruit used to decorate the cake is what matters most (104). This is used as evidence to cover up the previous statement that Around the age of four, Hong Kong children begin to develop a fine-tuned sense of hearty distinction that is reflected in consumption patterns (104). These observations and interviews clearly show the evidence to back up the claims and arguments made by the author.McDonalds restaurants are not the first fast food restaurants to be introduced to Hong Kong although the franchise entered the country in 1975. By the time McDonalds opened its first Hong Kong restaurant in 1975, the idea of fast food was already well established among local consumers (80). There were fast-food places, operating since the 1950s, that sold quick Chinese delicacies for the lunch crowds already in place and accepted by the culture.The author uses this information to begin effectively establishing how well McDonalds restaurants are faring in Hong Kong. The reason for the success of the integration and subsequent popularity, according to the author, comes from many different areas. The private instructor took deliberate steps to make sure that the people knew that the restaurant was foreign, going so far as to get the name of the restaurant in English for the first few years (82-83).Afterwards, when the manager had intractable it was time, he decided to translate the name phonetically instead of literally. Mr. Ng decided to capture the telephone of McDonalds, in three homophonic characters, rather than create a name that would co nvey meaning thereof making the company appear to be a Chinese enterprise (83). McDonalds is not seen as a foreign institution, but is an accepted Chinese restaurant (107). The McDonalds chain has succeeded in beseeming an icon in Chinas new popular culture (86).Children often are seen entry these restaurants after school to study or get together with their friends. They have birthday parties as young children and, according to the author, it is the students, with their book bags and computers, who have claimed McDonalds as their own (106). The author uses the argument that study space is special in Hong Kong to help the reader visualize the reasons for the children and teens to go to McDonalds in order to study for exams and bear on with friends.Watson states, Interviews with teenagers revealed that McDonalds is perceived as a place that offers more space, in the literal sense of distance amongst tables, than any other public eatery in Hong Kong (save for the more expensive re staurants) (106). Clearly, McDonalds is seen as a safe place for children and teens to gather and spend time without fear of violence and the author even states that McDonalds staff keep a sharp watch for possible fights or disruptions, but trouble of this nature rarely breaks out in fast food restaurants.Managers know by sight most of the gang members in their neck of the woods and sometimes delegate a (large) male employee to shadow potential troublemakers-standing uncomfortably close to them, watching every move (105). It is for these reasons, among many others, that McDonalds has the iconic status in China that it does. By setting themselves as the standard, based upon the evidence given by the author through observations, interviews with championship and interviews with the management, McDonalds restaurants have get an integral part of Chinese society.The arguments put forth by the author, as evidenced in this paper, make for an effective argument about the importance of McD onalds on Chinese society. By using quotes from clientele and management alike, Watson backs up his statements and beliefs enough to make them wholly reliable. The inclusion of facts gleaned from the McDonalds corporation also serves to reassert his conclusions he has reached that McDonalds is part of a new cultural era in Hong Kong.