Week 3 Discussion Assignment

As a child, I was never allowed to eat any type of fast food for some odd reason. Whenever I would ask my parents to get me a Happy meal or a Burger King kid’s meal, they would stare at me for a while and tell me flatly, “No.” Of course I would cry and scream at them, but in the end, I still don’t get what I want. Finally, when I was about 11 years old, my mom finally got me my first Big Mac. I was shocked about this because she has finally bought me the thing I wanted ever since I was a kid.

I asked her why she didn’t buy it for me back then and she told me that I didn’t want to see you as fat as your cousin. I never understood that until last year when I watched a documentary called “Super Size Me.” “Super Size Me” starred a guy named Morgan Spurlock who was supposed to eat from McDonalds everyday for a month. They were doing this to prove how bad McDonalds can be to any person’s health. The point of this documentary was to show how many Americans were suffering from obesity due to eating at McDonald’s periodically.

After watching the documentary and reading Ritzer’s essay, I agree with his definition of “McDonaldization.” In the essay, he mentioned that a study has found that immigrant children’s health tend to deteriorate after they come to the United States because they are adopting the ways of American children. Now I fully understand why my mom didn’t let me eat Happy Meals when I was a kid. She wanted my health to stay good and not turn into my cousin, who was eating Happy Meals every other day.

I agree with Ritzer about how fast-food restaurants alter the way people eat and think. They manipulate the way we are supposed to act with their store appearance and settings. I feel that whenever I walk in to a McDonalds restaurant, I would always have to eat quickly and go back to doing whatever I was working on. This is like something that has already been pre-set for me. It’s like I have been taught this way ever since I was a kid.

I would see people go in there for fifteen minutes at the most and walk right back out. When I’m at home or at a restaurant eating dinner, I would take my time and eat as slowly as possible. I remember this one time, when me and my family went to the Rainforest Café to eat, I was so interested in the crocodiles and fish tanks that I didn’t even pay attention to the food. It may sound crazy, but I stayed in there for almost one and a half hours just staring at the way they organized the café.

When I left, I knew I definitely wanted to come back again. I know that these are simulated surroundings, but I still couldn’t stop looking at them because I thought it was amazing how they could be created in the first place. Those simulated surroundings made sure that I would come back to eat even if the food was horrible. Nowadays, the people are all being rationalized and following whatever ways they are given. For example, one of the things that the system has rationalized is the way people dress.

People watch television and fashion shows to see the latest trend and then dress exactly like them. Manufacturers then design the clothes and ship them out to places like Old Navy, Macy’s, JCPenny, and etcetera. By having a constant cycle, the system has made sure that it will always win. So in the end, just like what Ritzer said, “Each of us is colonized.” We all act like how the system wants us to.

Ritzer tells us that “And one of the ways you control people is by rendering them awe-struck, speechless.” This is one of them main things that I agree with the most because I have experienced it. I’m sure that everyone has been to Disney Land at least once and still wants to go back for the rides. The simulated beings and rides had me wishing to go back all the time. Ritzer’s thoughts and ideas really had me thinking about what the system is and how it manipulates us. From now on, I’ll try to act as myself and not have anything alter my actions.