Kincheloe

The main argument in Joe Kincheloe’s article on McDonalds is that the success of the multi-billion dollar corporation is based on media manipulation in the struggle for power. Kincheloe mentions that “McDonald’s has used the media to invade the most private sprees of our everyday lives” and in the same paragraph claims that media and producers, specifically Ray Kroc, is “the most powerful dictator” (253). McDonald’s is about so much more than food. McDonald’s is about America. American ideals and values. Pride and demands. Americans demand quantity and they demand it at a fair price. McDonald’s is the venue of choice for the Middle-class All-American family. The food is cheap, representative of the American diet, the kids are entertained, the service is quick. Each is important in it’s own reason. Cheap food: The target audience as the Middle-Class focuses on people who work all day and are on a budget. McDonald’s provided a financially savvy alternative to meat-loaf three times a week. Quick service is also important because the working class does not have time to spend on a lengthy meal on a work night. Their lives require a strict work to rest ratio.

For many other reasons, McDonalds, at least from a consumers point of view, satisfied basic needs. This article relates to the Appalachian region significantly through Kincheloe’s anecdote but also through what the restaurant stood for. The commercials suggested that McDonald’s represents the small-town, “right-wing perspective” and the idea that no change is good change (263). While the world around us changes, McDonalds will stand strong(265). This mindset seems to be settled in the Appalachian region along with the promotion of a working and middle class.