Fast Food Nation

1a. My first fast food experience was on my eighth birthday. Around that time, the furby dolls were really popular and McDonald's had them. I begged my mom to get me a Happy Meal but every time we went she always purchased things off of the dollar menu. I begged my dad to get me one and he said Happy Meals were a waste of money because it would not be filling for me. I finally got one from my Grandmother. She told me I could get anything that I wanted and I just had to have that Furby doll. It was white with brown spots and big eyes. My Furby had a red clip attached to it so that I could clip it on my backpack. Its funny because I still have it today and I used to wear it on my backpack until I got in the eighth grade.

1b. Three facts: McDonald's is one of the largest toy distributors; Fast food has helped to transform American landscape, economy, workforce, and popular culture; About half of the money used to buy food is spent at restaurants-mainly at fast food restaurants.

1c. Research Topics: Fast Food's influence on Middle Class; Marketing to Children; Marketing Ideas for Retail Industry

2. I'm not sure of what you mean by scientific but Schlosser does make the personal info relate to tons of people. I'm pretty sure that the people that have read or are going to read this book have at some point worked at a fast food place. And if they haven't they can definitely relate to eating fast food and enduring some of the working experiences displayed in the book. I can definitely relate to Elisa. She openned often for McDonald's and it required her to get up early day after day. When I worked there, I had a similar experience in the sense that I had to get up early and open with my manager every saturday. Schlosser also mentions that there were some teenagers working after hours and off the clock. I can definitely relate to that! It was not at McDonald's but I did work at a place where everything was "team work". If the minors working at my old job, did not complete their assignments, the older workers had to pick up the slack. I was one of the few that would stay after to help out. Now, don't get me wrong, I was not forced into doing this and I fully understood that I wasn't getting paid. But, when you're younger you feel a sense of obligation to do certain things all in the name of teamwork. So I can definitely relate to working off the clock.

The technique that I would use would definitely be to relate my main topics to the people that read it. Not everyone has worked at a fast food place or has even tried the food, but the topics that Schlosser goes over is relatable to anyone who reads it. Having a relatable paper is what keeps the piece refreshing and memorable.

FFN Ch. 3& 7

1a. I don't know my very first fast food experience, but the first few I can remember were with my dad and his former co-worker, Mr. Joe.  My dad worked in Towson and had long hours, so my mom would take me to visit.  Mr. Joe was also a family friend, so he usually had a new VHS or something "cool" for my brother and me.  On their break, between rounds of hallway golf, we would walk to McDonalds together.  They'd get their big macs or whatever, and I'd get a kids meal, and hopefully some sort of cheap princess toy.  Now that I'm writing about it, it was quite a lame form of bonding, but it was fun for us.

1b."The typical American now consumes approximately three hamburgers and four orders of french fries every week." "It's also inexpensive and convenient." "Fast food is heavily marketed to children..."

1c.

2. I like how Schlosser fits personal stories in with straight facts. It makes the reading less boring and more impacting.  An example from chapter 3 is the girl, Elisa, who walks to work at McDonalds before there are cars on the usually busy road, and the sun is still sleeping.  She works from then until lunch time, then goes home to rest, then does it all again.  And such is the case with many teens in Colorado Springs.

An example from chapter 7 that's effective to me is in the first paragraph.  The description of Greeley just grosses me out.  I don't really know to describe it other than that.  Yuck. I'd never want to live in the same town as a slaughter house based on that description in the book.

Well, I guess I can't be specific about how I'd use this in my paper, since I don't know what it is yet, but it's a good technique to use in general.  If I were writing something about cold hard facts, I'd want to personalize it s that it might actually keep people's attention.  Most things about just facts are really boring, but on television and stuff, we don't see many shows about just facts, because media knows that we need something with which we can relate.

Fast Food

1) a) FIRST FAST FOOD EXPERIENCE: My mom loves cooking. She seldom takes me and my sisters out to eat. She doesn't want us to eat candies or drink sodas. When she took me out to McDonald's, I cannot express through words how happy I was. The cashier was patiently waiting for me and my mom to place our orders. I stared at the menu for the longest time. Finally, my mom placed our orders. I did not care what meal she got me, I would still eat it, anyway. With my Happy Meal came a 101 Dalmatians toy. It was a dalmatian on top of a drum. As a kid, I was more excited about the toy than with the meal. The meal I had was the most common meal for any occassion in our country; fried chicken and spaghetti. When we got home, I immediately showed my dad and my sisters the toy. My sisters and I decided that we wanted to collect all designs of the 101 Dalmatians toys that McDonald's would release. These toys was the reason why we kept buying Happy Meals at McDonald's.

b) 3 FACTS: Eating fast food has become a routine, Franchise stores value uniformity, and Fast food is heavily marketed to children.

c) AREAS OF RESEARCH: Fast Food's Impact on One's Life, The Nature of Franchised Businesses, and Marketing to Children

2) I think the way Schlosser combined personal and scientific research is effective. Instead of just reading a book of facts and information, Schlosser made it interesting, easy to understand, and to visualize. Readers can put themselves in the writer's shoes and readers can easily relate to the situations and issues presented in the book. An example is on page 83 about the fast food restaurant employees Schlosser interviewed, "They preferred working in the kitchen, where they could talk to friends and fool around. Food fights were popular." In this example, it may be a common situation in a fast food but this actually presents a problem - that of the cleanliness and proper handling of food in restaurants.

I think using this technique, combining personal and scientific research, when writing is useful both for the readers and the writer. I prefer to use the same technique when writing because of the same reasons I mentioned earlier -- writing about my own experiences and/or the people I interviewed then the message behind it and the important facts and issues that the readers should consider and think about.

ELIC/FFN-Czink

1. I think oskar gained a better understanding of death and life through his search. He visited many different people, each with their own stories of loss and happiness. I think this helped him understand that he isn't alone and that his feelings are normal. Discovering his mother's part in his search helped him understand the way she has been coping and when he heard ron's story i think that helped him like ron a little more.

2. Thomas Schell discovers that everything reminds him of anna but he still doesn't want to be alone. He'd rather stay with oskar's grandmother than be alone but he doesn't want to hurt her. I think through oskar he was able to resolve some of his regrets regarding his own son but i think he still has a great deal of baggage that he needs to cope with. Oskar's grandmother stands by him regardless of what he chooses to do and i think that he sees that and can't let her go anymore than he can let go anna go.

3. I visit fast food restaurant 1-2 times a week. I go mostly because it's cheap and convenient. I often find it difficult to make time to cook a meal at home.

4. After reading FFN i now know that i am a victim of the synergy disney and mcdonalds used. I saw all those movies when they first came out and my dad always took us to Mcdonalds and my brother and i always got happy meals. We went there just for the toys. Their strategy worked fairly well on me because i still get the same things when i go there today as i did then, minus the toys though. Knowing how bad chicken nuggets are i may not buy them when i go there but i will be difficult because i've always loved them and will continue to do so. I know that when i have children i will not allow them to be suckered the way i was. this book has helped me understand the effects this industry has had on our democratic society. I feel like corporations like these teamed up with selfish, rich becoming richer, republicans in congress, and the white at times, have single handedly destroyed the free-market in the food industry. It disgusts me that they have been allowed to abuse our system to this point and that our elected officials have done nothing to protect their citizens from the effects of these companies' greed.

End of ELIC and Start of FFN blog

How is Oskar's sense of self enhanced by his search? 

Throughout his search, Oskar has numerous experiences that would otherwise not be possible. For example from this search Oskar is able to meet many different kinds of people and relate to them in different ways. Also, Oskar’s sense of self is enhanced by this search because Oskar learns many new life lessons from these people and even his grandmother, grandfather and mother. At the same time I think that Oskar also sees that he is not the only person who has “heavy boots” but as he meets the Blacks, he finds that many people have problems in their lives as he does.

What does Thomas Schell discover?

In my opinion, Thomas Schell discovers a second chance. Since he knows that what he did in the past was wrong, he is extremely grateful that he has a opportunity to get a past life back (kind of). And that he gets a chance to play a parental role in Oskar’s life since he was not able to do the same in his own sons’ life. The most important thing that I think Thomas Schell discovers is that it doesn’t matter how hard you try to forget something or someone. But if there is love in your heart for them, It is practically impossible to do so.

Before you read Fast Food Nation -- How has fast food affected your life?

Since I am from a different culture, Fast Food has never been something that was extremely important to me. I always am willing to rather eat a traditional home cooked meal then trying to find something to eat from outside. There are only a few occasions that I eat fast food, I think that it is more of a convenience than a necessity. The only times I eat fast food is if I am getting late to work, or school, or if I just feel like getting something with friends.

After you read FFN -- answer the same question.  

As I said before, Fast Food was never a huge part of my life. Because of this, this book does not have an extremely significant effect on my life. After reading FFN however, I found some very interesting things. The first thing was how Walt Disney was able to use this marketing mind in order to get ahead and become so successful and popular (even without an education). Another thing that stuck out in my mind was all of the different practices that business use to lure adults as well as kids toward fast food. Although most people would argue that this is wrong, I would say that it is a smart business move. The “Synergy” talked about on page 40 was also not very dramatic to me. This is probably because I have read the book already, or perhaps it is because I expect these big business to cut some corners in order to make their profits.  

Chester Post

1. How is Oskar's sense of self enhanced by his search? 

Oskar's sense of self enhanced his search because he consciously or not realizes the magnitude of the event that had happened to him. Through his travels around NYC and with the people he meets he realizes that things happen horrible or wonderful they happen to us all. He realizes that there is more compassion in the world and that you don't always have to be brave and protect everyone. I feel like his sense of self is translated into his sense of others. He can see parts of his life and parts of him in others and in that way it makes everything easier to process.

2. What does Thomas Schell discover?

Thomas Schell discovers that just because you walk away from something or bury it in yourself doesn't mean it doesn't exist and it doesn't mean it isn't there. He discovers that what he was afraid of happened anyways regardless of him being present for them. I want to believe that he discovered that there is life after death and that it is better to live in something than forever be in nothing.

3. Before you read Fast Food Nation -- How has fast food affected your life?

Remembering back to before I knew anything about this book I don't think Fast Food reall affected my life. I'm a vegetarian and consequently I don't eat fast food very often at all. If I do go I order some fries and a frosty and enjoy my one vice but it's not a part of my daily life.

4. After you read FFN -- answer the same question.

Remembering again the shock that came over me when I first read this book I think I was astonished at all the ways that Fast Food seeps into our pours. Televisiosn, real estate, school, trends, stock market, green house gases, lobyists....fast food is everywhere! This chapter does however hit home when they talk about marketing towards kids. I often forget to remember myself as a child and how fast food impacted my life then. I can see the marketing on children and I can see how I was affected by it. Being subject to advertizing is a state of mind and also a vulnerability of young children. I have a lot of strong beliefs about personal choice and I think that as adults my parents had a responsibility to me to monitor my diet. I think they did pretty well. I expect myself to follow through with my children and be aware of the kinds of foods they are eating and to teach them healthy eating habits from a young age. 

1. Oskar is just like any growing adolescent, he’s searching for answers. None of these answers usually come easily and ELIC catalogs this. Oskar is looking for love and closure and he feels it is only obtainable through his “quest.” I feel that he really learns about who he is as a person and matures as he realizes that he is left to care for his mother and he embodies his father’s spirit.

2. Thomas Schell discovers he must finally accept his role as a parent. He strives so hard to do what he believes is the best thing for his family yet discovers that he really can’t know what’s best for them.

3. Fast food was a provider of family time during my parent’s divorce six years ago when I was at the age of twelve. My father had very little left and my sisters, my dad, and I would often end up eating at fast food restaurants for most of our dinners. Following the stabilization of my family I have not been a big fan of fast food as I have grown more health conscious, however even if I’m not eating there I see commercials and the protruding arches everywhere I go.

4. Following the first two chapters of FFN I was surprised by the upbringing of so many of our classic heroes. Walt Disney’s story was truly eye opening as I learned he was uneducated but still made many very profitable business decisions. I was also surprised that so many of our current day companies originally “borrowed” their ideas and menus from McDonalds. I was not aware of the founding of all of these companies and their similarities.