Golden Arches East: McDonald's in East Asia
What does it mean that McDonald's has become an integral part of daily life throughout East Asia--so much  so, in fact, that many Asians have ceased to consider the American hamburger chain "foreign" at all? The  five scholars who contribute essays toGolden Arches Easthave taken a novel approach to cultural  anthropology. Call it hamburger historiography, perhaps, but their analysis of McDonald's ascendancy in the East has  much to say about both the corporation itself and the changing values of Asian societies. Despite widespread criticism  of McDonald's as a symbol of global homogeneity and environmental degradation, not all of these changes have been  negative. In Hong Kong and China, for instance, McDonald's has actually contributed to improving standards of  bathroom cleanliness and table manners, according to the authors. And the transformation has cut both ways;  McDonalds itself has been forced to adapt to local culture and tastes. In studying how McDonald's has been  assimilated into Asian societies, Watson et al. provide a fascinating portrait of cultural accommodation, compromise,  and change.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.