Fresno, CA hosts the first franchised McDonald's (by Ray Kroc, recognized force behind making the brand the success it is today). The building is actually a replica on the original site since sometime in the past they tore down the original to modernize it, and then later opted for historical preservation and tore down the modern building to re-build the older version. But that is not the point I wish to make. McDonald's holds the current record as largest fast-food chain in the world. It can be found, with variations that cater to local palates, in 118 countries. Many discerning consumers of food (yes, you reading this) may at this point hold back a horrified scream that we should have so successfully exported such filth to the world at large.
The idea that because something cheap becomes widespread makes that something bad has become pervasive among many westerners. Starbucks is railed against (and to be fair, there's a lot more milk and sugar than coffee in most of their drinks) and when you nail people down (personal tastes aside) it seems that their popularity is indeed their crime. After all, they are not more expensive than your local hipster place, in fact, probably slightly cheaper. The local hipster place will have a similar disproportion of non-coffee ingredients and, sadly, the quality isn't that much better. Coffee, to some great extent, is a matter of taste. My taste lends to really dark SE Asia coffees. I can generally get that at Starbucks because I know what and how to order. But I digress.
What those critics seem to be saying is: Success means selling your soul. Yes, while we are all here in the gutter we dream of "making it big" but when someone does, the mud-slinging begins. Take Andrew Lloyd Webber, for example. For many, he IS Broadway. For the masses, that is. The rest whisper his name with a shudder, lambasting his music as "all sounding the same." I've heard the same charge directed at artists such as Taylor Swift, Mac Powell, Hillsong, etc.
Taste, quality, sound. All these are personal preferences to some extent. And had not McDonald's, Starbucks, and Webber hit upon something they would not be successful (and I didn't even mention Walmart!). Not everyone who enjoys their offerings are mindless. And perhaps those that rail need to take a harder look at what they themselves are offering: if it repels people and makes them feel stupid for not understanding than how is it good?
McDonald's took off when the founders saw that they did one thing good: the cheap hamburger. They stopped the bar-b-q and they focused on that. Starbucks focused on employee training so that, in the words of one of my friends, you can walk into any Starbucks in the world and be assured of the same quality. Universal appeal based on dependability. And simplicity. Maybe it is not always bad that most songs by an artist are in the same key and have similar cadences. It makes it easier to sing after all.
Maybe before the next comment about the "evil" that is _____ we could all take a moment to think critically--perhaps the very charge for which we are faulting their fans--and recognize that it's not all bad.
The idea that because something cheap becomes widespread makes that something bad has become pervasive among many westerners. Starbucks is railed against (and to be fair, there's a lot more milk and sugar than coffee in most of their drinks) and when you nail people down (personal tastes aside) it seems that their popularity is indeed their crime. After all, they are not more expensive than your local hipster place, in fact, probably slightly cheaper. The local hipster place will have a similar disproportion of non-coffee ingredients and, sadly, the quality isn't that much better. Coffee, to some great extent, is a matter of taste. My taste lends to really dark SE Asia coffees. I can generally get that at Starbucks because I know what and how to order. But I digress.
What those critics seem to be saying is: Success means selling your soul. Yes, while we are all here in the gutter we dream of "making it big" but when someone does, the mud-slinging begins. Take Andrew Lloyd Webber, for example. For many, he IS Broadway. For the masses, that is. The rest whisper his name with a shudder, lambasting his music as "all sounding the same." I've heard the same charge directed at artists such as Taylor Swift, Mac Powell, Hillsong, etc.
Taste, quality, sound. All these are personal preferences to some extent. And had not McDonald's, Starbucks, and Webber hit upon something they would not be successful (and I didn't even mention Walmart!). Not everyone who enjoys their offerings are mindless. And perhaps those that rail need to take a harder look at what they themselves are offering: if it repels people and makes them feel stupid for not understanding than how is it good?
McDonald's took off when the founders saw that they did one thing good: the cheap hamburger. They stopped the bar-b-q and they focused on that. Starbucks focused on employee training so that, in the words of one of my friends, you can walk into any Starbucks in the world and be assured of the same quality. Universal appeal based on dependability. And simplicity. Maybe it is not always bad that most songs by an artist are in the same key and have similar cadences. It makes it easier to sing after all.
Maybe before the next comment about the "evil" that is _____ we could all take a moment to think critically--perhaps the very charge for which we are faulting their fans--and recognize that it's not all bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment