The MacDonald's Phenomenon

Back from DC after a weekend which can best be described as time-consuming. There's just so much to describe that pictures will certainly tell a much better tale. Interestingly enough, the thing I want to talk about most isn't particularly DC-related - it's more to do with just some random thoughts off the top of my mind.

I've had the opportunities to eat at McDonald's twice over the past 3 days and it's interesting to just note the demographic of people going in to eat at the great McD's. If you look at the average Mac's in the US of A, you can neatly categorise the people going into Mac's within 4 main categories:

1. Blacks
2. Hispanics
3. Fat white people
4. Tourists

This is, of course, not 100% representative of the demographic of people who go into MacDonald's but probably serves as a good general guide to the kind of people who are loving it. To the average Singaporean, this demographic probably isn't the kind one would expect (given Mac's positioning in Singapore) but when you probe a bit deeper, you start to get an idea why.

The divine M in this country has been my eatery of choice for the past 2 days because as far as food goes, it's the cheapest and most convenient food that's actually edible in many areas. M is ubiquitous. You see it everywhere (something that's noted by Andrew on the drive all around the country). Relative to most other fast food, it's a hell lot cheaper (usually $1 - $2, which is quite something since fast food here costs about as much as in Singapore). There's no need to bring in restaurants here obviously.

So, if you look at the above groups, you sorta get a feel for what MacDonald's is. Historically, given that there are large pockets of poor blacks/hispanics, it's unsurprising to see that this demographic tops the list of the M's customers. With regards to the fat white people - again if you look at the obese people (and I mean really obese, not just normal kinda fat), you'll see that these people tend to be those working in environments which aren't exactly on top of our wishlists of dream jobs. There seems to be a strong connection to suggest that the pricing methods of M has made it such that it's really an accessible form of food to the masses. Unfortunately, the trend of upward mobility in terms of income seems to lead many to seek some way of classifying themselves - a class war, if you will. And interestingly enough, fast food seems to appear to be the arena for which this kind of class wars are fought.

What then, of the tourist? The only seemingly logical conclusion is that the proliferation of MacDonald's the world over has led to many people viewing the M as a symbol of Americanism, or perhaps a symbol of just American food in general. In terms of pricing, the M doesn't exactly place itself in quite the same spot as in its home market - food centres sell cheaper food than the M back in Singapore, while many Asian cities still use the M as some indicator of how globalized that location is. A series of random thoughts, perhaps, but to see how it all comes together is fascinating.

*Disclaimer: All ideas here are based on random thoughts from the author, whose observations are in no way scientific. And no, I'm not racist, you yellow bastards.