Malls, Multiplexes and McDonald's - The New Communist World Order
Published June 27, 2006
In the heart of the Indian capital of New Delhi, not many acres away from the green expanse of the imposing Presidential Palace built from the sandstones that were quarried from the deserts of Rajasthan, stand grey, design-less, concrete structures. Constructed when India was dreamily in love with everything Soviet, these Moscow-style blocks were planted as a tongue-lickout tease to the colonial arrogance of the surrounding monuments, created by the British masters dreaming of an everlasting Rule Britannia.
These drab buildings, housing ministries and offices with Soviet-sounding names, like the Planning Commission of India, belong to a common school of architecture that boast of installations which appears to have been airdropped all over the socialist world: from Sofia to Havana, from Tirana to Pyongang.
That drab commonality was the essence of communism: same color, same uniform, same party posts, and the same gods — the cult of Marxism-Leninism echoing from the flooded rice-fields of Vietnam to the frozen traffic squares of Warsaw.
The romance, and terror, of the communism is now over. But another, and yet similar, process is underway. The space vacated by the uniformity of communism is swiftly being flushed in by the glamour of a new order — a lifestyle that is equally homogenous and universal, which promises to remove the last stains of individuality and independence, which is determined to bury the final remains of authenticity, uniqueness and variety that makes up the beauty of this world. This is the 21st century communism — the world of Malls, Multiplexes and McDonald's.
The McDonaldization of the World
Making the way through a row of small jewelry stores situated on both sides of the two-lane driveway in Karachi’s decrepit Saddar commercial district, one would soon come across a blue-colored block called Atrium Mall whose front display hoardings familiar enough to make a scared American spy feel at home — KFC and Pizza Hut.
After being searched for a hidden bomb or a Kalashnikov by a uniformed guard, step inside one of the fast-food outlets. Let it be Pizza Hut. It is the same familiar world from then onwards: orange light emanating from tastefully concealed bulbs, and stewards attired in the same recognizable uniform, consisting of red-lined shirt, black trousers, and red baseball caps.
Saddar's steward might be an Ismaili boy hailing from the remote Swat Valley of Pakistan, perhaps handsomer than his counterpart in an outlet of the same chain in Bangkok, but both of them display the same behavioral pattern: a deliberate, labored informal attitude -- shrugging shoulders, looking-into-the-eye strategy and accented American English. The menu is the same, excluding a pig here and a cow there. There will be the same salad counter, offering the same choices in the same portion in the same rate, in the center of the eatery. You were in Karachi, Pakistan. But it could easily have been a Pizza Hut in Chicago or Kobe.
Mayank Austen Soofi owns a private library and four blogs: The Delhi Walla, Pakistan Paindabad, Ruined By Reading, and Mayank Austen Soofi Photos. Contact: mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com
- Malls, Multiplexes and McDonald's - The New Communist World Order
- Published: June 27, 2006
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Tastes
- Filed Under: Culture: Arts, Culture: Business and Economics, Tastes: Food and Drink, Culture: History, Culture: Society
- Writer: Mayank Austen Soofi
- Mayank Austen Soofi's BC Writer page
- Mayank Austen Soofi's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
Kol hakavód!! All honor to you!! An excellent piece for self-absorbed Americans to read while they contemplate why the world seems so damned ungrateful for their "blessings."
Nice piece, Mayank. Too bad about McDonalds. They aren't even very good hamburgers, as hamburgers go
Blah, blah, blah. The difference between McDonald's and the communist blocks is that Ronald doesn't hold a gun to anyone's head and force them to go, people go because they want to.
If freedom bothers you that much perhaps it is you who should change your priorities.
I got your self-absorbed American right here Ruvy! (said in the most impolite NY accent I can muster)
Very nice article, although I'm not sure about your comparison between communism and unfettered global capitalism. They share quite different ideals and the outcomes are rather dissimilar.
Great blog. America's New World Order is surely a grotesque and soul-killing plan. Communism through the backdoor while the mouth spouts the wonders and desirability of "democracy".
The Hamburger... makes you sicko.
I haven't eaten fast food in over 25 years. I don't figure I'm missing much. I will eat a Ruby Tuesday salad buffet every now and again, but the music is way to loud. I just want to wolf it down and get back to the sanity of my car.
I used to enjoy places like Martinique, where you could enjoy a fresh crepe at the corner crepe cart. Or, some fresh fruit and vegatables from the local market... go over to the Club Med and relax with the topless. No Budweiser, no Coke, no burger joints. REAL Vietnamese food (the French inherited quite a bit of that culture from their (gasp) colonial days).
Or Ponape, Palau, Truk... small, unblemished, uncluttered with the corporate crap.
People at my office LOVE to go out to someplace exciting to eat like... Chili's, or Red Lobster, or ... whatever... how disgusting!
Do patronize and watch it all dry up and blow away... by the by... Chipulti's (sp) is owned and operated by McDonald's... oh and Outback steakhouse is headquartered in Tampa... and there probably ain't an Aussie bone in that organization.
Thanks Mr. Singh. Nice output.
It happened here first: I used to love to go to Annapolis, MD & visit all the wonderful idiosyncratic & unique stores & galleries on Main & Duke of Gloucester streets. Then a Banana Republic moved in. Shortly, the sandwich shop which served funky local fishy specialties, even at breakfast, disappeared to be replaced by a Burger King. Mickey D's cropped up across the street where a specialty shop used to be. The terrific 2nd-hand books place was next, replaced by a Borders. And so on. When the absolutely unique art gallery closed - to make way for another chain jeans place - we stopped going at all. Why bother? There was no longer anything there to travel for, and sorry, but the fact that all these national chains were housed in old 18th-century buildings or Faux approximations thereof didn't make up for the fact that their goods were about as exciting as identical pieces of cardboard. What floored me was when the then-mayor complained that business had fallen off in Annapolis, and he just couldn't figure out why. All the developers & investors & store owners, all were just totally clueless.
As far as I know, it never did pick up again. After all, why drive out of your way to go to what is just another Banana Republic or Starbucks?
Reminds me of the scene in 'Roger Rabbit' where the crazy 'toon judge remarks how beautiful it will be when all the neighborhoods are gone, replaced by endless freeways & traffic ramps.
Question:
If all liberals loved and frequented every 'unique' overpriced mom and pop then how come they all end up out of business?
Answer:
They don't.
Follow up:
If they also participate in shopping, eating, and buying this stuff up then why are they online bashing it?
Answer:
Because they're insecure, hypocritical stuckup assholes who get off on thinking that their taste in music, food, shopping (fill in your favorite activity here) is sooo much better than everyone else's. You see the same stupid shit on a range of subjects. For them, popularity and goodness cannot coexist and their constant criticism is a desperate attempt to garner the audiences' attention about how 'special' they are.
Was there a point in that comment?
There is no comparison between communism and americanism. If the mom and pop "unique" stores could compete with the big franchises kudos to them. If they can't then they deserve to close. Big chains become big for a reason because they are well managed or have other competitive edge.
What you're forgetting here is that at the same time MacDonalds is invading India and everywhere else India is invading us as well, so while you may not be able to get a good Chicken Tikka at MacDonalds in Delhi, you can certainly find an excellent one at any of a number of restaurants in Austin or New York or London or Frankfurt.
Dave
the nicest, homiest places to live in america -- no matter their size -- might have but one or two mcdonald's, if that...mcdonald's (and pottery barn, wal-mart, ford dealers, and krispy kreme) will only go where there is money to be made and where they have been welcomed (relatively speaking) -- anywhere in the world...they won't go where those with enough money and who want to keep them out can afford to keep them out, and they won't go where there are those too poor to afford it...this is why there are no mcdonald's in eastborough, kansas or mogadishu, somalia...
i don't know that it's so much about communism vs capitalism as it is about good architecture vs bad architecture, tastefulness vs tastelessness (pun intended), and americanized vs americana ("americana" being a lovely misnomer for "white trash")...regardless of your business, assaulting the landscape with your own special brand of architecture instead of partnering with the area in which you do business is reprehensible...many of the mcdonalds locations i've seen around europe are marked only by golden M dangling from an overhang ...you have to find the entrance, go up a flight or two of stairs, and through a few doors to find it -- as it should be given the number of calories one consumes once there...
I am pleased to tell you this article is being featured in the Culture Focus today, June 28.
Diana Hartman
Culture Editor
Mayank,
I'd never throw a Hebrew phrase at you without translation - that ain't fair. You have too many languages to throw at me that I don't understand.
Kol hakavód means "all honor (to you)." Just like you saw it in my original comment.
Excellent post, Mayank
Thanks Scott. I aprreciate your comment. Also, please visit my new blog - The Delhi Walla. i have worked hard on it!
Excellent writing, Mayank. I'd probably cry the day I finally make it to INdia and there is a McDonald's blcking my view of the Taj MAhal.
RedTard, excellent point made in Comment #10.
I lived on Cape Cod back in the '80's and the near-riot that ensued when Burger King tried to move in on Main Street was something to see. It failed, thankfully, and no one has starved to death yet. There are times when driving thirty miles for a Whopper does wear on a person, though.
I too, remember Burger King being fought in my neighborhood in Brooklyn (unsuccessfully)... And when I saw a McDonald's golden arch with a maple leaf stuck on it in Thunder Bay 18 years go, I was truly sad.
Whopper sandwiches are great - until you have that first heart attack...
You have sort of given expression to my thoughts about the extinction of small shops. My visit to a mall today prodded me to write on the monstrosity of malls. I am glad there are others who also empathise with small shops.
Who said America agrees? more so the government...
Why did Bush do the exact opposite and abolish mom and pop shops for chains?
For
Wal-Mart? His friends own Wal Mart? wonderful "conservative" Christian men... Since I am a moderate, I love mom and pop shops... But my town does not have too many. I hate all these chains, but there isn't much you can do but protest. Why would a "conservative" president be the one to abolish these shops.
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/49718)
Wonderfully written--evocative, insightful.