Over the weekend, my children and I were out doing our weekly grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. My daughter is 14, and my son is 18. As we walk in, they are both whining (yes…even the 18 year old) about how hungry they were. Conveniently and very strategically located right inside of Wal-Mart is a McDonald’s so I figured, “”hey, you guys can go get some McDonald’s and I will have a chance to shop in peace.”” We walked over to McDonalds and I became enthralled with a huge mural painted on the wall in the eating area. I had to stop and do a bit of content analysis on this mural…I was so intrigued!
The mural depicted a drive up and park restaurant complete with the famous golden arches with a sort of a sock hop feel to it, reminiscent of those in the 1950’s. The women were wearing poodle skirts and baby doll shoes, the cars were 50’s Chryslers, so on and so forth. It illustrated men, women, and children, of all different races and ethnicities sharing the same space, enjoying their meals together and seemingly interacting politely with one another. Though the ethnicities were a bit racially ambiguous to determine, I gathered that the darker skinned people were intended to reflect depictions of people of color. There were so many things wrong with this mural that I decided that I was going to turn this experience into a teaching moment for my children (and quite frankly anyone else that was within ear shot when I posed my questions and comments to my children).
While we were waiting for the food, I asked my kids to look at the mural and tell me what they saw. My son commented sharply, “there’s only like three or four black people and maybe some Mexican people.” Which was a true observation, but not exactly the main point I wanted them to see that was so troubling about this mural. I was not quite ready to respond. I wanted him to ponder his own observations.
The next question I posed to my children (whom at this point really could not be bothered further and were ready to eat their burgers and chicken nuggets) was “what time period does this mural take place?” My daughter eagerly replied, “in the 50’s,” as she is always up to an intellectual challenge, no matter how small. I then asked, “what was going on in the 50’s?” and she answered very enthusiastically “segregation!”
I then took a moment waiting for them to make the connection and I literally saw the light bulbs turn on in both of my children’s faces. Suddenly, without any further prompting from me, my children and I were engaged in a conversation about how this depiction of a McDonald’s restaurant in the 1950’s have people of color and white people smiling. How could people of color and whites be engaging in pleasant conversation while enjoying a happy meal, (or what have you) together during a time of legalized segregation and extreme social unrest during the civil rights movement?
The conversation between my children and I did not last long, but I am confident that they understood how this mural was a false representation of history. Images in society are not always truthful; which is the lesson that I wanted them to recognize for themselves. I want them to critically think about the barrage of images they are exposed to when it comes to depictions of earlier times in America, times of very nasty, ugly, and inhumane history of slavery, legalized racial segregation, and oppression. And I implore you all to do the same. Anytime you see a teaching moment, please take advantage, because it can present itself just as simply as walking into a McDonald’s.
Now, my goal is not to demean McDonald’s, their corporation is only a small aspect of this broader movement to erase or to minimize this piece of history the United States would like to forget. We have seen these actions perpetrated in many different ways in recent years, by school administrations attempting to rewrite history books and ban certain other books that reflect a time when slavery and segregation was the norm. The atrocities and injustices that were legally sanctioned by the government to keep Blacks and other people of color from access to the “American Dream” was and is still is a reality. This active attempt to erase this unfortunate but relevant important piece of American history is detrimental to us all.
In closing, I would like to leave you with a quote used by the great philosophers and leaders of the civil rights movement “those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.” Let’s ask ourselves “how can we evolve as a society if we attempt to erase our history?”
What do you think?
Comments
The importance of learning from our past
I really enjoyed this week issue of the week. Many of us are not noticing that we are begin taught the history of the United States in a revised way. I loved that Allison Monterrosa pay close attention to the mural in the McDonald’s and detected the inconsistences in it. It is very true that if we do not learn from the past we are condemn to repeat it. I am worried for the many children that walk through that McDonalds daily would look at that mural and think that is how we live 60 years ago. I believe it is important that children learned true history; so that they won’t make their past generations mistakes. The only way we can improve our future is remembering our past mistakes and not repeating them.
It's crazy how we were all
It's crazy how we were all taught history one way and never taught about the other side of it. Things they didn't want us to know, we had to find out by ourselves.
History needs to be taught
History needs to be taught from every angle because how can we truly understand our history and learn from it if we don't know every thing and every groups perspective. In order to really educate the youth, they need to know from an early age the true history, not some sugar coated white perspective.
I loved this week's issue!
I loved this week's issue! When I started realizing and learning that I wasn't taught everything in my history classes, it really bugged me. It's OUR history that we need to learn and know about and it's not something we should just completely erased. The United States have changed and is still changing and we need to know how different things are now.
I am thinking
I am thinking about that intercultural relationships that are truly genuine need to have the past-present dialectic and understand one can't be in the present and understand the way things are unless the past is unveiled. People need to learn about what really happens in society. In life our society should be brave enough to own up to the things we have done wrong. We can't ever move on and transcend pain and help others to establish a sense of reconciliation or forgiveness if one doesn't put the truth out there. The sad thing is if the truth is not out there, people will take the things that are there as the truth and start having emotions and being linked with those false things. It is so hard to undo emotions and change the way you feel about things when you have always thought something was true. So I hope there will be progress in the future and that future leaders will consider owning up for things and changing the ways they do things for politicians do apologia's but never really apologize and own up for things and it is sad many politicians and our society in general is not owning up for things. People need to start being truthful and learn how to put things out there so it becomes a habit that all people will learn to communicate responsibly on a daily basis.
History is a fairytale
At first I thought this article was about obesity in America. I am pleasantly surprised that it wasn't. While that is a problem, I feel that addressing the misconceptions of our past is foremost. History books and yes even the bible are to me books filled with stories that are written by an author who has a certain perspective. If I wasn't there and didn't witness it then I take the information with that perspective. That doesn't mean I do not believe things happened, it means I investigate beyond what one author will say. To pretend like our history is so pure is infantile. We have committed atrocities in this country that are on par with nation's we war against for the same reasons. We need to be educated as much as possible with the truth so that we can come together as humanity and not as belonging to a particular culture. We can be individuals and still stand together. Companies like McDonald's have often misrepresented history to suit their bottom line. Nothing will change with that as long as we keep supporting them. I am glad that the author took the time to teach her children about the mural but she did not actively do anything to change the perceptions of anyone else. Maybe that isn't her job. Maybe one of her children will do it. I don't know but I hope little by little we all do.
We can't forget our past.
I liked reading this issue of the week too. As another reader mentioned in their response they thought the issue was going to be about obesity in America, I did as well when I first saw it was about McDonalds. I think it is very important to know about our past and that we shouldn't try to cover it up. I think that the mural on the wall misinterprets a part of our history, a part of our history that still affects us today. We can't forget about our past, or cover it up with murals and artwork. We do not have the greatest or most positive history but if we do not educate ourselves on how we got where we are today there is no hope for tomorrow. If we forget or cover up the way we got to where we are now we can only expect to build the present off of lies, this is not something we should teach our children. I hope that we can pay more attention to our past instead of trying to cover it up.
Learning from the past.
Although some parts of every nation's history may be embarrassing, these parts are what show that the nation today has made progress. It is strange that people would try to erase this history because then we would have no point of reference to describe our present lives as an improvement upon the lives led by our ancestors. It's one thing to regret the past and something entirely different to ignore the past. Hopefully we can work towards being comfortable enough with our regretful pasts to the point where we can speak freely about them and learn from mistakes we made.
Parents are also teachers
Reading this article made me think if McDonalds is a real happy place on earth. Maybe this mural was picturing something that many people wished it had happened. It is unfortunate to see paintings that depict history in the wrong way especially a place like McDonalds where sometimes parents are soo busy with their lifestyles and don’t take a second to explain their kids about moments like those. I am not sure if little kids even pay attention to the mural, but if they do I wonder what they think. It is good that you took the time to explain your kids about segregation, and better yet that your kids are old enough to understand the mural. Moments like those, they never forget and in the future they will remember the history class that they had with you at McDonalds. Segregation was a horrible part of the U.S. history and hopefully we all learned from it because it was very demeaning; furthermore, even though some parts of history are hidden throughout a child’s education, us parents should take responsibility and teach our kids about it.
History is everywhere
I agree with you and think that maybe this mural is what people had wished happened during the 1950s rather than what actually did. Most kids these days do not know the facts about segregation and how difficult and unequal life was for African Americans. I personally think that the majority of customers who go to the McDonald’s where these murals are do not even notice what is wrong with the picture. I think that most people probably see it and brush it off and don’t think twice about it. They are there to order their food, eat, and leave. I think that kids of this generation would not see anything wrong with the mural because segregation happened so long ago and seeing people of color and whites together is something that is seen normally today. We teach these younger generations that segregation was something that happened a long time ago but we do not go into much detail. We let them know that laws were made abolishing segregation which made things better and that is why murals like these exist in such common places like McDonald’s. I really like that a history lesson was given here because it just shows us that history is everywhere even in the most unthinkable places.
We need to learn our past...
As I started reading I got an idea right away of what she wanted her children to recognize. I think that now a days we paint a nicer picture of what was really happening back in the 50's and it really makes me sad. Many people suffered and we must let our future generations know too so that events like this will not happen again!
It's propaganda!
Too often is a candy coated version of history taught. After 2 years in college, I have been exposed to more actual history than my previous 12 years in American public education. It makes me wonder, why teach anything, if its not going to be fully true? Why is it not in the interest of the government to tell its nation’s children how history actually played out? Is it because they are ashamed? Is it because what seems so clear now was backwards thinking not even 60 years ago? Is it to avoid resentment towards the government? What would be different in a nation where a generation grew up knowing all the injustices of the past? While these are difficult questions to answer, it is important to consider the fact that we aren't the only country that does this, but when other countries do it, we call it propaganda. I wonder how an outsider who knew the realities of segregation would see that mural, and I wonder how they would feel knowing that too many people walked past it and were not aware of its preposterousness.
How it should have been...
When I first started to read this article, as someone mentioned before, I
also thought it was going to be about obesity or the health and nutrition of the American people.
I also agree that we should not cover up history but only be knowledgeable about it so as to help
improve our future. I do wish I had a better view of this mural to see the details of it because
only then could we really interpret what we ourselves see and not by the opinion of what another
is seeing, but maybe this mural is trying to send a deeper meaning than just what meets the eye
and makes sense to us. Yes it may be seen as a false representation of history , but what if they
are trying to reveal the way things should have been and should be now; that no matter the
decade, unity derived by love amongst all nations, races and religions is what will make this
world “a happy place”. Sounds cheesy, maybe; and maybe the mural could have been made
differently to depict this meaning of unity amongst all, but if we really think about it, people of
all races are hanging out together in the same place, having a good time, 1950’s or not.
The Mural
I appreciate Allison Monterrosa's point of view and her depiction of a "false" mural. However I have a slightly different perspective on the mural and the race that is shown in it. According to Allison's son there where only about three or four black people, and a few mexicans based on his assumptions of color and ethnicity. This aspect of the mural I could believe to be historically true, although it maybe far-fetched and bit outlandish to have this group of people together at the same time, it's a definite possibility. The part of the mural that gets controversial and historically misrepresented, are the characters or people pleasantly enjoying their meals with smiles on their faces. This I believe to be simply the Mcdonalds marketing strategy to reach out to a country of all races and a nation of many different cultures.
What else do we propose that Mcdonalds has in their mural? Should there be a mural with a group of white families on one side and a group of black families on the other, both enjoying their meals separately? This representation of a mural would get much heavier criticisms from American's of all races and ethnicities, if this were the case. My point here is just because Mcdonalds has a mural of people smiling in a historical era that it seems unlikely, does not mean that this mural is unjust or misrepresenting American history. This mural is a sign of what should have been in the 50's, and this is why this mural is advertised today. Only in today's era, in today's America is a mural like this widely accepted. Back in the 50's Mcdonalds most likely could not have advertised this mural even if they wanted to. To me this is a sign of our nations history improving and realizing this is a free and equal nation. A mural like this shouldn't be looked upon as historically incorrect but rather as an everyday happy experience that we like to think we maintain amongst ourselves as a we grow and learn from our mistakes as Americans.
Marketing Strategy
The author is looking too deeply into the meaning of the mural. Visual media is often filled with implicit and explicit messages and it is up to the viewer to decipher those messages and draw their own conclusions. Given McDonald’s status as a marketing supergiant, it is in their best interest to display a mural that appeals to a large audience in an effort to increase sales. It is a common marketing tactic to showcase products or services in a multi racial setting. McDonalds was probably trying to draw attention to people eating food, not to people being in the same restaurant. That being said, I agree with the author when she points out that it is in the best interest of society to represent history accurately. It is impossible to learn from your mistakes if you do not know what those mistakes are. An honest and open examination of the past will lead to a more prosperous future.
Can't erase the past
The past will always be the past. Instead of running from it and trying to hide the fact that the 1950's in America was a dark time of segregation and hate, we need to accept it and move on in hopes that we have learned from those mistakes. Mistakes happen but it is important to understand a lesson. Today, I feel that many people in the younger generations will never truly understand our ugly pasts if we continue to act like nothing happened. I'm not saying McDonald's should take the picture down but it is really a misrepresentation of how our country came to be. Our world should be more aware of the messages they are sending out.
Racial Ambiguity
This idea of “racial ambiguity” astonishes me. As if blurring the lines when depicting an individual’s race allows them to be perceived as an African American, Asian, or perhaps someone of Indian decent. I am curious as to why this is done so often in marketing and advertisements? Perhaps marketers fear the idea of depicting a “person of color” incorrectly, so they portray them in such a way as to make them fit the visual profile of all races. Or perhaps they feel that this idea of looking like any race, subconsciously unites individuals of all ethnicities. Is this another type of marketing scheme? Or are they merely trying to walk a fine line of racial ethics? We saw this idea, represented so poorly in the case of “People vs. Hall,” where the testimonies of three Chinese men were disregarded because they were “non-white.” Regardless of the reasoning, this strategy of racial ambiguity misleads individuals and is ultimately harmful in the fight of racial equality. How can a group of individuals, suppressed for years because of the color of their skin, find liberation and peace within themselves and society, when so many others continue to blend their race or group them with others?
I completely agree with you
I completely agree with you that we cannot evolve from our past if we erase our history. McDonalds, or any other kid friendly fast food place, are deeply interesting places. So many of my best childhood memories come from being there with my mom late at night and playing in the ball pit for what seems like forever. It that fun and light atmosphere, it may be easy to take in what is around you and immediately accept it. This is a great example of how our stereotypes are learned at a young age. I am so glad that rather than passively just looking at it, you actually had a conversation with your kids about it and its implications. We cannot just accept what is around us, if it is wrong, we need to speak up about it.
Reality of American History
Allison’s article on the depicted mural of different ethnic groups enjoying each other’s companies in the 1950s demonstrate how far our country has progressed since the days of segregation. The 1950s was such a rough and difficult time for people of color to live peacefully when the color of your skin determines how far you will go in life. What Allison explained in her article opened my eyes to what propaganda is like nowadays. A lot of the images we see in the media are not always true and usually inconsistent. I truly believe that this is one of the problems with our society today. When little children go to that McDonald’s and view the mural, they are going to assume that segregation never occurred in the 1950s. Murals of white people and colored people holding hands and eating during the 1950s does not change the reality of the atrocious and cruel events that people of color endured during that time. As each generation grows, the history of this time will be perceived and viewed in different manners rather than exposing the truth and teaching the next generation about the authenticity of the history of our country, whether bad or good. It is imperative for our children to be educated on the harsh realities of what occurred during this horrible time of segregation. If we remain obstinate and stubborn to pass the true information to upcoming generations, it will be one of nation’s biggest mistakes.
Those who do not learn from the past...
I agree, in no way can we hope to learn from the past if all we do is cover it up and pretend that it never existed. If we don't own up to the disgusting actions that were made how will we ever evolve as a society? It's disgustingly hypocritical that we stress being responsible and being held accountable for our own actions, regardless of what they may be, but when it comes to racism and slavery, no one wants to own up to it.
Mural
This is a very interesting article. It is amazing that so many people would have glanced at the mural and would not have seen anything wrong with it at all. The media, in many different forms, creates a false past to cover up the real violence and hatred that has occurred in the history of the United States. I think it was great that his daughter was able to understand what was wrong with the mural and how it is not an accurate representation of history.