Experiencing Globalization
“How Sushi Went Global,” (Bestor)
and “McDonald’s in Hong Kong”
(Watson)
Consumerism
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consumerism is a social and economic
order that is based on the systematic
creation of desire to purchase goods or
services in ever greater amounts
The term is often associated with
criticisms of consumption
In economics, it is the theory that an
increasing consumption of goods and
services is economically beneficial
Globalization of the Tuna Trade
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Beginning in 1970s, important
changes helped transform the tuna
trade from a regional to a globalized
industry
“An industry founded exclusively on
Japanese demand survived because
of American’s newly trained palates
and a booming US economy.”
1970s
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Japan emerges on global economic
scene
Expansion of 200-mile fishing limits
excluded foreign fleets from prime
fishing grounds
Environmental campaigns forced
countries to scale back distant
water fleets
1980s
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Demand for sushi increased as
Japan’s economy boomed
Advances in transportation
expanded the range of suppliers
Imports from the US doubled
1990s
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Japanese economy went into a
slump
North American sushi craze took up
slack
Consumer capitalism & brand equity
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“In the global economy of
consumption, the brand equity of
sushi as Japanese cultural property
adds to the cachet of both the
country and the cuisine” (124)
Brand equity is sustained by
complicated flows of labor and
“ethnic biases”
Core & periphery in tuna market
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“In the newly rewired circuitry of
global cultural and economic affairs,
Japan is the core, and the Atlantic
seaboard, the Adriatic, and the
Australian coast are all distant
peripheries” (125)
“McDonald’s in Hong Kong”
7 of world's biggest 10 McDonald’s
are in Hong Kong
 When McDonald’s first opened in
HK in 1975, few thought it would
last, but by 1997, there were 175
outlets
 In HK, the transnational is the
local
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McDonald’s in HK: Cultural Acceptance
with Localizing Adaptations
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Mental Categories: Snack vs Meal
From Exotic to Ordinary: McDonald’s Becomes
Local
Sanitation and the Invention of Cleanliness
What’s in a Smile?: Friendliness and Public
Service
Consumer Discipline? Enforcing the Queue
Hovering and the Napkin Wars
Children as Consumers
Ronald McDonald and the Invention of Birthday
Parties
Conclusions:
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People of Hong Kong have not been
stripped of cultural heritage, nor are
they “dupes” of TNCs
HK is a center of transnational
cultural consumption and production
In places like Hong Kong, the
postcolonial periphery is becoming
the metropolitan center