4/22/26

Chapter 13 talks about the globalization of McDonald’s specifically in Hong Kong, and the effects on their local culture within the business. When arriving in Hong Kong McDonald's was looked at as something that would fail because of the worries that it is a push to Americanize. It quickly became popular among younger people and students. It was originally viewed as somewhere to get a snack and not as much of a place to eat a meal. Deeply rooted cultural opinions on food is what made it to be viewed as a snack; it did not contain the proper contents to be viewed as a meal. Over time fast food became more accepted to be seen as more of a meal, and with that acceptance menu items were shifted to be more of a blended mix of local cultural food and the staple McDonalds menu items. I found it interesting that breakfast was a huge hit in Hong Kong, and that was because they had more traditional menu items local to the area. If they pushed American breakfast items right away I do wonder how that would've played out for their breakfast success, or would it have been viewed also as more of a snack than meal. I think this shows success in globalizing requires accepting and adapting to other cultures, which is something that is often not seen.

Chapter 14 is about the connections that migration can create across borders using the example of Miraflores in the Dominican Republic, and its ties to Boston. Many of the local villagers moved to the United States but they did not leave everything behind. They stay in contact through communication, tradition, and money. This is reflected back in Miraflores with the exchange of ideas and cultural practices being implemented in their tradition, and technology. I think this shows globalization at more of a personal level, and not just the effect that large companies or governments have when globalizing. I think it's interesting that they have chosen to not change to fit in with one culture, but mix with others and accept new ideas while continuing their own important personal traditions.

Chapter 57 talks about practices like meditation and yoga have deep spiritual and cultural roots and have become globally recognized, but also separated from their spiritual context. They have been shaped to fit a modern global audience often connected to health and personal development rather than its religious roots. This is called decontextualization which makes tradition easily adopted by different backgrounds. These practices have been recontextualized making new forms blending spirituality and modern lifestyle. I think these three readings connect through the thought that globalization does not replace cultures, but they shape through the mixing of others, and interaction.