Assignment 2-2: Icon Analysis

Define 3 icons.

Doing a quick Google search, I found no less than a dozen slang terms for America’s (and much of the rest of the world, it seems) favorite fast food restaurant - McDonalds. Whether you know it by MickeyD’s, Mick-Dick’s, or the Golden Arches, McDonalds by any name is a pop cultural mainstay. So much so, that it has spawned a naming convention for another recent icon – the McMansion.

The term McMansion has been coined in the last 10 years and refers to the recent trend of building large homes, which all have similar traits, suggesting that they are built in an assembly line fashion like a McDonald’s burger. This name can also allude to the homes’ apparent wealth, but poor taste.

In recognition of the GoodGuys PPG Nationals car show being held in Columbus, Ohio this weekend, I would like to choose the American muscle car as my final icon. Steeped in a deep tradition and colorful history, the American muscle car is truly a piece of history and pop culture.

Why I chose these 3 icons.

I chose McDonalds for the simple fact that it is the world’s largest chain of fast food restaurants. Serving more than 47 million customers per day at over 31,000 locations worldwide, the global influence of McDonalds is significant. Given the cultural impact of McDonalds, the inclusion of McMansions easily reinforces the idea. This trend of building these types of homes also reflects on the ideal of ‘bigger, better, and more’ that seems to have taken a grip on American culture in recent generations. Can you look back at the American muscle car era as a starting point to this ideal of excess, the notion that you always need to one up the next guy? Perhaps.

What the icons mean to me.

Growing up in the 80’s, I feel that this era was the golden age of the Golden Arches. Many of the iconic characters that are associated with McDonalds were created during that time. These include Grimace, Hamburglar, and Birdie the Early Bird and these characters were used extensively in an effort to market McDonalds to children through commercials, direct to video shows, and onsite playground equipment that began appearing at some McDonald’s restaurants during this era. If that were not enough, who could forget the birthday parties hosted by the characters themselves at the local McDonalds? Any kid who had his birthday party at Mickey D’s was granted instant popularity. Unfortunately, I was never one of those kids!

(Photo by John Delano of Hammond, Indiana) Urban sprawl and the seemingly pervasive materialism are the driving factors behind the McMansion – an home that is often too large for the surrounding area and constructed in such a fashion that it does not blend with its environment. Typically these homes are over 5000 square feet and the façade is built using materials and architectural features found in a traditional mansion, but the sides of the home are finished in lesser quality materials, such as vinyl siding. The homes are often not constructed with the initial occupant in mind, but instead focused more on resale and general mass appeal. Often times, there is little thought applied to heating and cooling efficiency, with windows and high ceilings being the norm.

The muscle car is a classic piece of Americana. Not only did these cars show dominance on the American road, but it was also a display dominance that America as a country was trying to project during that period. The 1960’s through the early 70’s was the era of the American muscle car. It was during this time that models such as the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Charger and Pontiac 442. Nearly every major domestic auto manufacturer had at least one muscle car in their product line up and the competition to be the biggest and best was fierce. This competition carried over to the consumer, but wasn’t only contained to the car and the road, it permeated other aspects of life as well.