Fast food chains like McDonalds and Burger King are part of world-wide corporate empires that generate billions of dollars in annual sales. In "Making Fast Food", Ester Reiter examines the impact the fast food industry has had on the organization of work and family life. She describes the growth and development of the industry and the creation of a market for fast foods, and analyzes the development and moulding of a cheap labour force for the industry and the technological innovations designed to facilitate mass production as cheaply as possible. The flourishing fast food industry represents one particular blueprint of how to live. Reiter analyzes the profound consequences of this blueprint for many spheres of life - women's work, youth employment, the labour movement, the family and the community. Since the 1970s, young people and women have increasingly entered the job market in low-waged, service-sector jobs. Family life, she explains, has changed dramatically in the last 40 years as many activities that were traditionally part of the home have been replaced by services available in the marketplace. The production of meals and those who produce them have moved from the family kitchen to the highly regulated corporate workplace where workers are like the interchangeable parts of a machine.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Editorial Reviews
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"A fascinating and highly readable study of the fast-food phenomenon that has become a symbol of life in contemporary society." Diane Schoemperlen, Books in Canada. "Making Fast Food is a long overdue book designed to uncover the brutal truths about the have-a-nice-day industry of burgers and French fries ... Reiter masterfully documents, analyses and attacks the low pay and appalling working conditions of the fast food labour force." Emily Caston, City Limits, London, England. "Illuminating ... This is a thought-provoking, honest, and painstaking work." Mark Abley, Montreal Gazette. "Unique ... innovative ... enticing ... An extremely important book ... Both the topic and the accessible language make it a winner. So many people have worked or eaten in fast food restaurants. I think this book will interest them." Meg Luxton, Department of Social Science, Atkinson College, York University. "Creative, demanding, and instructive ... It is so rare that scholars undertake this kind of field research ... [Reiter's study] will come to stand as a classic text on qualitative methodologies." Roberta Hamilton, Department of Sociology, Queen's University.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I flipped for this book,
By L C "lc70" (Binghamton, NY United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Making Fast Food: From the Frying Pan into the Fryer (Paperback)
This is a really good book!! It is a great introduction to the culture of north American capitalism, specifically from the perspective of labor. I assigned this to several of my classes when we spoke about consumption; they learned a great deal about the labor involved in consumer society... and enjoyed doing it!Reiter set out to do a sociological/anthropological study of workers at McDonald's and fast food. Denied permission to work under the golden arches, Reiter then switched to Burger King. As a graduate student, Reiter was able to observe through participant observation what it was like to be an employee in the culture of the fast food industry. I liked the chapter discussing the origins of mass consumerism of fast food; Rieter presents the the cliche process of "flipping burgers" within the context of Taylor's efficiency models, and Marx's discussions of class relations. In a very friendly, enjoyable way, this book gives the reader a new view on the fast food industry, how it uses labor, and creates "community" within larger corporate contexts. She also gives this sometimes belittled occupation a more human character, and helps the reader understand the cycle of class construction and worker's poverty which comes out of "flipping burgers."
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Making Fast Food in a Fast World,
By A Customer
This review is from: Making Fast Food: From the Frying Pan into the Fryer (Paperback)
Ester Reiter's Making Fast Food is an interesting, detailed account not only into the world of Burger King, but also into the North American culture that has permitted franchises to be representative of our fast pace world. I enjoyed this book because it included necessary facts and case studies; however, it touched on ideas to which we can all relate. The increasing participation rate of women into paid labor was discussed fervently by Reiter. As well, she wrote of struggles by minority groups and youth trying to gain employment. Both accounts are very interesting. Reiter's style of writing is professional, yet easy to follow. Reiter's ideas on how North American culture grew into a fast food world left me thinking far after I closed the book. Written from a sociological, anthropological, and cultural perspectives, Reiter's book is a joy to read.
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