7 Responses to “Fallujah Gets a Kentucky Fried Chicken”

1. Ian on July 21st, 2008 10:46 pm

   Ahh yes… the sweet process of americanization. mmmmmm… exxcellent.

2. Patrick on July 22nd, 2008 7:44 am

   Reminds me of the episode of Family Guy where the war in Iraq is suddenly over, and all the women in burkas turn into blonde bombshells squirting hoses at each other and kissing, and all the terrorist men turn into sweater-laden frat brothers, and all the shops turn into strip malls.

   At the time, I thought it was a joke.

3. deb on July 22nd, 2008 11:00 am

   “and all the shops turn into strip malls.”

   like other arab nations don’t already have fast food and mall culture? i don’t know how you imagine the middle east, but it’s not all bazaars and casbahs.

   i don’t know if kfc is privately owned and run or if it’s a franchise–i imagine it’s a franchise. in the case of the latter, it sounds like an enterprising iraqi got his hands on a good business deal–good for him (or her?)

   i’d like to point out the chinese have already beat the americans there with the restaurants–chinese are freaking everywhere! :-p

   and before anyone gets offended at that last comment, a) it’s true and b) i’m half chinese

4. Patrick on July 22nd, 2008 12:59 pm

   deb write:

   i don’t know how you imagine the middle east, but it’s not all bazaars and casbahs.

   I’m aware. None of the shopping centers I’ve seen pictures of, however, look like American ones. This was basically the joke on Family Guy, I suppose. It wasn’t supposed to be politically [or even factually] correct

5. Teresa Valdez Klein on July 22nd, 2008 9:00 pm

   This conversation is starting to parse apart two things that often get conflated: Westernization and modernization. The Arab world is trying to figure out how to do the latter without doing so much of the former that they lose their grasp on their culture.

6. Ian on July 23rd, 2008 9:21 am

   heres another word …homoginization. Im seeing this in seattle even. ballard is becoming more and more like the eastside I despise. Homoginization is soothing to strangeres in a strange land, but death to the diversity of cultures that add so much interest too our weird little race…freaking humans.

7. Patrick on July 23rd, 2008 3:25 pm

   Teresa: Good point. Modernization would be a wonderful thing; Westernization is another story. No matter how one might spin it, Kentucky Fried Chicken is Westernization - the food that chain serves bears no resemblance to Arab culinary customs.

   I suppose it’s the difference between installing a KFC, and installing new, fuel-efficient ovens and grills at an existing food establishment that serves local food.

   I’m not ruling out the “mall” concept as a feature of modernization rather than Westernization, but that would take some convincing.

   And as for Ian’s observation about homogenization … the elimination of diversity is honestly more important to me than the distinction between Westernization and modernization.

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