Fast Food Nation Analysis

Fast Food Nation Front Cover Analysis

Don't judge a book by its cover, but In this case we can. By simply looking closely at a pre determined front cover; we can learn a vast amount. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser uncovers the truth behind fast food and how it came to dominate the world. The front cover graphic shows a crispy box of French fries. The box with its patriotic stripes, stars and United States Island suggests that this book is focused on Americas eating habits. The children on the boxes give a sense of innocent pleasure and to visually show that children are the prime targets of these fast food chains. In a deeper meaning, the front cover is sarcastic. It is making the fast food industry seem fun and entertaining. The contents of the book contradict what is on the outside. The French fries themselves connect all the fast food companies together. The fries are the common ground as they all have this one product in common at least. The French fries are also mass-produced, symbolizing the unskilled, same quality and cheap consumer rates that fast food represents. Typically at a fast food restaurant, the logo is found in the center of the box. The graphic shown on the book has America on the box. This visually shows that no particular fast food chain will be targeted, but instead America as a whole will be to blame.

The Title is not so complex or sophisticated. The title Fast Food Nation: the dark side to the all American meal tries to make the book sound black and gloomy but with the contradiction of the bright graphic. The title shows the reader that we may be presented with a great meal that looks appetizing, but in truth, there is a contradiction to the meal. The title suggests that the nation we live in is a generation of fast food. There is an assumption that the all American meal is not healthy, but instead fast food gives the reader an insight on how people have no idea what they are eating. They are being naive if they do not read what their nations favorite food really is all about.

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