(Provocative Title) United States: An Advancing Country

             (Hook) Diversity, a controversial topic in the United States led Ernest Almonte, a writer from Nutrition Facts, to say “Even if Americans don’t want to admit it, fast food makes up a large part of what is considered American culture. So I believe the existence of fast food is important even if just as an identifier of American culture” (1). (Bridge) Almonte’s message is fast food promotes the uniqueness of United States and one way this can be revealed is through its fast food industry. (Divided Stasis) (Opponent’s claim informed by 9 scholarly sources) Although opposing views believe fast food commercials reveal different stereotypes through commercials, (Rhetor’s main claim) Taco Bell, McDonald’s and Panda Express’ marketing advertisements reveal otherwise—they illustrate diversity through (Support 1) different types of food being sold, (Support 2) different advertisements show cross-culture with costumers (equal representation) and (Support 3) different types of brand commercials show the importance of American individualism.

            (Narration) Stereotyping has been a major issue in the United States ever since it became a country. One can be stereotypical about race, religion, age and gender. One way stereotypes can be expressed is through hate speech—directly or indirectly. Many people believe that stereotypes are still everywhere in the United States and one way this is expressed is through television advertisements. Social Psychology Network believes “one of the main places children and adults learn stereotypes is the mass media” (1). It is important that the younger generation is taught through media advertisements that United States is diverse because they are the future of this country. Despite the many implications media advertisements express, opposing sides believe that many advertisements focus on stereotypes. What opponents do not understand is fast food chains such as Taco Bell, McDonald’s and Panda Express illustrate the diversity of this country through many aspects of their advertisements—changing the negative opinions about the media.

            (Confirmation) Fast food businesses like McDonalds exemplify diversity and equal representation not only through their advertisements but also within their workstation. Charisse Jones from USA Today believes that there have been many improvements comparing advertisements of Super Bowl from 2011 and 2015. According to the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics, African Americans had a leading or co-leading role in 19 out of 61 commercials in 2015 compared to just 2 in 2011. This is simply one example that shows that America has been moving on to exemplifying diversity especially through fast food commercials.

          (Concession/Refutation) It is, indeed, true that many Americans negate equal representation of races, gender, age, and religion in fast food media advertisements. (1)  According to Jack Neff, Editor at Large in Advertising Age, “Today’s television ads are full of inept dads, dumb jocks and clueless husbands and the women who rescue, seduce, and nag them. Some see these ads as harmless, while others decry the gender stereotypes they reinforce.” Neff believes that television ads today portray gender stereotyping. (2) According to Media Smarts, “Anyone who understands or studies the social development of children and young people knows that attitudes, values and self-esteem are well developed by the mid-teen years, or even earlier. What young people see and hear in the media helps them to figure out how the world works and who and what is valued in our society…If the media’s take on Aboriginal people is interpreted at face value, then kids are growing up with a biased vision of what it means to be part of a First Peoples society” (1). Media Smarts believes that knowing generations of North American children grow up watching ads that expresses stereotypes—such impressions and childhood beliefs set at an early age are often the hardest to shake. (3) According to the Huffington Post, “Television is the most pervasive form of media, with 96.7 percent of American families owning a TV, according to The Nielsen Company, which takes TV set ownership into account when it produces ratings. This, of course, means that viewers must carefully examine the content of the programs they choose to watch, and decide if they can ethically support and promote said content”.The author, Alisson Lanatagne believes that gender roles exist solely because society as a whole chooses to accept them, but they are perpetuated by the media. Television commercials shown by fast food chains are interpreted wrongly. (Refutation: Rhetor’s Main Claim) (Support 1) But fast food chains express diversity by simply having different types of food. (Toulmin Warrant) Diversity through varieties of food being marketed represents equality and multiple viewpoints of American business holders. Diversity is very evident with the different types of food sold by fast food chains. For instance, Taco Bell sells a variety of Tex-Mex foods like tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, etc. According to USA.gov, 17% of the national population are Hispanics.  This means that because there is a growing population of Hispanics in the Nation, foods that will make them feel “at home” are served through fast food chains. Similar to this point is made through Panda Express. Panda Express is a fast food restaurant that serves American Chinese cuisine. Asians make up about 5% of the national population and because of these, more stereotypical Asian foods are being served through restaurants. The growing number of more diverse fast food chains serving different types of food simply shows that equality is being implemented all over the nation. 

                 (Refutation: Rhetor’s Main Claim) (Support 2) Food chain advertisements also illustrate diversity by representation of cross-culture within its customers. For business advertisements to aid consumers to understand that they value diversity, they illustrate cross-culture representation in their commercials (Toulmin Warrant).  Although Taco Bell sells Tex-Mex foods, Panda Express—Chinese foods, and McDonald’s—American foods, they never fail to show in their commercials that people of different ethnicities love their food. Their way of expressing that they welcome diversity in their country is through their food—implying that it is not only limited to those who inspired them to make the type of food that they make but for everyone. An example of this would be in McDonalds’ commercial “Commitment”, they show an interracial couple enjoying the food that they eat. Another example is Panda Express’ commercial “Make Life Happy”, they express different types of race that enjoy their food—specifically a father who spends time eating with two children who are of different ethnicities. Respect for diversity and equality by illustrating different types of races are shown in their business commercials which ultimately mean they value American culture.

                  (Refutation: Rhetor’s Main Claim) (Support 3) Not only do business advertisements express their respect for equality through the food they serve and the people they serve; they also value individualism of Americans. Individualism is a major part of the American society for they advocate liberty and rights, therefore, they are also respected by business owners (Toulmin Warrant). In Taco Bell’s commercial “Fondue Party”, a group of friends are hanging out and the majority of them preferred fondue while one person preferred eating the Cheesy Core Burrito from Taco Bell. Another example of representation of individualism is through the McDonald’s commercial “Commitment”, in this commercial, they specify that they are committed to modern, single moms and dads all over the nation who do their very best to make their children happy—they also specify that they are also committed to both vegetable lovers and meat lovers. These segments in commercials by McDonalds and Taco Bell express the value of Americans individualism and freedom, ultimately showing that they support the diversity of this nation.

                    (Summation) The idea of diversity in the American society can be expressed in many ways—one way this is through modern advertisements. This method allows viewers of many kinds all across the nation to see that diversity is very evident in this country. Business advertisers use their commercials to express diversity through the food they serve, the people they serve, and how the country values individualism of its citizens. This is important because the younger generation typically attain their knowledge from the mass media and with the fast food chains working together in exemplifying diversity of the American society, the younger generation will grow up knowing that their country is worth being proud about with equality being shown all over the nation.