Well, it happened. They did it. There’s no turning back. In its never-ending conquest to spread its golden arches and hardly identifiable meats across the globe, McDonald’s can now be found in the very last place that I ever expected to find it. No, not the cafeteria in PETA’s headquarters. Instead, it can be found in a place that used to house royalty more revered than the Burger King himself and now serves as the world’s greatest art collection: the Louvre.
That’s right. The very building that displays giant statues as old as civilization itself will have to move over for the latest Happy Meal figurines.
When it comes to this consumer-driven economy that we live in, perhaps I’m nothing more than a romantic idealist yearning for a time when ingenious and inspired individuals crafted these compositions with little more than passion and originality. The illusion and appreciation of the starving artist is kind of hard to maintain with the aroma of, as John Travolta explained, a Royale with cheese drifting through the museum.
One of my most treasured memories from my entire European experience was when I went to Paris and spendt an entire day in the Louvre. From open to close, I admired the product of brilliant minds and unequaled skill. I tried to envision myself aside da Vinci, Rigaud, and Rembrandt as they painted these timeless works. Now I fear that I will unavoidably wonder what Delacroix, Vermeer, and Géricault wanted me to order for them as I hear this phrase uttered over and over again.
What’s next? Concessions in the Coliseum? A Pizza Hut every ten miles along the Great Wall of China? A Jamba Juice atop Machu Picchu? After the fast-food industry’s most recent travesty against man, I can’t dismiss the possibility of any of these.
Sure, the Louvre is the world’s most visited museum and France is McDonald’s second biggest market behind (obviously) the US so the financial matters motivating it make sense, but the decision comes in poorer tastes than their menu items. The Louvre is home to timeless artwork that is reflective of our history and past societies more than anything else that has survived to this day – let’s not make McDonald’s this era’s contribution.
That’s right. The very building that displays giant statues as old as civilization itself will have to move over for the latest Happy Meal figurines.
When it comes to this consumer-driven economy that we live in, perhaps I’m nothing more than a romantic idealist yearning for a time when ingenious and inspired individuals crafted these compositions with little more than passion and originality. The illusion and appreciation of the starving artist is kind of hard to maintain with the aroma of, as John Travolta explained, a Royale with cheese drifting through the museum.
One of my most treasured memories from my entire European experience was when I went to Paris and spendt an entire day in the Louvre. From open to close, I admired the product of brilliant minds and unequaled skill. I tried to envision myself aside da Vinci, Rigaud, and Rembrandt as they painted these timeless works. Now I fear that I will unavoidably wonder what Delacroix, Vermeer, and Géricault wanted me to order for them as I hear this phrase uttered over and over again.
What’s next? Concessions in the Coliseum? A Pizza Hut every ten miles along the Great Wall of China? A Jamba Juice atop Machu Picchu? After the fast-food industry’s most recent travesty against man, I can’t dismiss the possibility of any of these.
Sure, the Louvre is the world’s most visited museum and France is McDonald’s second biggest market behind (obviously) the US so the financial matters motivating it make sense, but the decision comes in poorer tastes than their menu items. The Louvre is home to timeless artwork that is reflective of our history and past societies more than anything else that has survived to this day – let’s not make McDonald’s this era’s contribution.
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