the only point of information I would like to add here
is just some
background information on the McDonald's overlooking
Tiennamen Square
(having lived in Beijing) - the building McDonald's is
in was going to be
torn down by the government and McDonald's saved it by
making it a
pre-condition that the building wasn't demolished. It
took a long time to
negotiate it and in the end, they were able to save
the site. It remains
the only historical building on the square now, with a
kind of ironic
juxtaposition of the large McDonald's neon.
In this case, the surface appearance is a triumph of a
different kind.
There's more behind the surface, which in turn,
reinforces Duncum's
point as well.
and Gustavo Fischman's "Reflections about images,
visual culture, and educational research" in
Educational Researcher vol. 30 no. 8, pg. 28-33,
November 2001
--------------------------------
