Burger Fool: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Eric burger job 1650.jpg|link=That '70s Show|frame|You can practically ''see'' [[And I Must Scream|his soul being crushed]].]]
{{quote|''I have a theory about McDonald's, that is, everything they make is all one thing, and in the back they have this big vat full of this stuff, these little molds combining, like '''SPLURT''' 'Hamburger!' '''SPLURT''' 'Malt!' '''SPLURT''' 'Paper box!' '''SPLURT''' 'Here's your change, thank you!' ''
|'''[[Steve Martin]]'''}}
The fictional fast-food restaurant is a unique establishment. It's the most common first job for a TV teen, and will usually teach them [[An Aesop|a lesson]] about money, responsibility, or life, mere moments before they [[Reset Button|quit or are fired for odd reasons]]. Usually, they are spurred to employment by a specific financial need, and a failure of "The Bank of Mom and Dad" to pony up.
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* In ''[[Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane]]'', Mary Jane has to work at a hippo themed McDonald's place, which was just one in a string of cruddy jobs.
** In ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man]]'', Peter worked at a place with a frog theme. And had to wear [[Bad Job, Worse Uniform|a frog mask at all times]].
** Kwikie Burger was a place that appeared in some ''Spider-Man'' stories during the 70s; it seemed the default business to be robbed by third-rate villains. Lampshaded in the White Rabbit's first appearance when one frightened cashier asked another if he knew if McDonalds was hiring.
* In ''[[Foolkiller]]'', after Kurt Gerhardt was laid off from the bank, he had to work in a fast food restaurant.
* In ''[[Invincible]]'', Mark initially worked at a place like this before his superhero duties happily forced him to quit.
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{{quote|Feeding people is a just and dignified occupation. I don't know why you are always... dishing it.}}
* The fast food chain "O'Shaughnessy's" has made multiple appearances across various [[DC Comics]]. It's been stated to be a major rival to Big Belly Burgers.
* ''[[Harley Quinn]]''; in one story in her own comic starts with Harley robbing a fast-food place; at the ''end'' of the story, after helping Batman catch a mobster who has framed Poison Ivy, Harley has to do community service work for robbing the restaurant, [[Laser-Guided Karma| by ''working'' there.]]
== Film ==
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* The main character of ''[[Sex Drive]]'' works at a bizarre, Mexican-themed donut kiosk in the mall. Part of the job included a huge, slightly racist mascot costume. His close friends didn't hold it against him, but the punk kids at the mall would take advantage of his limited vision in the suit to stick a dildo onto the front of his costume as he wandered around.
* In ''[[Recess]]: School's Out'', TJ's sister works at a burger joint. Their parents are just as proud of her getting promoted to "Assistant Fry Chef" as they are of TJ saving the world.
* In ''[[UHF (film)|UHF]]'', George and Bob are fired from "Big Edna's Burger World" after a distracted George {{spoiler|squirts ketchup and mustard onto customers, among other screwups}}.
* [[Demi Lovato]]'s character in the ''[[Princess Protection Program]]'' is given a job at a Frozen Yoghurt place by the [[Alpha Bitch]] specifically to humiliate her and is sabotaged by said Alpha Bitch, but she quite rightly points out that the only person who can feel humiliation is yourself, proceeds to give the girl a speech and walk out with her head high.
* ''[[Married to the Mob]]'' has two of these; the fried chicken joint where Angela applies for a job, and the boss turns out to be a total pervert, and the clown-themed burger place where the attempt on Tony's life takes place.
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* In ''[[Bill and Teds Bogus Journey]]'', the boys get into the Battle of the Bands when the woman in charge takes pity on them for working at Pretzels 'N Cheese (but she puts them on last, at midnight, when everyone will probably have left by then).
* Since it focuses on a fictional fast food chain called Hella-Burger, the slasher film ''Drive-Thru'' features a lot of these, including one played by the director of ''[[Super Size Me]]''.
* A [[Flashback]] in ''[[The Babysitter 2: Killer Queen]]'' shows that Max used to work at a place like this. He had to put up with a ''lot'' of obnoxious customers, to the point that he ''really'' felt like killing one of them. Bee recruited him to the cult by promising him a chance to do just that.
== Literature ==
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* The "Mmm, Bison!" restaurant chain in ''[[Dead State]]'' was presumably one of these before the [[Zombie Apocalypse]].
* Snuckey's in ''[[Sam and Max Hit The Road]]'' is a Burger Fool whose employment policies cater to the sort of poor slob who actually aspires to Burger Fooldom. In each of the three locations you can visit is a curiously [[Identical Grandfather|identical relative]] of [[Day of the Tentacle|Bernard Bernoulli]] who will have the same conversation with you. He's a graduate of the bachelor program at Snuckey University and is thus qualified to jerk soda, cook burgers, and open difficult jars, but if he wants to make manager he'll have to enroll in their postgraduate program.
* In ''[[Undertale]]'' there is the MTT-Brand Burger Emporium inside the MTT resort, which serves food like the Glamburger (a burger made of edible glitter) and a steak shaped as Mettaton's face, all of it extremely expensive. Its main employee is a poor nineteen-years old nicknamed "Burgerpants" (after an incident where he attempted to sneak some burgers to impress his peers) who is overly stressed over his job, hates his boss, and practically has internalized that he may not getter better in life than this dead-end job
== Web Animation ==
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100823153432/http://housd.net/archive_page.php?comicID=3 This HOUSD strip] one explains itself.
* ''[[Loserz]]'' features "[https://web.archive.org/web/20110519182403/http://bukucomics.com/loserz/go/36 Mc-Hamchunks]" and "[https://web.archive.org/web/20101213180947/http://bukucomics.com/loserz/go/95 Cock in the Box]". [[Hilarity Ensues]].
* Half of the strip ''[[Phil Likes Tacos]]'' is about gaming and the way people treat gamers. The other half is about this trope, though the emphasis on the hell that is customers, coworkers, and the clueless decisions of corporate management makes it pretty clear that the author has actually ''been there'' instead of just working off stereotypes seen on TV.
* In ''[[Questionable Content]]'', Pizza Girl's outfit may be a part of this, or [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|she may just be a]] [[Superhero]] [[Mundane Utility|who delivers pizzas]].
* In ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' Gwynn had to work at Burger Meister before getting her job at the zombie themed restaurant, and the [[Service Sector Stereotypes|snooty waiter]] also had to work there when the expensive restaurant burns down. Despite the low pay and ridiculous uniform, he's still as unbelievably insulting to the customers as ever.
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** Mike later finds employment at a different fast-food joint, and is surprised (and a little disturbed) to find that it's an ''aversion'' of this. The manager specifically tells Mike that being an employee there doesn't mean he has to take crap from anyone, customer or not.
* In ''[[Sinfest]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209180032/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=3269 Lil' Evil's job at McDebbil's.]
* From ''[[The Non-Adventures of Wonderella]]''; in [http://nonadventures.com/2009/04/18/all-for-nautical/ this comic], the anti-heroine finds her old enemy [[Pirate Girl|Plunderella]] working in a fish and chips place (Wonderella noting it's "not even a Long John Silver's") because modern pirates are giving her a bad reputation.
== Web Original ==
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** In the [[Flashback]] episode "I Married Marge", Homer worked at a place called Gulp N Blow which was just as bad. They wouldn't even tell him what was in ''their'' secret sauce.
** The "Future-Drama" episode has Lisa starting Hot Dog on a Stick management camp.
* In ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' episode "Not So Awesome Blossom", Blossom starts working at a rather low-grade hot-dog place after suffering a [[Heroic
* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' had Nasty Burger which is frequently referenced, including a special where a ghost was threatening to kill all of Danny's loved ones by overheating the special nasty sauce (no, "overheating the special nasty sauce" is not an [[Unusual Euphemism]]) to kill them. The main character doesn't take a job there to learn any form of [[An Aesop]] or some such. Nope, it's just his [[Local Hangout]].
{{quote|"Nasty Burger, it's just one letter away from tasty!"}}
* In an episode of ''[[Jimmy Neutron]]'', Jimmy, Sheen, and Carl start working at McSpanky's. Ironically, [[Have a Gay Old Time|Skeet]], the Employee of the Month, considers Jimmy to be the idiot of the group, and forces him to stand outside the restaurant wearing a hamburger suit, repeating the phrase: "If you want cheap food with taste, put McSpanky's in your face."
* ''[[Daria]]'' had to work at "It's a Nutty, Nutty World", and announce her enthusiasm about nuts to every customer. Squirrels started to attack her because she smelled like nuts as well. On the episode where several characters find themselves in a Sam's Club-style superstore one weekend afternoon, Daria and Jane find the uber-[[Goth]], Andrea, working in a wholesale club in full uniform and is deathly afraid of them mocking her for having that kind of job, as she is aware that Daria and Jane are the school's queens of snark. However, she is pleasantly surprised to see the girls reassure her that they understand her position and promise not to tell anyone.
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* Burgerphile in ''[[Dan Vs.]]''. In ''Dan Vs Burgerphile'', we learn that about 70% of Dan's diet consists of Burgerphile food. Despite the title, Dan's grudge is only limited to the [[Married to the Job]] manager who refuses to admit that he got Dan's order wrong. Notably, Dan actually ''likes'' Hortense the register girl who ''likes him back''.
* The ''[[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]]'' short [[Pixar Shorts|"Small Fry"]] takes place inside a fast food restaurant called Poultry Palace, which features [[Show Within a Show|''Buzz Lightyear]] [[Buzz Lightyear of Star Command|of Star Command'']] Fun Meal toys (including an imposter Buzz Lightyear who was the main focus of the short and [[Evil Overlord|a mini Zurg]] toy), as with several discarded Fun Meal toys who secretly form an organization (who "accept" the ''real'' Buzz as one of their members) inside the restaurant's storage room.
* This type of restaurant is parodied in ''[[Shrek|Shrek 2]]'', where the Prince and Fairy Godmother go through the fly-though of the Fryar's Fat Boys, a place with a menu that includes Renaissance Wraps, Sourdough Soft Tacos, and the Medieval Meal (comes with regular or curly fries and a toy - namely a battle axe). Not a completely straight example of the Trope, however, as more of the humor focuses on the customers, rather than the employee, although the server ''is'' dressed like a typical tavern serving wench.
* The Burrito Bucket in ''[[DC Super Hero Girls]]'', where Babs has a part-time job; despite the job having tight deadlines, high demand, and a [[Mean Boss]] (mostly because Babs drives him nuts), Babs actually ''loves'' her job. Probably due to employee discount, as she loves burritos.
== Real Life ==
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** [[Fight Club|'Sticking feathers up your butt won't make you a chicken.']]
* The multitudes of bored temp workers who are forced to stand on the roadside holding cardboard advertisements for pizza or subs on a hot summer day can attest to this trope.
* The [http://www.hotdogonastick.com/ Hot Dog On a Stick] franchise, seen in many malls, has long had a [https://web.archive.org/web/20110110095144/http://www.azteenmagazine.com/gfx/plaza/hot-dog-on-a-stick.jpg pretty cheesy uniform] for its employees (notice the girls get stuck with the dorkier hat). Even stranger, Hot Dog on a Stick is an employee-owned company, meaning that the employee-owners have collectively ''agreed'' to wear this garb.
** Parodied in a ''[[Mad TV]]'' skit called Stick Chicks, where the employees are actually secret agents in the vein of ''[[Charlie's Angels]]'' (a pretty one, a smart one, and a lovable goof).
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[[Category:Food Tropes]]
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[[Category:Occupation Tropes]]
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