The Founder

[Polidano]

We discussed whether or not Ray Kroc was likable at the start of the film. Most in the class did like the character and respected his ambition and persistence. Having now watched the film in its entirety, do you still admire Kroc? Explain yourself. Be sure to site moments in the film that either kept you a "Kroc-fan" or made you a "Kroc-hater". Also, why do you think the director took the time to get us on Kroc's side, only to have his character change so dramatically in the end.

[Isabella_Smith]

I thought Kroc was a bit suspicious at the beginning of the movie, and was not really sure whether I liked or disliked him. At the end of the movie, however, I realized how low he was and cruel. The Macdonalds had a dream to start up their own restaurant and Kroc destroyed those dreams. His underhanded business strategies that allowed him to take over the restaurant are what lead me to hate him. If I was in the Macdonalds' position, I don't know what I would do, but their reaction to having their company be slowly taken over is reasonable and accurate to how I would feel. The director probably made this sudden change in Kroc to show how tough the business world can be. Someone can seem friendly at the start, and you could invite them into your business, but because the Macdonalds did not know a lot about the business side of things, Kroc was able to take advantage of them, revealing his true nature when it comes to business.

[danny_76]

By the end of the movie I don't like Kroc at all. Although I liked him in the beginning, the film depicts Kroc doing some evil slimey things. When the brothers don't want to make powdered milkshakes so the company stays wholesome, Ray goes behind their back and changes it. Another time is when Ray speaks with Mac on the phone and tells him he's too nice and speaks of leaving competitors to drown. A third occurrence is when Ray promises the brothers royalties after buying the company and, as we find out later, he didn't actually pay them royalties because they couldn't prove the handshake took place. These three events alone are enough to change the way we see Ray from a hard working man trying his best to achieve success to a man driven only by money. The director took the time to get us to like Kroc so that, as the movie progressed we could feel as the people in the movie feel because they liked Kroc at the beginning but dispise him at the end.

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[Julia S]

At the beginning of the film, I liked Kroc because he had persistance to and determination. However, as the film went on, I started to dislike him especially at the part where he was yelling on the phone demanding money money. I understand that franchising is expensive and he is doing alot of work while the two brothers are just running one restaurant; however yelling and getting angry is not how you get what you want. Later in the film when he asks the brothers to switch the icecream for powder, he gets mad when they refuse. This part of the film made me a Kroc-hater because even though the powder will cut down costs, it is not a real milkshake. The brothers value serving fresh and quality food, while Kroc only cares about saving money. What really made me upset at the end of the film was when Kroc took the MacDonalds name and promised to gove them 1% pf the sales. Kroc never gave them the 1% and along with that, he built a macdonalds right next to their restaurant and put rhem out of business. In conclusion, Kroc is evil and untrustworthy.

[Christine Sim]

I liked Ray Kroc at first because he was positive, passionate, and charmingly awkward. As the movie went on, I started to dislike him for many reasons. First, he always stole everyone else's ideas instead of giving credit where it is due. He also did not communicate with his wife and would make big decisions without her. Clearly, his wife was really upset with his decisions, but it seemed to not affect him as much as it should have. Another thing is that he completely destroyed Dick and Mac's dreams. The Mcdonald brothers did not care about the money; they just wanted one small restaurant that they were proud of, but Kroc just ruined it for them. I also think the director wanted us to see Ray Kroc as a likable guy before his character drastically changed because he wanted to show the audience how the business world can corrupt anybody, as well as how much money can influence your decisions.

[Laura_B]

In the beginning of the film I felt bad for Kroc, but I admired his determination and persistence. It made me happy when he caught a break. As the film progressed, Kroc became greedy. All he wanted was power and money; he did not care whom he had to cross to get it. One part in the film that really made me dislike Kroc was when he cheated Dick and Mac out of their royalties. I think the director took the time to get us on Kroc’s side so that it made the audience feel the strong emotions of the film, such as anger at Kroc’s betrayal. Another reason the director got us on Kroc’s side was so we saw the progression of Kroc’s corruption and how power and money changed him.

[KaiHuget32]

In the beginning of the film I saw Ray Croc as a very likeable person. Although things weren't really going his way, like when he couldn't sell any of his milkshake makers, he was still enthusiastic and had a positive outlook on life. Also, when he first met the owners of MacDonald and the company he saw all the potential and hope that this restaurant contained which I thought was a positive attribute of his. Later on throughout the story though I started to realize that Ray wasn't as good of a person as I though he was. He ended up taking sole ownership of MacDonald's and completely cutting off all ties with the original owners, as well as divorcing his wife to cheat with one of his business associates wife's. It started to come to the realization that all of Ray Croc's actions were driven by his addiction with money. When he saw that he could get more money from Macdonald's than the original owners he cut them off, and when he saw that his new woman had ideas only to make his company more successful he abandoned his previous wife completely and left her with nothing.

[jacob kennedy]

Kroc left me with mixed emotions about him. the film made him seem like he was a greedy man that just wanted money and didn't care about emotions but at the same time he made Mcdonalds and without him the wouldn't be as successful as they are today. Which led me to the conclusion that he was a good business man that knew how to make money and grow the franchise but his ethics were not that great. even when he bought Mcdonalds from the brothers , the mother was most generous but he basically screwed them over and took their creation.

[Monahan]

At the beginning of the film, I admired Ray Kroc's ability to bounce back up right after getting shot down in his dire attempts to sell his milkshake mixers. In my opinion, the director did a fantastic job at getting the audience on the side of Ray Kroc in the first half of the movie. However, once the corporate side of Kroc appears is when I begin to despise his personality. This is due to his treatment of the McDonald brothers, and how he runs things behind their backs. The McDonald brothers must have felt terrible after Kroc takes action and even makes his own real estate fortune in order to buy out the contract, and buy out the brother's stakes in the company. Overall, Kroc's behavior during the film made me a "Kroc-hater", as his actions left a bad taste in my mouth. His actions were despicable, and its a shame that Kroc did such a thing, and create a massive monopoly in the food industry through backstabbing and deception.

[Bradsimonn]

I feel as if the character of Ray Kroc is likeable even in his low moments. I can admit however, plenty of this has to do with Michael Keaton. Moreover, everything from the deals with the brothers, to the treatment of his then wife shows that everything about this man is surrounded in business. His life is working to make money and that's it. Because of this he is ruthless and cutthroat as the main goal for him is to become successful. This is evident through his treatment of the Mcdonald brothers. They put their dream before business which slowed ray down. This eventually lead to Ray taking over their business and turning it into the multi billion dollar industry it is today. Moreover, Ray's professional nature and business attitude created and anti-hero that i found likeable given the circumstance

[mattiodapattio]

At the begging of the film i thought Ray Kroc was a respectable buissness man who worked really hard to try and reach the goals he set. But as the movie progressed he started to slowly lose his morals while his success was growing. By the end of the movie, for me at least it was hard to hate him, because i think his morals and judgment were clouded by greed for more and the success he had. At the end of the day this could happen to anyone but i do see why he would be hated.

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