So the intersection between food and culture in the 1950's interests me primarily because this decade was the birth of McDonald's, the modern pinnacle of fast food franchises. I am looking into the ways which this new phenomenon altered the daily lives and habits of Americans by freeing up time normally spent cooking and eating as a family and changing our notions of health and diets with "supersizing".
Fast Food may additionally be looked at as promoting the classic protestant work ethic by allowing meals to become almost an afterthought for the busy, rapidly expanding white-collar corporate employees that would work through the economic boom of the 1950's.
I am also interested in whether anything I uncover could set historical precedent for the soccer mom of the new millennium- fueled entirely on Starbucks frappachinos, feeding their kids burgers and fries from the drive-through in the family car (another 50's innovation) on the way to dance rehearsal/band practice/whatever.
This is a pretty broad range of issues to discuss, but hopefully my focus will become more clear once I dig into the material.
-Garrett
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McDonald's was definitely marketed as fast and convenient, but the concept of "supersizing" didn't come around until quite a bit later, right?
ReplyDeleteIt would be really interesting if you could find some primary sources on this subject--real testimonials from parents on the go and other customers of fast food restaurants. One thing that's really been interesting me about this subject is how all of the happy-go-lucky, all-American middle-class suburban life style played out beyond the glossy advertisements. How were real people, not paid spokespeople, reacting to the fast food industry? How were local businesses (aka burger joints, etc.) affected by the rise of fast food?
I don't know, just some questions that will probably come up in your research...
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