Fast Food
Even more than hotdogs and apple pie, the hamburgers and french fries found at ubiquitous fast food restaurants represent America's quintessential food and, in many ways, America's quintessential culture.
The rise of the fast food restaurant would not have been possible without concomitant changes in American culture. Beginning in the 1920s, thanks in large part to developments in technology and industry, the American lifestyle began to change. Formerly distinctive regional and ethnic cultures were now meeting up with each other, blurring differences in identity. More people were moving off the farm and into the city in search of lucrative and exciting careers. In addition, the widespread use of inventions like the telephone and the increasing acceptance of mass media meant that there was a larger degree of cultural interaction.
The development of an affordable automobile and the simultaneous governmental support of new road systems physically reinforced this cultural melding, enabling car owners, especially, to go to places they had never been before. This sparked a boom in the tourist industry: travelers who once went by rail, boat, or horse, were now moving faster by car, and began to value things such as speed and convenience as part of their trips.
This page contains 201 words.
Fast Food article
Read the rest of this article.
This article contains 3,403 words
(approx. 11 pages at 300 words per page).
Order our Fast food Article
