By Design
Friends,
Hope the sun is shining wherever you are, or at the very least, you have a good sun lamp and a full bottle of Vitamin D. Here at YOUR FAVORITE PROF, we know that many of our readers are educators, and with the school year wrapping up, you have zero time for reading, and lots of time for procrastination scrolling. So, I’ll keep it short and simple this week.
I was thrilled to learn that Public Books (with the NYU Cities Collaborative) was named a finalist for a National Magazine Award for Best Single Topic Issue for special edition entitled, “Preexisting Condition: What 2020 Reveals About Our Urban Future.” My essay, “Fast Food, Precarious Workers,” examined the problem with McDonald’s declaring “Black Lives Matter,” and the treatment of its many Black workers.
No news is sometimes the best news. All is quiet here…for now, with no lectures, talks, panels, or virtual meet-and-greets on my public schedule for a whole month! What to do with all this time? Read about fast food, of course!
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I moved into a new house in the fall; I was among one of the many pandemic home buyers fortunate to still have a job and the resources to jump into the lion’s den of finding a larger space to live-work-and host socially distant occasions in a ridiculously overheated and still on fire housing market. With more space came a need for more furniture, and as I perused catalogs and Instagram accounts targeting my demographic (middle-age urbanites), I realized that everything looked like my family’s furniture from the 1970s. Mid-century modern, Danish style dining and living room sets. Rattan and bamboo for days, and a strong showing for cane furniture. As I spent my peak pandemic days in lockdown and watching old episodes of “Three’s Company,” and reruns of “Sanford and Son,” I was struck by how much I didn’t not like macrame planters and orange-and-brown rugs. What was happening? Well, I know little about art and design, but I know something about nostalgia and trends. And over the past few years, the 1970s has returned in big ways to shape the design tastes of those of us born in the decade, but too young to really remember it (also known as xennial—take this quiz to find out if you are one too).
And, what does this have to do with fast food? Well, take a look at the packaging redesign plans for McDonald’s and Burger King, and you will see it too. The fast food rivals have both undertaken a massive and expensive investment in changing the look of their food and beverage containers, and to me it screams mid-century modern meets Mary Tyler Moore. Sorry, I watch a lot of TV. Anyway, take a look and think about why the 1970s is so 2020s. I guess that in light of recent events, the idea of the 1970s as an era of indulgence (think disco) and earthiness (think Earth Day) and campiness (think Sonny and Cher) is particularly appealing in a moment in which technology, a diet culture that masks itself as wellness, and growing inequality keeps us up at night. Well, as a historian, I’m here to rain all over your parade, the 1970s was not only a period of bell bottoms and bad laugh tracks, but it was also the age of recession, political repression, and federal divestment. So, what does this have to do with the new Quarter Pounder box? Well, in my view…everything. Nostalgia is a helluva drug, and marketers are the greatest dealers in it. The aesthetic and cultural fascination of the 1970s is only as valuable as its ability to be creatively inspirational and socially instructive. That’s it. Okay, enjoy the scroll.
McDonald’s did more of a Palm Springs cool kind of thing with their redesign. All screenshots from Pearlfisher.
Burger King went even more 1970s than McDonald’s did. All photos from Print Magazine.
Every spring, on the last day of my classes for the term, I have students participate in a senior send-off. I ask all the graduating seniors to make themselves known by standing at the front of the classroom, and I ask the other students to give them a round of applause. I remind students that only about a third of Americans hold a bachelor’s degree, and that it is a big deal to finish college. I also note that even fewer people attend elite schools like the one I teach at, and that whether college was always their plan or they were uncertain about it, we have a lot to celebrate in their graduation. In the before times, there may have been a sheet cake (sigh). Then, I ask each senior to share one piece of advice for the other students. Students have offered counsel on internships, not getting too worried about grades, finding a job, and which majors or classes to avoid. Of course, looming graduation also inspired cautions about spending too much time worrying about the future at the expense of present connections with friends. This year, I asked seniors to share advice via Zoom chat and the class used the applause emoji to cheer on the Class of 2021, but the advice was just as sage, maybe even wiser, than ever before.
Can’t wait for the start of Substack summer school!
Your Favorite Prof