I am very interested in baking and cooking in the home and how it has progressed with the changing appearance and abilities if the cooking and baking products and accessories. I was really inspired by our discussion of Tupperware that we had in class today. The Tupperware parties were really important in changing the way we approach certain business now, and the actual Tupperware products changed how food was used and stored in the kitchen.I want to use the red bakelite dish that we talked about in the first week of class, and how the introduction of plastic really changed the landscape of the kitchen. How the ability to save and store food changed what and how people cooked. Finally I would like to talk about the now iconic Kitchenaid mixer. Let me know what you guys think!
I love this idea, Hannah! I think it might be interesting to look into how we thought of Tupperware to be a sort of "status" item. I know that the cheapest KitchenAid mixer on the Sears website retails for $424.99 and the most expensive and blinged out one is $629.99. They're not the type of mixer that everyone can own, they're more of a luxury item, I think it would be fascinating if you researched domestic "status" items, and their place in culture.
ReplyDeleteMan, I want the Tangerine colour one. Or the boysenberry one. Or both. I can see how they are a coveted kitchen appliance.
Good stuff. You might also want to think about the "open kitchen" as a place where a new informality reigned and such possessions were displayed unlike the Modernist Frankfurt kitchen.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid I took my lunch to school in a plastic Sobey's bag, until my mom got some Tupperware. It wasn't actual Tupperware, however, it was just a set of containers... although we still called it Tupperware.
ReplyDeleteNot only is it kind of a "status symbol", I think the name Tupperware has become a genericized trademark. Which is what happens when a specific brand becomes so well known, all other products get labeled by their name... Not officially of course, but as consumers when we go to the store to pick up Band Aids, or Aspirin, or (for me) Tupperware, it's never usually that brand.