Aarti Bhatia
HONOR 159J
*ANALYSIS*
This paper was basically an analysis of the dinnertime activities of a
typical families in the early days of Greenbelt. The interpretations of
family, the kitchen, and food, covered investigations into the social
customs of the time. The roles of men, women, and children were discussed
as well as the interactions of families in general. I would also like to
add some additional analysis on other implications that dinnertime held at
the time period.
Although Greenbelt was an experimental town, it was not very different
from the rest of the country. Dinnertime was a special time for families
in America. The family sitting down to dinner in the early evening, is a
phenomenon that is unique to American towns. In Europe and Asia families
tend to eat dinner later than we do here. The main meal of the day is at
eaten in the middle of the day rather than at the end. Dinner in America
was seen as end to a hard day.
In the forties and fifties dinner was often the relaxation point for all
the family members. During and after dinner was family time, where as
this
was not the case in other parts of the world.
Dinnertime was also a time for children to learn social norms. Most of a
child's information comes from their parents. At dinner children could
pay attention to the way that their parents acted. When the whole family
ate together there was an increased chance for children to learn the rules
of their society. Religion was becoming less of an impact in peoples
lives in the forties
and fifties than it had been before. For some families, dinner was the
only time religion was incorporated into their lives. By saying grace
before a meal, the family could participate in an activity that they usually
only had time for once a week on Sunday mornings.
The roles of women at dinner have changed since the early days of
Greenbelt. Today there is much more variety in the role of a woman at
dinnertime. Since many women have careers now, rather than part-time
jobs, they come home later in the evening. This means that she is not
always the one to make dinner. Other family members have to help with
this duty, and in some cases, the woman has nothing to do with cooking at
all. The roles of women have been depicted in the media for many years.
In Tariq Dahmas's
project on
gender roles in the seventies, he shows the progression of the decreasing
portrayal of all women as housewives. To see a depiction of the complete
opposite role than what was typical in early Greenbelt, check out Sameer Gokhale's
project on the movie Mr. Mom.
These days there is so much variation in the activities of people,
that it is getting more difficult to define what typical gender roles are.
Greenbelt was a special community, with the foundation based on family
life. Since family life was so important, it is evident that families
needed a set apart time everyday to be together and discuss each others
lives. This is why dinnertime was so highly valued in the early days of
Greenbelt, and in the rest of American towns as well.