In recent years, Media Studies has become increasingly influenced by the Social Sciences. In particular, aesthetic approaches within the field have been diminishing. Humanistic research into fast food is just as scarce. This study seeks to reclaim the humanistic endeavour of aesthetic media research, and to apply it to a study of American fast food. The McDonald's hamburger is used as the prototype. The study explores the difficulty in postulating an aesthetic arena in Media Studies. A case is made for the burger as an instance of popular art, and various models of poplar art are engaged to this end. The burger does have aesthetic properties, but they are fleeting and inhibited by the technological nature of the artefact. At the same time, it also exists as an example of mass culture, as it increasingly sets the framework for popular art. An existentialist approach to fast food shows up its compulsive nature, and the autonomous role of technology emerges as a theme which both helps explain its popularity and helps to limit its artistic potential.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/288266 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Bancroft, Malcolm James |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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