Unpleasant drive-in theater concessions: a look back

Today's foray into culinary anthropology takes us to the drive-in theater, a once thriving venue in which people watched films from their cars while lined up in a parking lot. As odd as that concept sounds, it pales in comparison to the things those early entertainment pioneers ate.

Hot Meat

The eating of meat was done unapologetically, with high fat content an apparent selling point.

Indeed, the presentation of hot meat selections approached the pornographic.

Tobacco Treats

Still legal and widely available, cigarettes were considered a popular dessert.

Phallic Snacking

Fellatio was as popular then as it is now, but must have been discouraged at the drive-in, because a large variety of substitutes were offered.

The Eating of the Willing

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of concession cuisine was a perverse guilt that resulted in the snacks and drinks being portrayed as being eager to be consumed.

This led to a kind of pathos not seen since the never-seen Jerry Lewis harlequin-in-a-concentration-camp dramedy, The Day the Clown Cried.

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Church

“Still legal and widely available, cigarettes were considered a popular dessert.”

They still are, on all counts.

It’s the advertising that’s been curtailed.
Anonymous

Big Sky Drive In in Lake Delton is proud to bring The Mamaburger and her brood of heat-clenching delights http://www.bigskydrivein.com/concessions.asp
Be sure to check the photos, too. Some are 15 years old or more, but still as accurate as ever.
Anonymous

Drive-ins aren’t all dead. There are some still around.
gibson5string

Thing of the past???? Have you ever been to the midwest? We still have a thriving drive-in movie theatre right here in the middle of all the corn fields! Long live the Fairview Drive In!
- Felton
  
  We still have the Starlight Drive-In in Atlanta. I haven’t been there in a few years, but I believe it’s still going strong.
Gutierrez

Sure the burgers are fatty, but what about the use of canned meat products? The link features old timey-music, a stereotypical animated native American (Pocahontas), shooting a cartoon pig, a nasty pot of bubbling canned meat and a creepy whooping man. Mmmn, snack time!
purple-stater

Meat should always be eaten unapologetically.

Man, if there was a drive-in around here that served decent food like that, vs the standard theater trash, I’d actually go to movies. Movie out with the family and a meal at the same time. What could be better?
toolbag

Unpleasant? Fatty meats, ice cream, deep fried dough, and cigarettes brought to you while you sit in the front seat of your car and watch a movie on a three story high screen is unpleasant?

Ahhhh, now that I read the introduction to each video I get it.
scottmcd5

A look back? How about a look now.

The drive-in and its associated concession fare is thriving in southern New Hampshire.

http://www.milforddrivein.com/

Warning: the website design is as dated as these food advertisements
- z7q2
  
  Dated? How about simple, efficient, and easy to navigate and use? God I miss these kinds of websites. Everyone seems to be into spending huge amounts of time and money redesigning their websites every six months to keep up with the latest trendy webkitwidgetpluginthingy.
  
  I took a peek at their HTML, there is a commented out midi file at the top, and no css whatsoever! I want to hug their webmaster for their forward-thinking vision. This thing hasn’t probably had to be rebuilt in ten years!
TulsaTV

From http://suicidefood.blogspot.com

What is Suicide Food? Suicide Food is any depiction of animals that act as though they wish to be consumed. Suicide Food actively participates in or celebrates its own demise. Suicide Food identifies with the oppressor. Suicide Food is a bellwether of our decadent society.
- Crackermack
  
  Wait, you mean that animals DON’T want to be eaten? How could I have been fooled by cartoons and ads for so many years?! I promise to be more suspect of any statements made by anthropomorphic food!
  - dculberson
    
    If they don’t want to be eaten, then why do they fill their bodies with meat?
Anonymous

What, no Shmoos?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shmoo Talk about willing to be eaten.
GuyInMilwaukee

This post seems to have come from some future where no one enjoys themselves anymore.

I say.. “let’s all go to the lobbbbby…” â™ª â™« â™¬
- Anonymous
  
  Thank you! And to all of you who don’t necessarily see these foods and their greater culture as the demise of all humanity. I’m not saying it needs to be a nightly meal, but cripes! Some people need to lighten up. We’re turning into a dour society of agelasts who’ve locked their inner child away from transfats and predators. Nancy Grace would be proud, but then she don’t seem like much fun at a party…
usonia

I remeber when the Northfield Drive In in Northfield, MA (actually Hinsdale, NH. But that isn’t important) sold the dreck they portrayed in the intermission advertisements like it was last year. Oh, it was last year. They used to sell cigarettes (tax free! NH woooooo!) but someone put a stop to that.
Anonymous

The eating of meat was done unapologetically, with high fat content an apparent selling point.

I’m not sure what you’re getting at… I eat meat on a daily basis, and rarely apologize for it. Fat is desirable, it makes the meat more tender and flavorful. Top quality meat will be marbled with fat, it’s one of the most desirable selling points of high quality meats. Ever heard of Kobe beef? Its main selling point is its high fat content. It’s highly sought after the world round, and prices can reach over $200 for a steak. It’s considered to be some of the finest meat on earth.

I get the impression you’re trying to express disgust, and implying those who eat meat should be apologetic and ashamed. I’m frankly offended. I don’t go around criticising vegetarians, telling them they should be ashamed of their vile, unnatural eating habits.
I’d also like to point out that fat is a vitally important part of any diet. I’ll also point out an avocado has more than double the fat of a steak.
- Larry Doyle
  
  I was joshing.
  - Anonymous
    
    Oops, sorry then. My sense of humour doesn’t kick in till about coffee #3.
TulsaTV

More looks back:

http://tulsatvmemories.com/aida.html

http://tulsatvmemories.com/gccvill.html#time
seyo

I don’t see anything unpleasant here. Those burgers look delicious to me. In fact, all the food portrayed here was actually much healthier for you. This was before the advent of concentrated feedlots, HFCS, soy lecithin, transfats, and GMO corn.
bellhalla

I swear that the second clip (of the southern-style barbecue) is voiced by Bob Barker. If so, it would be ironic, given that he’s a vegetarian.
Boba Fett Diop

Not all concession food is exactly happy to be there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aOyQz1J6qg
Ugly Canuck

And lest we forget, the Beach Boys pop music salute to the drive-in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAn5sxPrXqk

Still sounds kewl, too.
Bryson

You know, sometimes, Boing Boing really irritates me. (“Unapologetically”, really…)

And then, I remember that that’s kind of why I like it. I don’t have to agree with everything I read.
Gilbert Wham

Sweet Mother of Christ, I want some’a that Hot Meat Product. I may have to reverse-engineer a machine to make it. How hard can it be? Granted, the Biltong cupboard brought howls of opprobrium to the household; plus incandescent bulbs are rarer & rarer nowadays. But once they get a taste of that Home-Cooked Hot Meat, well…
jeligula

“As odd as that concept sounds…” C’mon, that’s more than a bit disingenuous, don’t you think? To hear you speak of it, it is a miracle that anybody even survived. I don’t mean to sound defensive, but when someone attacks a dearly held childhood memory as hokey and unworthy, it does tend to get my dander up a little bit. Drive in theaters still exist. There are three in operation within easy driving distance of my house. Even back then, we knew better than to get any of the dinner items at the concession counter. I eat meat and I owe no one an apology for it.
Yamara

And not all concession food is willing to die quietly, but some shall fight with honour.

Some have even become like unto tiny refreshing gods.
- Anonymous
  
  I never got that comic – until now.
Anonymous

When I was a kid back in the 70′s we would just bring our own food to the drive-in. Pop-corn, sandwiches, drinks and deserts – just like a picnic!
efergus3

“If God didn’t want us to eat animals, why did he make them out of meat?” – Homer Simpson
raymckay

Mmm mmm good. Makes me look forward to our good ole drivin in New Hartford, CT (Pleasant Valley Drive-in). They have to have some of the best drive-in food around though they really need to start having tartar sauce for the clam boat!
Obviously

It’s not an odd concept. It’s a lot of fun. There’s a drive in that I visit regularly and prefer over normal cinemas.

I get two movies for the price of one. I don’t have to put up with screaming children in packed, claustrophobic theaters (And I think most theater sound systems are uncomfortably loud anyway). And I find it much more comfortable to sit outside my car in my own beach chair than in a filthy theater.
userw014

You find drive-in movie theaters hard to understand? How parochial of you!

Drive-ins are more than MPAA entertainment. They’re an excellent way to entertain kids with too much energy from long summer days. It’s a way for parents to take rambunctious kids to a social venue where the chaos of the kids has a venue (the play ground in front of the screen.)

It’s a place, where as a kid, you can swing IN THE DARK and try to swing high enough to CAST YOUR SHADOW ON THE SCREEN (or that was the goal anyway – swinging that high in the dark is rather scary.)
jacques45

I think web 1.0 pages are compulsory for drive-ins. Here’s my local one, http://sunsetdrivein.com/
With four screens!
duplicate_id

Maybe just my take, but constructive criticism: I read your tone as attempting to write as if your audience is a crowd of pop-anthro enthusiasts with mores and sensibilities as you expect them to be in about 25 years.

Boing-boing readers from space, in other words.

If you went more for direct, less affected writing, I think I, at least, would appreciate it more.
Ernunnos

What’s unpleasant about a Chilly Dilly? The only reason I didn’t have one the last time I went to the fair was because they were all sold out. It’s downright healthy, and plenty refreshing on a hot day on the fairway. Y’all just don’t know how to party.
gypsydoctor

In the late 60′s I had an after-school job setting things up at the Redstone Drive-In in Dedham, Massachusetts. There were several Redstone theaters around the Boston area, owned by the father of Sumner Redstone.

One of the jobs was to take the slices of pizza that did not sell the previous night and scrape off the cheese and toppings. The crust was then used to make new pieces of pizza by the night crew. I also mixed the grape and orange drinks that you might remember: they were displayed in a clear plastic domed dispenser with a pump that constantly circulated the drink. The drink was artificially sweetened, I suppose with cyclamate which was banned in the USA in 1969 since it was thought to be carcinogenic.

I was allowed to eat all the popcorn I wanted. It was delivered in large plastic bags.

I think one of their other theaters had large models of Redstone missiles that you could see as you drove in.
Anonymous

Wow. I’m saving these comments as they represent perhaps the quintessential example of the literalnet. Those earlier posts are priceless. Heck, I’m forwarding the link to Molly Wood right now.

Awesome.
inness

We hit the Stanford Drive-In pretty regularly throughout the summer here in Kentucky. It can’t be beat for an evening of blankets, family, and in our case, fried pickles. If the movie’s boring, no problem. The Milky Way is right overhead and I’ve taught several of my children how to find constellations during particularly bad second features (usually before they fall asleep; the second film is usually for the older moviegoers).