A scoop of Culture

“Rocky Road” and “The Great Divide” don’t just describe Obama Care and the rift between conservatives and liberals these days. In fact, they are flavors of Blue Bell Ice Cream. Blue Bell, claimed to be the third best selling ice cream in America (Browing-Blas, 2009), has more than 102,000 fans on Facebook. Ice cream is likely a part of one of your family, or local rituals. You see even ice cream can be part of our pop culture.

Ice cream is comfort food that stirs an emotional reaction in a person or group of people. As Howard Kruse, the President and CEO of Blue Bell Creameries once said, “it's the happiest food in the world” (Travis, 1997). But what does ice cream and specifically Blue Bell ice cream tell us about our popular culture? In a word it is nostalgia, the pining for the past. John Harris wrote in The Guardian (2008) that “our popular culture is increasingly defined by an unhealthy refusal to let go of the past.” That is a sentiment that I must disagree with. On the contrary, I see our popular culture as taking a less nostalgic view and forgetting about those things that made, and continue to make America the envy of the world.

You see it is the ideals that are conveyed in those family picnics with their tables adorned with red and white gingham tablecloths, a grandfather, father and son all working together, cranking the handle of an old manual ice cream machine with the ice and rock salt making that unforgettable sound. Heritage doesn’t have to be new to be appreciated. Sure, the old venerable “Homemade Vanilla” is Blue Bell’s best selling flavor, and also the best-selling single flavor of ice cream in America (Travis, 1997). That doesn’t mean that we can’t bask in the flavors of the contemporary “Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough” or “Moo-llennium Crunch,” but we should not ignore the flavors of yesteryear that invoke our conservative ideals like “Southern Blackberry Cobbler” and “Southern Hospitality.”

In 1984, then President Ronald Reagan, proclaimed July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as Ice Cream Day (Hertz, 2009). In his proclamation, Reagan urged all Americans to celebrate with "appropriate ceremonies and activities." The next time you are watching the television and some popular culture artifact comes on that pushes the boundaries of morality and decency, take a moment to think about that “hand-cranked ice cream folks used to make on the porch during long summer evenings” (Blue Bell Creameries, 2009) and partake in an appropriate activity by changing the channel.

References

Blue Bell Creameries. (2009). Blue Bell products now available in Miami and surrounding areas. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from http://www.bluebell.com/the_little_creamery/press_releases/press_miami.aspx

Browing-Blas, K. (2009, July 29). Texas favorite Blue Bell melts hearts in Colorado. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from http://www.denverpost.com/food/ci_12924913

Harris, J. (2008, January 14). Those still are the days. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jan/14/music.comment

Hertz, R. (2009, July 15). We all scream for ice cream. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from Killeen Daily Herald http://www.kdhnews.com/news/story.aspx?s=34551

Travis, C. (1997). The kings of ice cream. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from http://www.roundtop.com/bluebell.htm