The diner as a cultural institution

Introduction

The second part of Task 2 in your exam requires you to include a brief discussion of the diner as a cultural institution worth preserving in your analysis of George Blecher’s article “More Than Coffee: New York’s Vanishing Diner Culture”.

In your discussion, you are also encouraged to start reflecting on the topic by watching a video. We will first present the video and then help you discuss the topic based on Blecher’s article.

“New York Live Diner Week: The Summit Diner”

The video is a news clip from NBC New York website, from 8th of June, 2015, during Diner Week in the US.

The anchor in the video argues that the American diner is a symbol that has survived the test of time. The video is shot in New Jersey where more than 500 diners are operating, making the state the diner capital of the world.

The video presents the oldest diner in the city, the Summit Diner, which first opened at the end of the 1920s. A regular client argues that the diner has not changed over time. The owner of the diner mentions that many parts of the diner are original, including the tiles, the woodwork, and the chairs. The diner has been a family business since the 1960s.

Notice that unlike George Blecher’s article, which argues that diners and diner culture is declining in ...