Perspectives

Historical perspective

In the US, diners started becoming popular in the 1920s, but the earliest diner opened at the end of the 19th century. Diners started losing popularity and closing down with the rise of fast-food restaurants in the 1970s. However, they are considered an important part of American culture because they reflect the cultural diversity and egalitarian nature of American society. In a diner, people from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds often mix, as suggested by George Blecher's article, “More Than Coffee: New York’s Vanishing Diner Culture”.

Current perspective

Another strategy for putting the topic of diners into perspective is to reflect on whether modern society contains other institutions that might take on the roles that diners used to fulfil - such as bringing people from different backgrounds together, giving immigrants a path to achieving the American Dream, or helping people in cities feel less lonely. This might help you make an argument that preserving diners is not as important as Blecher makes it sound, since other places might serve a similar purpose toda...