When we go to the movies, most of us usually buy something to eat before the film starts. If in marketing it is said that content is king, in the cinema we could say that the preferred food is popcorn. We could debate whether sweet or salty is preferred, but this time we won't go there.
Now the main question is how did we come to eat popcorn at the movies? That is to say, how was it that this food was chosen to keep us company while we watch the movie on the big screen? Where did this habit come from?
In the 1920s, movie theaters were restricted to the upper classes and since these places were decorated similarly to a theater or an opera house, it was forbidden to eat there. After the Great Depression in 1929-1930 in the United States, movie theaters became the main place of entertainment as a way to escape the harsh reality of the time and they also became more affordable to the working-class people.
A food that was equally affordable to all moviegoers was popcorn. Also, corn kernels were an abundant raw material in the country so, the situation was simple: the people with little money and a lot of hunger, satisfied their appetite with popcorn while they had a great time watching movies.
After the World War II, this food was finally here to stay because it was a time when sugar was in short supply and therefore candy sellers were disappearing as it was a rationed good. But popcorn made from corn, a product that was plentiful, gained position and so it was that little by little Marketing Managers of the exhibition companies incorporated it so that it could be sold at the same movie theaters.
And that is how today when we enter a movie theater, we can smell the delicious aroma of popcorn. Did you know this story?
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