Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
trast to the scene of an urban street peddler hawking produce depicted
in the 1923 pop hit ''Yes, We Have No Bananas!'' The post-World War II
era witnessed important changes in consumption patterns in the United
States, but the ''poor man's luxury'' remained a fixture in the appliance-
filled kitchens of the increasingly suburbanized middle classes.
World War II shipping restrictions sharply reduced banana imports
and lowered per capita banana consumption to 8.2 pounds in 1943, but
consumption rates rebounded quickly following the end of thewar, peak-
ing in 1948 at an estimated 22 pounds per person. Over the next ten years,
percapita consumption rates fell to 17-19 pounds.
2
This trend was consis-
tent with a general decline in fresh fruit consumption that coincided with
the proliferation of processed foods. Bananas remained among the most
popular fresh fruits, but with the exception of a small demand for banana
puree for baby food, no major markets emerged for processed banana
products as was the case with apples and oranges. The Chiquita Banana
Song's lyrics, then, reflected both the banana's enduring popularity and
changesinU.S.foodwaysthatwouldlimittheabilityofthebananamarket
to expand.
The medium through which Miss Chiquita reached her audience—
theradio—furtherreflectedchangestakingplacesinadvertisingandmass
media. Prior to the 1940s, United Fruit's advertising consisted primarily
of informational pamphlets, billboard displays, and the company's Uni-
fruitcomagazine.Inthe1930s,UnitedFruit'spromotionalmaterialsbegan
replacing text-heavy pamphlets with ephemera that featured elaborate
artwork and photographic layouts. Recipe books from the period fea-
tured a cartoon banana figure with masculine features who instructed
consumers on how to evaluate fruit ripeness. Following the airing of the
Chiquita Banana Song, the cartoon figure appearing in the company's
print advertisements shifted from the man-banana to Miss Chiquita. She
cut a striking figure with her smooth, blemish-free skin, long, flowing
skirt,highheels,andanoversizedhatadornedwithtropicalfruits.United
Fruit's decision to ''transgender'' their icon is not surprising given the im-
mense popularity enjoyed by another woman often associated with ba-
nanas during the 1940s: Carmen Miranda.
Dubbedthe''BrazilianBombshell''bytheU.S.media,thePortuguese-
bornMirandatookbothBroadwayandHollywoodbystormduringWorld
War II.
3
The bananas that often dominated the sets of her musical num-
bers provided a visual association between her ''hot'' rhythms and a sen-
sual—yet never quite locatable—tropical region. Nothing conveyed this
moreexplicitlythanBusbyBerkeley's1943HollywoodmusicalTheGang's
