The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History

In the 1950s the newly introduced plastic, hot pink flamingo was not only a yard ornament but also a symbol of a progressive and forward-thinking generation of Americans. In “The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History” Jennifer Price uses the bold symbol of the flamingo to reveal her view of United States culture.
The beginning lines of the essay provide a vivid backdrop to Price’s argument. The image of a “pink flamingo [splashing] into the fifties market” conveys the boldness with which the flamingo was introduced. It did not simply appear in the market - the flamingo made its presence known in a market that was recovering from a severe depression. In addition, considering the flamingo “synonymous with wealth and pizzazz” elevates the plastic depiction of an invertebrate-eating bird to a symbol of grandiose. Price uses this bold background to begin a discourse on American culture, one of progressivism and development.
Ironically the fake, factory made flamingo became the new trend. The author’s verbose diction symbolizes the “new affluence” of the 1950s generation and the “forward-thinking” of these Depression-raised Americans. Images of “washing machines...proliferated in passion pink” enhance the boldness of the flamingo as the symbol of the Americans who were born in a time of economic instability and progressed toward a new, affluent way of