Food in Popular Media

The idea of food as the focus of popular media—primarily the modern arenas of film and television but also to a lesser extent music and art—is purely a 20th- and 21st-century concept. Historically, food has appeared in both art and literature as part of or as the focal point of the subject matter. However, it was not until the advent of film, then television, that the possibility of food being its own “character,” or perhaps even a humanistic force, emerged. The importance of food in popular [Page 569]media evolved in direct correlation to food’s evolution in society—as international cuisines and products became accessible to the masses, cooking became a populist hobby, and restaurant chefs were venerated as superstars. As a consequence of the these cultural ...