By Tyler Leese
Food
holds different meanings for each person, and social media is fast
becoming a way to express this meaning. Each day, week or month, we
are exposed to new cuisines through the likes of media advertising,
our surroundings, and our friends or family. The metaphor “You Are
What You Eat”, aside from our health, also depicts a cultural
meaning for each person. Atkins & Bowler (2001) mentions that the
making of foods from our own cultures, keeps connections with our
heritage and helps to maintain connections with our community, which
can be related to a diasporic point of view as mentioned in my last blog.
As
most people enjoy sharing their food with the world via social media;
Instagram is one of the perfect platforms to directly express
yourself and your foods to your friends and followers in a way that
suits you, and from which ever lens filter you desire.
Image from: http://cdni.wired.co.uk/1920x1280/a_c/askctfood.jpg
Furthermore,
this activity helps to establish food maps which detail more about a
person and their place of origin, which as (Kuttainen, 2015)
mentions, connects with multinational food systems showing different
types of foods, portrayed differently by different people. Moreover,
Atkins & Bowler (2001) describes the story of rice as
originally being of Japanese origin, but now evolved into a transnational core
food source and used daily by a variety of different cultures.
Expressing identity through food on social media is powerful, not
just for expressing one's own beliefs, but also as (Patel, 2007)
mentions, determines the classes of people through what they eat.
Many
people who I follow on Instagram are highly cultured and their food
certainly depicts this. The use of rice in most foods is prolific and
therefore cements the theory of Atkins & Bowler (2001) as being a
widely used resource. In summary, food brings people together and creates
communities and cultures which form identities. Social media however, while expressing a
collaborative view, has been a significant contributor to this
network and the development of self expression.
Reference List:
Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. R. (2001). Food In Society: Economy, Culture, Geography. New York, United States Of America: Oxford University Press Inc.
Patel, R. (2007). Stuffed and Starved: Markets, power and the hidden battle for the world food system. Melbourne, Australia: Black Inc
Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002 Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, week 8: Food Networks (Power Point Presentation) Retrieved from http://www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
Image Reference:
Imgkid.com. (2015). Instagram Food [Image]. Retrieved from http://imgkid.com/instagram-food.shtml
You have made some interesting points regarding the importance of food and how it can shape and/or affirm our identity though social media platforms. Food networks behave much like people networks; we are linked to or connected by similar 'tastes' that can be communicated through various platforms, like social networking sites, as you have mentioned. Furthermore, it can also be argued that posting images, recipes and information (signifiers) about food (signified) online can alter our knowledge and understanding of particular cultural culinary traditions and the value of culture itself, even if it is not formed by "true specialties" (Atkins & Bowler, 2001). Yet it can also create generic ideas regarding aspects of different cultures that are publicised more often.
ReplyDeleteFood, as described by Kuttainen (2015) is an agent of culture, and is also a way of both expanding and restricting our knowledge of different cultures.
References:
Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. R. (2001). Food in society: Economy, culture, geography. New York, United States of America: Oxford University Press Inc.
Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002 Our Space: networks, narratives, and the making of place, week 8: Food Networks (PowerPoint slides). Retrieved from http://www.learnjcu.edu.au
How can it be said that somebody is “highly cultured” based solely on pictures of food that they share? The food may not even be theirs. Many people repost photographs that others have taken without giving credit in order to falsely depict a certain lifestyle. It’s something that is done in regards to all sorts of things – clothing, leisure activities, entertainment – and which gives those who do it some amount of social power. Additionally, a lot of people very carefully construct their photographs to give a certain impression, leaving out any normalising parts of life, as shown by Thailand-based photographer Chompoo Baritone. Besides this, you just can’t say that someone who eats wild rice or pho is automatically “highly cultured.” They might not have a single clue about foreign culture or cuisine except for the appreciation of the few particular dishes that they have chosen to share. This is why I do not believe that sharing food photos over social media is a particularly accurate or truthful way of depicting or construing someone’s identity.
ReplyDeleteReference:
Klimas, M. (2015). The truth behind Instagram photos. Retrieved from http://www.demilked.com/instagram-picture-cropping-truth-slowlife-chompoo-baritone-thailand/