Now I have to read Gary Indianaâs âFire Seasonâ to read his critique of modern food writing and his take:
Since the decline of the pastoral lay, food writing, with its single-minded focus on the gratification of a primal urge, has become the genre closest to pornography in contemporary literature. Like pornography, food writingâs basic vocabulary relies on an insatiability that has nothing to do with literary taste, but with the instant stimulation of desire.
He goes on to call Anthony Bourdain the âRon Jeremy of gastronomy,â referring to him as âAnthony âIâll eat anythingâ Bourdain.â Indianaâs criticism of contemporary food writing mimics Molly OâNeillâs 2003 Columbia Journalism Review oft-cited (at least by me) piece âFood Porn,â but with a bit more bite. Indiana had no skin in the game of food media; he was a literary writer and critic. (You can find the review in Fire Season , a collection of his nonfiction.)
The term âfood pornâ is appropriate and dead on. Thatâs why food videos, photos and insta have gone beyond VIRALâŚit is primal because everyone eats, cycle of lifeâŚyada, yada. Click awayâŚon the link and taking photos of your meal and food. Itâs not all bad, people are more aware of what theyâre eating, food has gotten better with awarenessâŚand in corporate USAâŚbut the viral nature of something primal (food) and 24/7 instant access to content says commerce a la clickity click.
All I can say it I realized it was food porn while in the process of losing a bunch of weightâŚwatching food video makes you HUNGRY and itâs proven scientificallyâŚlike no duh. Thatâs when I stopped looking at food porn. i will look at instruction but no food tourism, lust or gluttony for meâŚI have my own issues thank you very much.
BTW, I think Bourdain would find the Ron Jeremy comparison hilarious.
As for what I want from food writing. Thatâs a good question in the 21st century given how things have changed, particularly the decline of the almighty restaurant/food critic and rise of the interwebz.
I loved Kitchen Confidential with all the behind the scenes goings on. But I wouldnât want to read a professional restaurant review nowadays about worker shortage and all that.
I miss the olden days with Jay Jacobs & Caroline Bates of Gourmet mag and my local newspaper. Now that was good food writing.
I want writing that matches the depth and importance of the topic. Food is part of culture, passion, love, habit, need, industry, and extraodinary pleasure.
I donât have much stomach for food writing that is all about middle-class entitlement.
I donât think Iâve ever heard the term middle class entitlement.
I read Molly OâNeillâs âFood Pornâ, that was linked the article about âWhat Do You Want from Food Writingâ. Itâs not what I expectedâŚbut it does get to the core of question through a little history of food writing/journalism from post-war US to the early 21st century, with personal insight. it really does explain a lot of things, and sets up what has happened since 2003 when it was written
âFood Pornâ, by Molly OâNeill, and Columbia School of Journalism Archieve.
