The article I found interesting was “What’s So Funny About Iron Chef” by Mark Gallagher. He examines the TV show Iron Chef, which airs on Food Network, and how it illustrates Japanese culture to the American audience. I understand the conclusions that he came to due to his analysis of this show and other Food Network shows in the US and other countries, however I found it difficult to fully agree with some of his critiques on the format of the show and how it affects viewers. Food Network itself is a channel with a pretty specific focus, food. Most people do not watch this channel regularly unless they have an interest for food and cooking and I think much of what Gallagher talks about has to consider the true purpose of this network and the shows it airs. He said that because of the networks very direct connections between different types of cuisine and the culture it stems from, people regard food as the entirety of that cultural experience. If this were, or possibly is, the case, then this would be problematic because we are narrowing the view of certain cultures down to certain constructs and this limits what people learn about countries outside of the United States. I am an avid Food Network watcher and from the shows I’ve seen, and by looking at their website, they clearly have many shows that focus on one type of cuisine throughout. For example, in the show Mexican Made Easy, a chef of Mexican descent creates food inspired by her “Mexican and Southern Californian upbringing” to “transform stereotypes of the cuisine into healthy and easy-to-prepare Mexican meals”. All of her episodes are dedicated to recipes connected to the stereotypical Mexican cuisine. I’m not sure if “stereotypical” should be the right word to use in this instance because it is true that different cultures have traditional foods that they created and have been a staple in their country. However what makes them stereotypical is how Americans view them and what they know about them. I have not seen every episode of Mexican Made Easy but I would not be surprised if she made a twist of a burrito on her show because burritos, contrary to what many people think, are not traditional Mexican cuisine. They are an Americanized food that was inspired by Mexican techniques and flavors. This is where I agree with Gallagher. With the different representations of food on the network, viewers are encouraged and exposed to other cultures. However it becomes detrimental when the distinction between “stereotypes” and “tradition” is not clear. If the purpose of the Food Network is to educate Americans on cooking, cultures, restaurants, etc, then these shows should provide context for what the show is about and what its audience should take away from it.
What if the purpose of the Food Network is not to educate or expose but purely to entertain. There are certainly shows that are aired more for enjoyment than for cultural exposure, and I think Iron Chef could arguably be classified as a show with more entertainment substance than educational substance. Like Gallagher mentioned, the show uses multiple camera angles, slow-motion replays, loud audio announcers, and an animated host alongside english dubbing over Japanese voices. I think the true purpose of this show is to entertain an audience that enjoys watching chefs cook food in a competition. Therefore, I do not agree that these aspects of the show are exactly harmful to the audience that tunes in. An alternative form of a television show that would be more culturally educational would be a how-to cooking show like Mexican Made Easy, but focused on Japanese cuisine and techniques. The show could feature successful Japanese chefs cooking real authentic Japanese foods, maybe even with an American flare to connect audiences that are so culturally different. Overall Gallagher’s analysis of this show and the Food Network as a whole was an interesting way to look at how other cultures are fed to Americans and how those viewers in turn perceive those foods and its culture.
This is Mexican Made Easy’s webpage from the Food Network site. I found information on Mexican Made Easy as well as the variety of shows Food Network has to offer.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/mexican-made-easy.html
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