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In this conversation, the hosts and guests discuss the portrayal of food in modern media and its impact on food consumption and appreciation. They play a game where they analyze different movies and their connection to food. They mention the documentary "Super Size Me" and how it exposes the marketing tactics of fast food chains and their influence on obesity. They also discuss the movie "The Martian" and how it highlights the importance of resourcefulness and not wasting food. Lastly, they talk about the movie "The Menu" and its critique of fine dining culture. Overall, they emphasize the significance of the emotional connection and appreciation for food. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Beyond the Plate. My name is Pierce, and today I am here with John Rico, Jake Samoyla, and today we're going to be talking about the portrayal of food in our modern media and how it contributes to the values of food consumption and appreciation. We're going to be playing a little game to talk about this. So, Jake, do you want to describe the roles? First, let's hear some intro music. So, going into the game. So, basically, it's going to be like a family theme almost thing where it's like we're going to host and we're going to have two contestants at a time. So, the round one is going to be Pierce hosting and it's going to be Jake and John Luca answering the questions. And what's going to happen is the host is going to give a prompt. So, the first section is movies, then go to TV, then go to art, all examples of modern media, of course. And we're both going to give a reason of how that connects to our prompt. That being, once again, the portrayal of food ecosystem in modern media contributes to the value of food consumption and appreciation. And after each minute, we're both going to have a minute to answer. After that, the host is going to say which one they thought was better and we're going to give them a tally. At the end of the game, we're going to see who has the most points and they will be crowned the plate winner. Yeah. So, the first kind of film documentary we're going to start off with is Super Size Me, which is basically this guy made a film about how he ate McDonald's for a few months straight and he kind of logged his weight gain and how his mood kind of shifted. And so, one thing that I really noticed here was kind of how the fast food was marketed and how the media portrayed McDonald's to kind of be, you know, this brand where it's affordable and you can come whenever and that it was really marketed to children that this was like a good place to come eat when in reality the food was, you know, heavily processed. And the documentary also goes into the obesity epidemic that occurred in America and kind of diabetes. And, you know, the way that the McDonald's was portrayed and, you know, commercials and media really played into it and kind of influenced the population to, you know, go there and eat their processed food. Wow, just coming up under the minute mark. Nice answer, nice answer. My answer about how this film contributes to our topic is I really think that this film is more of like a warning because as we see through, I guess, like growing up and, you know, as like an adult even, I feel like there's a lot of times where you're just like, oh my gosh, I need to eat right now, let's get McDonald's. And what's changing is not the prices of McDonald's but how much you're consuming at McDonald's. Large, everything is huge nowadays at McDonald's, like give yourself a large Coke, you're going to be crazy on the dangers of like overconsumption because what is kind of interesting and something that needs to be noted is that fast food giants are very much able to navigate the ways of like this is how much I want you to eat because this is how much I'm going to offer you for this price. And that's an unchecked balance and I think it's really hard to check something like that. So I think that Super 7 is a great example of portion size control and how it continues to being pushed on consumers to eat more than is definitely needed. I would also like to add, I recently saw a journal in the Journal of Health Communication that talks about the influence of media character on children's food choices. And it goes to explain, they did a project about how they grouped two different sets of children, one with groups of the associated food with Sesame Street characters and the other as just random characters from a kid's show that never aired and they said choose one and almost all of the kids would always choose the food that was represented by the Sesame Street character because they knew it. And it really shows that kind of media is extremely important, especially on impressionable young children and we kind of need to understand that what we put out really changes the way our kids develop. What's your favorite Sesame Street character? Honestly, I'm more of an Oscar crouch. What a player. I'd like to wear a trash can, I think that sounds fun. Me too, me too. Now moving on, we're going to be talking about the Martian. Guys drown on Mars, girls potatoes. What's to talk about? Wow, potatoes. I'm a big student just around the corner and I did not have any. So, I know, that's true. Wow, that's French fries, potatoes. Give me French fries, not the steak one. So, honestly, going into this, I think the Martian is definitely like when you watch the first time, wow, that has nothing to do with food. But honestly, it has a lot to do with food because of the food appreciation and consumption. We see how everyone around the world, not everyone around the world, but a lot of countries like the United States, for example, is very used to over control or over consumption. And so that over consumption, oh, I see. I don't know who won last round. You can just add to that. Yeah, Jake won. Wow. Thank you, thank you. I recount the vote. Either way, just my point. It talks about food sustainability and how it is very scarce in certain environments and the Martian is a great example because our relationship with food, a lot of people assume it's just like, okay, it's good to eat, I love it. But that's not the same for everywhere in the world and it comes down to the environment that you're in. So, the Martian does a great job of talking about how food needs to be appreciated more to the degree of like it's not just for consumption, it's not just for that, but it's a valuable part of our diet because without it you will die and I think the Martian does a great job of showing in an extreme situation just the importance of being resourceful with our food and not wasting. Yeah, kind of bouncing off that with kind of how it's essential for our health. One thing that I recognized in the Martian when it came to him growing the plant is kind of how it stabilized his mental health and how that harvesting meals like potatoes can kind of, you can kind of gain a sense of accomplishment and also when you're the only living, other living thing out there, you can kind of relate with the plant even though it sounds kind of weird. But it can anchor us psychologically and emotionally and, you know, it shows a trend that is very popular in the real world when it comes to harvesting and, you know, having a garden and being able to foster your own plants where you can cook with them yourself. So, I think that the Martian did a great job of kind of portraying that side of inhuman thinking when it comes to growing your own food. Yeah, I think those are both excellent answers. I kind of feel like a potato sometimes. But I'm going to give that point to John Luca. I only want like 40 seconds over. That's not even fair. That's fine. Okay. The next movie, one of my favorites, The Menu with Anya Taylor-Joy. And Voldemort. And Voldemort. He shall not be named. He shall not be named. The book will come to die. So, The Menu is basically these elitists come to an island to have fine dining and the guy is a psychopath, you know, kind of exposes them for what they are and kills all of them. And one thing that really struck with me here was kind of, you know, the trend of fine dining and how like movies like this, you know, other documentaries about Michelin star restaurants that kind of don't serve that much food. And it kind of feeds into, you know, this mindset of like, okay, like I'm going to go here and I'm going to gain some status and, you know, I'm going to spend a lot of money to eat. And, you know, I think this movie did also did a great job of kind of exposing that side of people in certain parts of the population because, you know, they all came over and then he exposed them, you know, for like a senator or like a food critic and really exposed them for who they are and that they only enjoy the, they basically take for granted what they have. And yeah, that's my spot point. Well, just for starters, you know, not everyone died in that film. I just want that to be noted as someone that watched the movie. It bears from here. I'll have a cheese, the chess player. Notable chess figure. Yeah. So that's kind of what we're going to talk about when it comes to food appreciation. Kind of the revelation scene at the end after he's about to murder everyone, including her, was that she doesn't like his food because it's very unloving. It's just doesn't have any feeling into it. And he's like, what do you want me to make? And she's like, a cheeseburger. And which, to his old, like one of the first things he ever made was a cheeseburger. And I feel like that comments on just the power of food and how the true appreciation for food is not the luxury of the price of it. Rather, it's the importance and the connection and the feeling that you have with the food and the experience that's tied to each meal. And so I feel like that's a really great movie to discuss the appreciation of food, because it can't be truly appreciated until you have that connection with it. I would like to add on top of that. The chef, you know, he hates cooking. He's extremely popular. He's rich. He has his own restaurant funded by this rich millionaire guy. However, he's just like Jake, by the way. However, he's just not happy because he's just cooking random food that doesn't really mean anything to rich people. However, you know, asking Anya Taylor-Joy's character, she's the only one who isn't rich. She's poor. And so kind of asking for that cheeseburger really meant something to him, because it allowed him to love and care. And we can see for the first time that he actually smiles when cooking. And so, yeah, food is truly important to one's being and what it means to them. Honestly, I'd like to give that point to me, but... Wow, wow. Okay, you know what? Change the game. No, no, fine. You're Mark. No, just change the game. Whatever. All right. What's up next? We got a new host coming in here. Can we give a hefty round of applause for John Luca? Yeah. Wow. Good to see you. So what section are we moving into? Oh, we are moving into kind of the TV section of today's modern media and how that can feed into one's thoughts about, you know, how modern media can contribute to our values including consumption and appreciation. So let's get started with Peer Tutor. Oh, oh. All right. Yeah, let's do it. So The Bear is what we're going to talk about. Now, I love The Bear. I've only seen season one, if I'm being honest. I love season two because I'm lazy. Are you from Chicago? I'm not from Chicago. I'm from Texas. Yee-haw. Anyway, personally, I don't like beef or... What are they? What do they even make? Italian beef? They make Italian beef. Yeah, what is it? I don't know if I've made one, but... Oh, it's so good. It talks about a dude, kind of, he used to be working as a Michelin star chef, and now he's working on his family's Italian beef. And this show is rough. It highlights an intensely toxic culture where just every single buddy is screaming at each other the entire time, and there isn't, like, a single moment of happiness for, like, any of the characters, basically. And I think the show kind of really focuses on the harsh environments and culture that goes into cooking. What do you think, Jake? Yeah. So, being from Chicago suburbs, not Naperville, I feel like the show does a great job of connecting to our prompt because it shows, like, a high-stress environment. You know, everyone knows the scene, like, get me my expo chef, you know, or get off my expo chef. That's a great line. But it talks about what's something I think is really important, and that is when passion turns into obsession. I think we see it, like, you know, people appreciate and love making food. We see it. And it's talked about a lot in Pasquale S's article, Food and Pepper Culture, Why Does It Matter? And why does it matter? You know, you're making these foods. What's the game? What's the passion for it? But that passion can be changed into obsession, and it becomes something that's not appreciated. It becomes more something that becomes a demand. And it really takes a hell on your interpersonal relationships and takes a hell of total burnout on your health. And I feel like that needs to be noted, that there needs to be a line between appreciating your work and appreciating making food and the consumption of it and just what an unhealthy, toxic environment that can come from food and how it works in that negative, in that positive light. Nice. I'm going to go with Jake here. Yes. What's your cousin's name again? Oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, Ritchie. Ritchie. I like Ritchie. I love Ritchie. And then the next show we're going to move on to is a popular, you know, these cooking competitions that are aired on TCU, you know, between MasterChef and Chopped. And let's start with Jake here. Yeah. Talking about Chopped, I'm going to keep this one Chopped. Fast answer. Let me hit you with it. It's not the competition that draws in viewers. There's actually a really awesome article by Dickinson Roger that talks about how a lot of people are watching the Australian version more now because of just the making of the food rather than the competition of the food. And I feel like that's like a huge thing because there's this like idea that cooking is more about like the status, like everyone wants to be the next Gordon Ramsay, when in fact it should be more focused on the food and the entertainment and the consumption of the wonderful food that is being made. Yeah. I agree with that. In the article that you talked about, it describes how they were just, they didn't really care about a competitive cooking show. They really just wanted to kind of focus on like the ideas and like the fantasies of being a chef. And MasterChef Australia's ratings really skyrocketed after they changed their layout to a more friendly, focused, relationship-building cooking competition. We're really serious on that one. Yeah, let's go. Who won the Bay Round? You did. That's what I thought. I just wanted to know which one. Oh, right. Chopped and Bay. Right, right. We should probably just... Yeah, let's go to the last round. We should do one. Yeah. Or should we just do both? Let's do the art session. Right. Yeah. Yeah. All right, let's hop into the art session. A quick round of applause. This is Jake. I'm really excited to be here. So I'm going to show you guys two art pieces and I want to hear all about what's your answer. So let's talk about the one, the only, the last of the suppers. Talk to me about it. John Luca. Yeah, so the Last Supper is probably one of the more famous paintings ever, you know, and it's a symbolic representation of, you know, Catholicism, Christianity, kind of, and who Jesus is. And what comes to mind when I think of the Last Supper is kind of how it can bring together, you know, a group of people who, you know, are celebrating good and bad scenarios. You know, obviously this is when Jesus says someone is going to betray him and then everyone's like, oh no. But at the end of the day... What? Jesus, no. Jesus, what did you say? But then again, it represents such an important moment of when, you know, Jesus is like, I'm giving my blood to you and I'm giving my body to you and for you and the rest of eternity. And, you know, it really serves as a picture between, like, like the spiritual and, you know, togetherness of, between food and faith. And, yeah. Yeah. I think the Last Supper, it really shows humans, like, humans' need for communion and sacrifice. As John Luca said, this symbol represents Christ giving out his body in the flesh and his blood of wine. And him kind of giving that out allows us to... Oh, this is going real theological, guys. I was not prepared. We can get theological. I went to an all-boys Jesuit school. We can get theological. Man, he's ready. Oh, we can get theological. I've taken, like, five theology classes. Sorry, was I on the phone? Yeah, you know what? Let's just give it to John Luca. I like what he was saying. I also think it would be crazy to not give it to John Luca. So, anyway. Can you imagine saying that to Jesus, by the way, when he's going to be trained? That's crazy. No, Jesus said that. No, no. Can you imagine saying that, like, hearing that from Jesus? Okay. And we're going to do this 10-second speed round. Wedding at Cana. Go. Wedding at Cana, when Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding, and it, again, represents kind of, you know, the togetherness of what food and drink can bring to someone. Nice. Boom. All right. So, him turning water into wine. You know, we know that his blood is wine, so turning water into wine basically allows people to drink Christ's blood, him being one with all, or something like that. I'm not very Catholic. You know what? Let's give it to John Luca. John Luca is the winner of today's game. Wow. Wow. Wow. I didn't think this would happen, but, you know, I really appreciate my two co-hosts here, Pierce and Jake, and we hope that you have a great day. Yeah. Thank you for listening. Signing off. Yeah. Beyond the plate. Beyond the plate.