Food Photography

Food photography is a popular social media trend which seems to have become popular alongside Instagram. Users often post photos of meals, desserts and also drinks to tags such as #food #yummy and #instafood.

image from: http://media1.onsugar.com

The food photography trend may be so popular on instagram, as it is a photography sharing social media, therefore it is heavily aesthetics based. So if you have a meal that looks really tasty, or a milkshake that looks really cute and colourful, you might think of it as a nice photo oppurtunity.

But also, as Dr Kuttainen said in this weeks lecture; "food is not just food" (Kuttainen,V2015)
Since instagram is a social media site, users create and express their identity on there. A user may post photos of foods that are important to their heritage, or religion and therefore; identity. One factor in the origin and persistence of foodways is that they often represent an important expression of our identity, both as individuals and in reference to a broader ethnic, class or religious grouping. (Bowler,I & Atkins,P 2001)

REFERENCES:

Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 8: People Networks. [Powerpoint Slide p.2]. Retrieved from http://www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001). Chapter 21: The origins of taste. In R. Radojicic (Ed.). Food in society: Economy, culture, geography (pp. 272-295). London, Great Britain: Arnold.

Chicken Tinder, Burning Tender

The role food plays on Tinder may not be massive but it is an ever-present presence. Many large food corporations use Tinder to advertise their products. An example of this - to most of us, not a surprising one - is McDonalds. After joining the Tinder community, there does not one day go by where I flick through potential matches and do not come across a McDonalds promo profile for their new Create Your Taste campaign. 

http://mumbrella.com.au/maccas-hits-tinder-they-didnt-respond-to-my-message-about-wanting-to-eat-their-filet-o-fish-313389

The fact that even a dating app isn’t safe from the corporate influence of food companies such as McDonalds is a dark credit to our food-driven culture. Raj Patel’s Stuffed and Starved investigates the prominence of this sort of ‘food invasion’ all over the world, noting the prevalence in Western and Westernized cultures. For instance, he looks at obesity in teenager in Mexico, and how the incidence of obesity gets higher closer to the American border (Patel, 2007). This goes to show how much the fast-food civilization we have become is a part of our cultural identity.

This food identity not only invades Tinder, but also encompasses it with apps such as Tender. For those of you plebeians who don’t know, Tender is Tinder - but for food. The app is obviously based around the same swiping concept. Swipe right for food and recipes you find appealing and swipe left for food and recipes you don’t find appealing. We could discuss, of course, how there are millions of people on the planet who don’t even have the luxury of disliking or liking food due to the fact that they would starve, but for the purposes of this post we’ll focus on the expression of food culture in Western countries, and the incorporation of that expression into social media.

So with apps such as Tender, which mush together our two loves, food and social media, we can develop a community identity with which we recognize.

Of course with our food-obsessed community we’ll take things designed for wholly other purposes and turn them into food machines. This is, as such, an expression of our food identity (Kuttainen, 2015).

References:

Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 8: People Networks. [Powerpoint Slide p.6]. Retrieved from http://www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Patel, R. (2007). Stuffed and Starved. Melbourne, Australia: Black Inc.. 

Facebook... Food... Foodbook?

By Trent Colledge

Image Credits: Restaurantcentral.ca_Instagram_Compilation

I know that my previous blogs haven't been referring to Instagram as my Social Network of choice, but this can still relate back to Facebook. Everyone obsesses about food, and everyone always seems hungry, especially on social media, and it never helps when your best friend post a photo of that gorgeous chocolate cake that they just finished baking, or a mouth-watering homemade burger. It all happens, and it's an interesting development that has come about since the birth of social media.

Like I said before, while typically on Instagram, this phenomenon of posting photos of our food to social media is an interesting way of communication that has developed. People are taking photos of food, whether it be a new place they are trying for the first time, or a regular diner they like, or something homemade because it's "an expression of identity" (Kuttainen, 2015), a way of showing what you like as a person, and then many people commenting on how they like it, too, or suggesting a new restaurant for you to try, or possible "exotic foods" (Atkins & Bowler, 2001), or somewhere new for you to try.

But a lot of the time, people enjoy sharing photos of themselves and a friend or two at a local fast food outlet. It most likely comes down to not having enough money to dine out at a higher class restaurant, or even something that's still fairly reasonable, people aren't willing go the extra mile. Society has been consumed by the "'Fast Food Nations'" (Patel, 2007) because it is easy, cheap, and quick, as the name obviously suggests. But of course, we know that is isn't healthy for you, which is why Patel points out that "corporations that sell our food shape and constraint how we eat, and how we think about food", saying that because something has become so simple and cheap to consume, it makes it more likely that society is going to follow the trend and choose fast food over a healthy homemade meal that takes hours to prepare.

References

Atkins, P. & Bowler, I. (2001) The origins of taste. Retrieved on September 18, 2015 from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Kuttainen, V. (2015) Our space: Networks, narratives, and the making of place, lecture 8: Food networks [Powerpoint Slides] Retrieved on September 18, 2015 from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Patel, R. (2007) Stuffed and starved. Retrieved on September 18, 2015 from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Image Credits

Instagram Food Compilation [Image] (2012) Retrieved on September 18, 2015 from http://restaurantcentral.ca/Thebellyofthebeholder.aspx

Becoming #Instafamous106

Becoming #Instafamous106

Image from: butterpr

The next best thing besides your selfie.

#Foodstagram #Fooooooood #Foodie #FoodFoodFood #PracticallyMasterchef #HealthyMind #HealthyLife #EatCleanTrainMean. These are just a few examples of hashtags you will need to use when you start posting pictures of your breakfast, lunch and dinner on Instagram. Food is of beneficial importance when it comes to Instagram and becoming #InstaFamous.

Food means many different things for many different people. Most of us nowadays use it as a way of connecting with their heritage and remembering their ancestors. Just as Dr Kuttainen (2015) explained in the lecture, food or the type of food you eat has become an indicator of social class and an extension of the power you hold, giving the example of haute cuisine verse fish and chips.

Within this week’s reading of ‘The Origin of Taste’ by Ian Bowler and Peter Atkins they go on to explain how your tastebuds are tuned to flavours you grew up with and grew accustom to. For example, a lot of Indochina use flavours like chilli and fresh herbs, whereas India use a lot of spices like cumin in their cooking. This may seem stereotypical but it is true, and unless you were born a Kardashian or a Hilton then you probably won’t like the taste or the texture of caviar.

So what does this mean for your Instagram account? It means it doesn’t matter what food you post on your account. The only thing that does matter is as long as you can present your meal well, take a very nice picture of it (choose obscure angles), and choose the right filter (Valencia is my most favourite filter to use).

Reference List

·       Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001). Chapter 21: The origins of taste. In R. Radojicic (Ed.). Food in society: Economy, culture, geography (pp. 272-295). London, Great Britain: Arnold.

·       Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 8: Food Networks. [Powerpoint Slides]. Retrieved from http://www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Becoming #Instafamous105

Becoming #Instafamous105

Image from: buzzfed.com

Find yo People.

Today I am going to educate you on a really cool, old word called Diaspora.

Just like the cliques at High school, the jocks, the geeks, the punks, the band geeks or the cheerleaders, you will find yourself unknowingly falling into several categories when using Instagram, whether you like it or not. This isn’t a bad thing, it just means you will find like-minded people with similar interests to connect with. This occurrence is similar to what Dr Kuttainen and E. Ma Mung describe as Diaspora.

Diaspora is where a scattering of people all over the world connect from having commonalities, whether it be religious, passion, work or even disability related. These things that bring people from different walks of life will help you able to identify with these other groups and people, and they may very well be complete strangers.

What is diaspora specifically? The word Diaspora is of Greek derivative coming from the word ‘Diaspeiro’. ‘Dia’ meaning across or over and ‘Speiro’ meaning to sow or scatter seeds. (Kuttainen, 2015). As E. Ma Mung puts it in this weeks reading ‘The term of diaspora means dispersal. Originally it only described the dispersal of the Jewish people after the destruction of the Realmof Israel.’ (Ma Mung, 2005)

From these definition I don’t think that it is too hard to connect the similarities to the world of Instagram where the spreading of people who are linked with one another by similar interests and commonalities. This is the integration of old words into modern day context. Hopefully this analogy helps you to understand the word Diaspora and its context. Challenge yourself to see how many times you can integrate the word diaspora into your everyday conversation.

Reference List:

Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 7: People Networks. [Powerpoint Slides]. Retrieved from http://www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Ma Mung, E. (2005) Diaspora, spatiality, identities. In W. Bosswick, & C. Husband. (Eds), Comparative European research in migration, diversity and identities (pp. 33-48). Spain: Univeristy of Deusto.

My Food is my Identity

Food. For some it is just a necessity to stay alive, for some it is a source of happiness, and for some, particularly internet users, it is a method of constructing identity.

Retrieved from: https://www.finedininglovers.com/stories/food-photography-tips-mobile/

Food makes up a huge portion of Tumblr. There are blogs with masses of followers dedicated purely to pictures of food and recipes. Even I, who doesn’t follow any food blogs, cannot escape seeing a tutorial of how to make French toast with poached pear and raspberry coulis on my dashboard. However, according to Victoria Kuttainen (2015), “food is not just food”. “…[Foodways] often represent an important expression of our identity, both as individuals and in reference to a broader ethnic, class or religious grouping” and this concept is particularly relevant to Tumblr (Atkins et al., 2001, p.273). In my previous posts, I mentioned the wide variety of cultures displayed on Tumblr, and food is a significant medium through which people express their culture. Peter Atkins and Ian Bowler (2001) state that “some characteristic ethnic foods may be a source of shame as much as of pride” however on Tumblr, where multiculturalism is celebrated, people are rarely shamed for their culture’s food (p.274).

In fact, there are instances where the Tumblr community has shown overwhelming support for a culture or religion’s practices involving food. I refer specifically to Ramadan, which is when Muslims all over the world fast from dawn to dusk for one month. Out of consideration for Muslim users, it has become common practice for other users to ‘tag’ posts concerning food, which then allows those undertaking Ramadan to block the tag so they won’t see the posts. The amazing thing is that it isn’t a rule that the administrators enforce, but one that the users created and undertake themselves purely out of respect for Muslims and Islamic faith.

The promotion and sharing of cuisine unique to certain cultures allows for Tumblr users to take pride in their identity and makes the website a warm and accepting place to be.

Reference List

Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001). Chapter 21: The origins of taste. In R. Radojicic (Ed.). Food 

          in society: Economy, culture, geography (pp. 272-295). London, Great Britain: 

          Arnold.

Kuttainen, V. (2015) BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place,  

Lecture 8: Food Networks. [Powerpoint Slides]. Retrieved from 

http://www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au