WHY FOOD MATTERS? REPRESENTATION OF FOOD IN CINEMA

Abstract

Cinema is a sensory art that stimulates and manipulates visual modality and auricular faculty. The inclusion of food and culinary art as a subject in film incites the imaginary potentiality of olfactory and gustatory senses. Besides sensory engagement, ‘food’ is used as a narrative device, a metaphor or a symbol representing class, tradition, relationship, culture, memory and emotion. The serious engagement with food in movies evolved a sub-genre called ‘food films’ or ‘culinary cinema.’ This paper attempts to look at the metaphorical significance and representation of food in films.