Fiction and Food

Last Friday they had this English conference going on and they cancel all English classes so that we can go (it's required to attend if you 'miss' a class). I ended up going to two sessions and the second one was way cool. It was all about how food is displayed in novels. It isn't something you automatically think about, but when you do, it's really interesting.

The first presenter talked about Harry Potter and the struggles the characters have with perceiving food as magic. At Hogwarts, it isn't until their fourth year that Harry, Hermione and Ron learn about the house elves making all the food. And then in the last installment, they have troubles while away from their providers and have to figure out how to feed themselves. The presenter then talked about how we have the same mentality today - food is magic, it shows up in the stores ready for us. Because we don't make/grow our own food, we don't understand all the work that goes into it. During the questions portion, it came out that a girl in this class (all three presenters had taken same class - Folklore and Foodstuffs) shared that she didn't know you could make cookie dough until she came to BYU and witnessed a roommate doing just that. Apparently she believed that it only came from the refrigerated section.

The second presentation talked about food in The Giver and in the Hunger Games. In both of these series, food is controlled by the government, it is not an experience for pleasure unless you are lucky enough to live in the capital. I've never read The Giver, but I know the story and I might now. I was intrigued when the presenter mentioned how the main character receives a memory about a family meal (I think) and how he learns that food can be pleasurable.

The last presenter spoke on the Laura Ingalls series (including the sequel series, the Rose Years). She talked about how the mom teaches the daughter how to cook and how family mealtime was a big thing then she related it to our day where few people can cook and family meals are almost nonexistent.

I would like to add in my own two cents on the novel Matched. This book is, like so many others, a distopian society in which, again, the government controls everything. They deliver all food to each individual for what their body needs. The only time you get special foods is at a the ceremony where you are Matched and on your deathbed, and even then they are portion controlled. Exercise is also controlled along with education and jobs and living places. It's all meant to make a productive society where everyone is 'equal.' It's kind of like what I've heard of The Giver. No family meal time, no enjoyment of meals, you just eat what comes in your little (recyclable) package every few hours. In these books, food is the great equalizer. Everyone looks the same because they are all at their 'ideal' weight. Everyone has food to eat - no homeless or poor people. That isn't real life at all. In real life, people look different. Some people eat gourmet dinners and others only eat food out of a box. The one thing that Matched emphasizes is eating together. The family all eats at the same time because that's when dinner is delivered to them. Because of that, there are few familial problems until the main character is forced to start to lie to her family about her real Match and how the government is playing with her. She does it to protect them, but it backfires.

Anyway, I think it's fascinating to think about. The next time you read a book, you'll notice it, too.