Folklor/Edebiyat (Nov 2016)
A CONCEPTUAL EXPLORATION OF GASTRO MEDIA AND GASTRO CULTURE / GASTRO MEDYA VE GASTRO KÜLTÜRÜN KAVRAMSAL İNCELEMESİ
Abstract
Gastromedia is creating a world hegemony by creating a media network. Food and drinks are widely being showcased in media accompanied by their pictures, movies and stories in an unprecedented degree. Such popularization of eating and drinking in media results in the actual practice of eating and drinking. As such the significance of the actual practice of eating and drinking is less so than its presentation. In modern and post-industrial societies, the gastro-culture created in gastro-media manipulates eating and drinking practices much more than the actual practice itself. Messages produced in this culture are conveyed to the masses by means of gastro-media which in turn is a part of the gastro public sphere. Gastro-culture is a very peculiar culture shaped by these messages. Gastro-culture is dynamic in that it transcends national boundaries and takes new forms with new interactions. Display of gastro-culture in the media with its amusing representation shapes the gastro-culture. Foodies, gourmets, writers contribute to the creation and increase the value of gastro popular culture and reconstruct this culture within the global capitalist markets. While the daily life is being aestheticized the gastro-media contributes to this process. Food and drinks are transformed into aestheticized consumer products by means of gastro-cultural capital. Displays of gastro-culture give an opportunity to recognize identities of the people encountered which in turn create the emergence of cosmopolitan individuals.
