Depictions of Food Critics in Popular Media
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VORACIOUS VILLAINS OR HUNGRY HEROES? DEPICTIONS OF FOOD CRITICS IN POPULAR MEDIA _______________________________________ A Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia _______________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts _____________________________________________________ by ANDREW KOCH Dr. Ryan J. Thomas, Thesis Supervisor MAY 2017 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the thesis or dissertation entitled VORACIOUS VILLAINS OR HUNGRY HEROES? DEPICTIONS OF FOOD CRITICS IN POPULAR MEDIA presented by Andrew Koch, a candidate for the degree of master of arts, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. ________________________________________________ Professor Ryan J. Thomas ________________________________________________ Professor Andrea Heiss ________________________________________________ Professor Nina Furstenau ________________________________________________ Professor LuAnne Roth ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this thesis was an incredibly trying and challenging endeavor that would not have been possible without the incredible support of faculty, family, and friends. So, of course, I must make note of a number of people in particular. Thank you to my mother, the human dictionary. Her love and love of language has always been an inspiration. Thank you too for the support of my father and sister Abby. Thank you to my constant sounding board, editor, and love Shannah Arner for always being there. And also, thank you to Alex Bishop for her friendship and advice throughout this process. Undoubtedly there was a number of staff that provided a great amount of support in the graduate school. Martha Pickens, Kathryn Adams, and Kaitlin Hermann were all incredibly helpful and calming presences without whom I would have been worse off. I must also give an intense and heartfelt thank you to my dream team of a committee. Their kindness, expertise, help, passion, and support made all the difference in my thesis. Dr. Ryan Thomas was astounding. He was my chair, methodologist, mentor, and friend all wrapped into one. Thank you for your wonderful advice and structure, which was desperately needed. Dr. Andrea Heiss, you are an absolute joy. Your dedication to the arts and criticism inspire me. I loved our chats and only wish for more. Prof. Nina Fursteanu, your love of food and food writing was invaluable. Your perspectives constantly help me to think beyond my scope. Last, but not least, Dr. LuAnne Roth. Her courses were easily some of the most interesting, illuminating, and fun classes ever devised. Without her classes, guidance, and research, I never would have even known about popular culture study. Thank you all so very much. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... vi Chapters 1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................1 Studies Addressing the Research Problem ..........................................................1 Deficiencies in Prior Literature ..........................................................................3 Rationale ..............................................................................................................5 Purpose Statement ...............................................................................................7 Preview ................................................................................................................7 2. Literature Review .................................................................................................9 Identity of Journalists .........................................................................................9 Food and Foodways ..........................................................................................12 Food Critics and Non-Journalists as Critics ......................................................14 Depictions of Journalists and Food Critics .......................................................22 History of Food Critics ......................................................................................25 Ethics of Food Critics ........................................................................................30 Research Questions ..........................................................................................40 3. Method ...............................................................................................................42 Rationale for Method Selection .........................................................................42 Researcher’s Role ..............................................................................................43 Research Design ................................................................................................45 iii Data Sampling ...............................................................................................45 Data Collection and Management .................................................................46 Coding Procedures ........................................................................................48 Trustworthiness .............................................................................................49 Limitations ....................................................................................................49 Summary ...........................................................................................................50 4. Findings .............................................................................................................51 RQ1: Depictions of Food Critics .......................................................................51 Attitude .........................................................................................................52 Anonymity ....................................................................................................58 Violence Against Food Critics ......................................................................62 Gender ...........................................................................................................65 Race/Ethnicity ...............................................................................................69 Journalistic Food Critic vs. Michelin Critic ..................................................71 Change of Heart ............................................................................................74 RQ2: Food Critics as Villains? ..........................................................................76 Antagonists ...................................................................................................77 RQ2a: Ethics and Unethical Behaviors .............................................................83 5. Discussion ..........................................................................................................90 Major Findings ..................................................................................................90 Theoretical Implications ....................................................................................92 Practical Implications ........................................................................................94 iv Limitations .........................................................................................................95 Future Research .................................................................................................96 Conclusion .........................................................................................................98 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................99 APPENDIX ..........................................................................................................104 v VORACIOUS VILLAINS OR HUNGRY HEROES? DEPICTIONS OF FOOD CRITICS IN POPULAR MEDIA By Andrew Koch Dr. Ryan J. Thomas, Thesis Supervisor ABSTRACT There are copious types of visual media that viewers presently consume as entertainment. These various mediums showcase depictions that influence people’s perceptions of both individuals and entire careers. In journalism studies, scholars look at these visual depictions in film, television, graphic novels, and others to categorize how journalism works and how journalists interact with the world. Depictions too often focus on hard news and mainline journalism at the expense of subfields such as food criticism. This study responds to a call to action to look into media beyond film, while carving out its own path and establishing that food critics are understudied. From non-journalistic beginnings, food criticism entered the fold of lifestyle journalism. In popular fictional visual media across time, close textual analysis of the depiction of food critics shows unique and shared themes, tropes, and story arcs specific to food critics, including: violence and anonymity. Depictions of food critics were homogenous regardless of the medium and were shown primarily as older white men with similar dress, attitude, and ethics. These depictions were overwhelmingly negative with few showing food critics doing their job well in a positive light.