A taste of power: class, consumerism, and gender dynamics in “The Menu”
Makaleler > Tam Makale · 2025
Yazarlar: Doğan Başaran
Consumption Markets & Culture, Uluslararası, Wos, 2025, cilt 28, ss 142-155
DOI: 10.1080/10253866.2025.2545253
Özet
The article explores the intersection of class, consumerism, and power dynamics through the lens of Mark Mylod’s 2022 film The Menu. Using theories from Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault, and Jean Baudrillard, it critiques how high-end dining serves as a medium for performing social distinction and reinforcing class hierarchies. The chef’s control over the diners exemplifies symbolic violence, while Margot’s subversive actions illustrate moments of resistance. The research further engages with Consumer Culture Theory to analyse how elite culinary spaces commodify experiences, revealing deeper contradictions in the pursuit of authenticity and exclusivity. Gender dynamics are also considered, highlighting the masculinization of professional kitchens and the marginalization of female agency. The film thus serves as a powerful allegory for the intricate relationships between identity, power, and consumption in contemporary society.