By Naya Shim, Hana Keith, Linda Wang, & Karishma Dangodara

Project and Video Description:

Our project focused on the metaphysics of food, which examines the reality and identity of food as well as our nature as hungry beings. Specifically, we explored Mukbang, a recorded or live broadcasted eating show that engages viewers watching others eat, often excessively. Mukbang seems very applicable to our generation, as it highlights the removed social aspect of eating and the objectification of food. In this video, we discuss and analyze the social, cultural, and aesthetic properties of these types of videos, why they attract so many viewers, and what this says about the metaphysics of food and eating. In order to facilitate this, we conducted our own Mukbang with pasta as our food of choice. While it may not be the “unhealthiest” or “Mukbang worthy” food, in light of the situation we are all in during the COVID-19 pandemic, pasta was a stable we all found in our pantries and could easily cook on our own.

Full Video Transcript:

Hana: Hi, everyone! So today we’re going to be talking about the metaphysics of a mukbang through a mukbang. And so, I guess the first thing we want to talk about is what it is and so basically it is like a video on social media on YouTube where people sit in front of their screen and they eat usually large and unhealthy food for other people to watch. So, today we’re going to go be doing just that. Um so, everybody’s going to go around and introduce the different foods that we made.

Linda: Um, so I think we all agreed we’d make pasta. So, my name is Linda and this is my pasta. I had to use two different types of pasta. There’s some shrimp in there, some tomatoes, and broccoli and then that’s it.

Naya: Ok, so I go next. I made cavatelli and I love adding red pepper flakes to mine, but I like to add basil um, garlic powder, Italian breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese.

Karishma: Okay, I made classic spaghetti. This is really bad quality but this is just regular spaghetti with turkey meatballs, basil, I also love red pepper flakes so I put those in there as well, parmesan cheese, and olive oil.

Hana: And then lastly, I have my pasta and it is basically ravioli and tortellini. And I also have some bread.

[Moment of silence to eat and show pasta dishes]

Hana: So, how does eating together in this setting differ from you know, how it used to be like actually sitting with people?

Naya: I think this is the closest I’ll ever get to eating with like friends and people from school. But, it’s still not the same like I wish I could just taste some of your plates because it looks. And like, I can’t. You know?

Hana: I feel the same way, yeah. It feels weird not being around people and like, eating with like a bunch of friends and family and everything. And it just feels like we’re not being physically with people and enjoying this food with other people.

Naya: Mhm.

Karishma: Yeah, I think it’s interesting because you know, eating in a group you usually feel a sense of community and bonding. And I think this is emphasizing more, now that we’re all separated and doing this over facetime, but I also still feel very isolated. I think it’s because we’re doing it virtually versus together in person.

Linda: Yeah, so um moving that along. Virtual reality has, I guess, plays a really big part in mukbang. It’s basically all that it is is that you’re watching someone online through a webcam or a screen of someone eating. So, now I guess in the context of, you know, our situation, which is coronavirus, how does that, I guess like, shift the narrative of mukbang do you guys think?

Naya: I think it becomes more of a significance, I think we were talking before, maybe you mentioned you were watching them more during this time. Um, and like especially for me my family and I are still on so many different schedules being in the same house. I never get to see them for breakfast because someone’s not awake or like someone’s in class already, um my dad’s working. Um, yeah I will usually watch something just to keep me occupied and not sitting at the table lonely in silence.

Hana: Yeah, now more than ever we are more isolated and like not together so I feel like the mukbangs play such an important role now for people because they actually feel like they’re eating with somebody else. I feel like it’s going to become even more prevalent.

Linda: It really fosters I guess like the mukbang and I think virtually like eating like we are right now when we can’t see each other physically does foster that sense of community. Um, so moving on from that, one of the readings we’ve had in this class is the “Pleasures of Eating” by Wendell Berry. And he talks a lot about responsible eating and the responsibility of eating. Something that I feel like we should definitely address on is how responsibility of eating plays into mukbangs.

Naya: I think in the context of responsibility of eating in a mukbang, um we saw a lot of examples of people um, really like, going to the extremes. So, you know, very spicy, very big, like super unhealthy, I don’t think that’s responsible at all. And like, you’re always eating in excess and definitely bigger than like a single portion. Like right now, I’m pretty full and I’m like halfway through my pasta. So if I had like a whole like, 20-30 minute video of me just like non-stop eating, I genuinely don’t know how they do that. And like, I’ll feel sick when that camera turns off. Cause like, I’d be really tired of just doing the same thing and maybe not talking and eating in front of a camera and producing something like that just for content online. I feel maybe like there could be a social responsibility that they feel, knowing that they have such a huge following and a lot of people watching them, and that they want to continue producing these kinds of things not only for the people that like find companionship, but just like pure entertainment.

Hana: Mhm. And kind of like what we said before, it does bring a sense of a community and so many people feel more isolated. And I guess going into like release of guilt or shame, if people are on a diet then they want to watch people to satisfy their cravings. Or if people like aren’t eating as healthy then they wanna watch so they don’t feel as guilty, you know. And I think it ties into that as well.

Karishma: Going off what Hana said, I think even though there’s a stigma around mukbang and just any ASMR videos in general, some people either really like it or really hate it. But I think now that facetiming people you know is more of a norm now, I feel like eating also while online and mukbangs are more normalized given the situation.

Linda: Mhm. Yeah, I definitely think as the years have progressed, mukbang and ASMR eating has become a lot more mainstream, but especially because of Covid you know, people are online all the time now. And it’s like a lot more normalized I guess like you said to eat online and do a lot more things online besides that.

Naya: Um specifically what is food, and what is pasta, and um, when we were talking about like ASMR really made me think of the Korsmeyer reading “Delightful, Delicious, and Disgusting,” and how our
senses can really contribute to our eating experience. And it really made me wonder where do table manners go? Because when you’re eating like you’re putting either a laptop in front of you and like a camera, and those are things that are not traditionally supposed to be on that dinner table. But also like eating with your mouth open and making a lot of noise, that’s something that’s been so rejected in the past and would’ve been looked down upon if girls were to do it, you know? There’s a lot of cultural evolutions that we’ve made and progressions into actually being accepting and like maybe even finding pleasure in hearing people chew. So it changes, especially with mukbang during this time because more so than just knowing someone’s actually eating, it’s knowing that like there’s that potential of someone being able to be there with you and like maybe being almost so comfortable with you to trash those table manners aside and not pretend you’re meeting this person for the first time on a first time and trying to keep your mouth closed and eat pretty. Like, you can get messy with it and you don’t even know them.

Linda: I think table manners really vary. Like I guess from culture to culture and society to society. Just cause you know, mukbang originated from Asia and it’s a lot more normal in asian cultures to be loud at the table and to eat loudly and to eat with your mouth open, talk with your mouth open. Versus in like Western culture, it’s really frowned upon.

Karishma: Yeah going off that, cultural differences for table manners, I know that from my culture, eating with your hands is so normal. Like, when I was growing up I rarely ever used any utensils to eat food, and like, my grandparents straight up eat spaghetti with their hands. So, um. But whereas like here, obviously, in western culture that would be considered rude and very messy and obviously your hands would be really dirty. So I just think it’s really interesting all the differences throughout the different cultures.

Naya: I guess that shows throughout like I guess the different ways we also like prepare our pasta, like we all say it’s pasta, but clearly we didn’t put the same things in it, and there were different types. For you Linda, you put both. For an Italian, like would that be offensive, if they like mix two different types of pastas together, you know. For an Italian, like would turkey meatballs be considered like an authentic meatball to make like spaghetti and meatballs with. But yeah, I think also is there a reason why like pasta is so easy to make for us. We see it all the time in boxes at the supermarket for it to be like a staple in everyone’s pantry. It doesn’t really go bad. You can do a lot of different things with it. Has that come through the globalization of foods, like the universality of food? Obviously, we all come from different backgrounds and cultures, and still we’re able to find that pasta is something we could all sit down and eat together, and make at home during the pandemic.

Karishma: I think that comes a lot from what we see in media and advertisements. I remember growing up, the restaurant I used to see the most ads for, at least the ones that stuck in my mind, was Olive Garden. And I remember seeing like the fettuccine alfredo and the cheesiness of the pasta. For some reason, I think that’s just so much more appetizing than your everyday hamburger because like a lot of restaurants have burgers available, but there’s something about pasta that’s Americanized enough, so that we can all enjoy it, but also still has the elements of like a foreign dish. So you also enjoy that aspect as well.

Linda: So I think pasta is also just because it’s able to stay there for so long, and there’s so many different things you can do with it. It makes it easy for everyone to have access to it, and be able to cook something out of it.

Hana: I literally went to the grocery store, and I went down the pasta aisle, and there was basically nothing left, so people are definitely stocking up on it because they realize it can be stored for a long time, you know?

Naya: Yeah, like the Korsmeyer reading talks a little bit about fine dining, and like you said, like Karishma, Olive Garden. I don’t know if people would consider that fine dining, but I know that Italian cuisine- like, you can go to a really nice restaurant and get like $20 pasta. It’s like handmade and all these fancy ingredients, but then we can also go on that other side and like make it a comfort food for us.

Karishma: How the argument of the soul vs. body plays a role in mukband and our simulated mukbang now. So actually, a lot of our readings have discussed, like the mind-body dualism. And specifically the last chapter in the Philosopher’s Table, there was this art that mentions Aristotle, and his idea that an ensouled being basically equates to having this need for nourishment. But in the context of mukbang, do you guys think this applies, or is mukbang- is mukbang a form of nourishment, or is that just visual and auditory pleasure?

Linda: Like I clearly watch mukbang for video-like auditory and visual-aesthetic pleasingness. But I guess for some people, it can nourish the soul and like the fact that we talked about how mukbang is a comforting thing and it brings you know a sense of community within, and that someone is there with you, so I guess that’s the way it can nourish the soul.

Hana: Adding on to that, like what we said before with the release of guilt and shame and all that. I feel like once that’s like released, you know, that basically nourishes the soul in a way.

Naya: So that last chapter that kind of concluded the book on, was like how the soul when exposed to the things that humans have created that is, like, different from its own nature, like starts to really desire those things. And like we desire and like crave sweet, really salty, maybe even spicy foods, like
something that normally people wouldn’t have eaten back then. Like ramen is completely something that like people had like made up and called it food. So, I think like our soul is one maybe one worth considering when watching mukbangs because do we really need to eat that? Do we really need it, or do you just want it? And I think when we start feeling hungry, that’s when our body like needs and wants food, but I think it’s like the soul that really kind of determines what that might be. You know, like what feels good at the moment, and what feels right. Whether that’s eating a salad, and you’re like, I need to feel healthy, or I feel really upset and like need ice cream right now.

Karishma: This is another question to think about, and it kind of connects to what you were saying, Naya. Um, how do you guys feel as like the actors in mukbang? Did you guys prepare this meal to just provide nourishment for you, or did you guys prepare more than normal just to kind of simulate a mukbang more?

Hana: I did it kind of for both reasons. For one, I was very hungry, so I did it for nourishment, but also, I put a lot more than I would normally eat for like the mukbang effect.

Linda: I think yeah- similar to Hana, I think I did the same. I put like the shrimp and broccoli in there like for nourishment- half kind of for nourishment, other half is for “maybe this would make a cool sound when I eat it”, and it might like look prettier.

Hana: Yea for me I like- I really packed my bowl because I was hungry, and I also like knew that i didn’t want to waste anymore food during this time, so like to just kind of get as close to finishing off the pan, serving everybody was kind of the goal over here.

Karishma: Yeah, I think normally when I make pasta, I just literally put the pasta and sauce together. I never add basil, and I never ever have made pasta with meatballs before. So I think to some degree we all kind of prepared this meal partially for our own pleasure, but also for the viewers’ pleasure because this is a different situation. Now we’re showing the meals we prepared, so that’s in mind as well.

Naya: I personally, have never done one before. At first, it was uncomfortable, but then like after a while it was pretty easy after that. Like I finished my bowl, I’m so full.

Karishma: Yeah, I think definitely we all agree on that. I think we were all a little bit uncomfortable at first, especially because I think when we eat, normally when we’re not staring at ourselves eating, and I was pretty uncomfortable seeing myself eat. But as everyone started talking more, I think we all got more comfortable. It became more like a bonding experience.

Linda: This has been our project on the Metaphysics of Mukbang, and what mukbang is. I hope whoever is listening, you guys enjoyed this and enjoy seeing our pasta and us kind of talking about what mukbang is and why it’s important or why we enjoy it, and how we’re doing during these unusual and unprecedented times.

Linda: So my name is Linda, thank you for joining us.

Naya: I’m Naya, thank you for watching.

Hana: I’m Hana, thank you for watching.

Karishma: I’m Karishma, thanks for listening/watching.

All: Bye!

[Ending Credits]

Works Cited:

Berry, Wendell. “The Pleasures of Eating.” In Cooking, Eating, Thinking: Transformative Philosophies of Food. Edited by Deane W. Curtin and Lisa M. Heldke. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992.

Boisvert, Raymond D. and Lisa M. Heldke. “Being Hungry, Hungry Being,” in Philosophers at Table: on Food and Being Human. London: Reaktion Books Ltd, 2016. Pp. 134–163.

Korsmeyer, Carolyn. “Delightful, Delicious, Disgusting.” Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 60, no. 3 (2002), pp. 217–225.