Something I Saw on TV Last Night



Photo Courtesy of turnoffyourtv.com



Ordinarily, I don't watch a lot of television. In fact, before John and I moved into the new house, we didn't even have T.V. The reasons for this were multiple: cost, time waste, social influencing... Actually, it's been a rather interesting experiment to go from no T.V. to more T.V. There are a half dozen shows I like to watch, but it's insane how quickly desensitized you become to the flashy images, the booming and intrusive advertisements, and the social regulation of such. Don't get me wrong - my women's studies degree has completely ruined television (and most movies) for me from a gendered, sexed, classed, racialized and sexualized standpoint; I tear apart shows without even realizing how critical I'm being. However, I think it's important to think critically about the media we take in on a daily basis. According to asexy beast we take in up to 3000 images every day! That's 3000 ideals, specifications, and regulations about how we should look, eat, think, dance, move, read, exercise, drive, spend money, vote, walk, listen, play, behave, consume, poo, write, and hump. In essence, how we should live. Not that we're completely devoid of personal will and choice - but I think it's safe to say that the media truly does play a sort of regulatory function in our daily lives regarding how we see ourselves, and the world. I am not exempt from it and neither are you. We function within it. So right now I don't say what I've said as necessarily a bad thing, just simply, as a thing.

Photo Courtesy of The Hispanic Interest Coalition

Wow, tangent central!!! Okay so anyhow, the reason we have television now is because it's included in our rent. So, last night I was watching Dinner Party Wars on The Food Network and I was inspired! I've already been playing around with the idea of doing something different for my next dinner party and now I think I've got it! There was a couple on the show who hosted one of the dinner parties and they made an authentic African banana leaf wrapped meal where everyone ate with their hands and really experienced their food. I loved it! I've been playing around with the idea of making Tamales - though I'm not entirely sure if that's a food that is traditionally eaten with the hands... I will have to research it. Plus I worry about ignorantly  appropriating other cultures (as I've mentioned before). Anyway, the entire point of this long winded rambling post is this: I am going to make something delicious, that you can eat with your hands, that both educates and indulges the body, mind, and mouth (sometimes I really think my mouth is completely separate from my body) for my next dinner party.

Stay tuned.