Food and the senses in film

As food has acquired greater prominence -not only in film but across a range of visual media - its representation has evolved as well: we see agrowing emphasis on and further refinement of the textures, surfaces, light and sounds connected with cooking; eating elicits even stronger physical reactions in spectators, ranging from salivation to hunger, from desire to disgust. This attention to materiality intensifies the effect of realism to the limit of hyperrealism, with extreme close ups, enhanced glistening on ingredients and dishes, and amplified sound effects. In this essay we explore this intensification and consider how the shift toward the food filmasagenreinandofitsown right has changed, highlighting the vicarious nature of sensory consumption even further.