Eleventh International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Around the world, the prevalence of food allergies in children and adults is on the rise (Gutpa et. al., 2011). So too is the portrayal of food allergies in popular culture artefacts (McNichol and Weaver, 2013). The limited research that has been done examining the way that individuals with food allergies get represented in popular culture products such as comic books or in film and television has found that food allergies, and the people that have them, are frequently mocked and stigmatized (Abo, Slater, and Jain, 2017; Goldie 2019). This study examines a broader corpus of popular Hollywood film and television portrayals of characters with food allergies, and their associated allergic attacks and events, in order to ask – how are the food allergic presented in current popular film and television programs? To answer the question, the study employs a rhetorical ideological criticism approach and examines film and television shows since 2000 (Foss 1996). As I illustrate, food allergic individuals are frequently portrayed as nerds or geeks, and an anaphylactic or allergic attack is often used for comedic plot relief or is positioned as a potential murder weapon. The analysis of the discourse and representation around food allergies in popular culture and more generally is important to examine when discussing societal expectations, education, and possible policy development around this issue. When food is a life-threatening risk, the communication and media messages around that risk for those individuals can have real-world consequences.