Mukbangs and Erewhon: Food Content’s Two Extremes
As an avid phone user and enjoyer of cooking videos, health, and lifestyle content, I have noticed a recent shift in the way that people interact with food on social media. Gym culture, running clubs, carnivore and keto diets, and clean eating are all things that have grown in popularity over the past couple of years. On the other side of the spectrum, I have also noticed an increase in mukbangs - videos in which people sit in front of a camera eating large quantities of fast food or unhealthy meals. This led me to think about the societal implications of the polarity between these two extremes in the food content space.
Initially, this curiosity was sparked by videos of fitness influencers eating meals on large wooden cutting boards. These meals focus on high protein, low carbs, and foods rich in antioxidants and (often) healthy fats. There are many variations of what these look like, but they usually include steak, eggs, avocado, and sometimes blueberries or honey. While this is balanced, and I see nothing wrong with people wanting to eat better, it is funny that this simple meal is taking over social media. The surge of fitness influencers can be attributed to new age ideas of wellness and even the cyclical nature of American politics. Hyper-masculinity, “primal diets,” and wellness content centered around looks could be representative of a return to traditional American values - Or not.
Many of these fitness influencers are producing content from major metropolitan cities such as L.A., New York and Austin. These cities have the means to support the trendy lifestyles of content creators who run on bone broth and egregiously priced smoothies. By “the means,” I am, of course, talking about the holy Meccas of diet Culture - overpriced health food stores.
One of the most notable is Erewhon. In a piece from The Cut titled “Erewhon’s Secrets”, author Kerry Howley details the store’s history and rise to cult status. Erewhon is an L.A. based grocery store founded in 1966 by Aveline and Michio Kushi. The first Erewhon was opened in Boston, Massachusetts in a below ground level kind of basement. Initially, the store focused on bringing natural health to the east coast during the time of canned goods and various Jello concoctions. Aveline brought her knowledge of Japanese health secrets to America, focusing on yin and yang foods and balance within the body. In 1968, the couple moved to Los Angeles to open a second store. Unfortunately, after only a year they went bankrupt due to poor money management and rising competition. In 1979 the brand was purchased by employee Tom DeSilva, and after Tom’s passing, the company was bought out by Tony and Josephine Antoci. These are the current owners responsible for the magnetic rebrand.
In an interview with The Cut, Tony Antoci says:
“People may want “natural food,” but nature itself is the inconsistent chaos from which they and their food have been delivered. They do not want nature but its opposite: civilization, control, an experience designed down to the inch. They want custom millwork and imported glazed tile. They want color breaks in the vegetables; not lettuce, then spinach, but lettuce, then radish, then spinach, such that the radishes pop hard from the sea of green. They want a kind of closed-in order — tight aisles, no gaps, warm light, relentless symmetry.”
Spoon-fed wellness and good marketing are behind the viral craze of Erewhon. Partnerships with celebrities like Hailey Bieber and marketing tactics like $20 collab smoothies help the store remain relevant and trendy.
So, is health consciousness just a performative trend, or are we realizing we need to be better about what we are putting into our bodies? Social media makes it difficult to separate capitalistic schemes and promotions from honest and real content.
Opposing “Health Tok,” there is another form of content that has gained popularity through focusing on the consumption of copious quantities of unhealthy, often carb and fat-heavy food. Mukbang, a viral sensation that originated from South Korea in the 2010s, essentially refers to a video of someone sitting down and eating in front of a camera. The term loosely translates to “eating broadcast.” This content was first posted on YouTube about 10 years ago and allowed people to have virtual meals with one another. Inspired by Korean mukbang's, American influencers began making similar content with American junk foods. Controversial social media personalities Trisha Paytas and Nikacado Avocado - popular creators during this period - often posted videos feasting on hauls of fried food. Today, mukbang’s are more often posted and watched on platforms like Instagram or Tik Tok.
“Watching mukbang is significantly more prevalent among young adults. Mukbang offers digital commensality, entertainment, a para-social effect, escapism from real-life issues, and the opportunity for sexual use. On the other hand, excessive use of mukbang has been linked to a wide variety of health problems, including obesity, and eating disorders.”
- The Spectrum of Motivations Behind Watching Mukbang Videos and Its Health Effects on Its Viewers: A Review, National Library of Medicine
Building off this, it is important to mention how mukbangs could be used as “feeder” content. “Feederism” is sexual kink in which men like to watch conventionally beautiful, skinny women become overweight. It is also necessary to mention the ways that mukbang content can be harmful to people with disordered eating, including some creators themselves. This content does not always relate to kinks or eating disorders, but the continued promotion of unhealthy eating, whether intentional or not, has some level of psychological effect on the public. There is something oddly intriguing or comforting about watching a mukbang, and that feeling is what drives these views.
Some content creators film mukbangs eating healthier meals like Erewhon. This intersection of content genres that seem like opposites possibly shows that they are in both being pulled by the strings of capitalism. Social media platforms with powerful algorithms push this content in tandem and encourage audiences to overlap.
The complex motives driving diet trends are yet another reason to be careful with the content you consume. Now more than ever, it’s critical to fact check people and do your own research. When you hear some influencer say that their diet is the secret to life or another promotes a new Wingstop flavor by telling you to “run, don’t walk,” take it with a grain of salt. Fad diets and food trends are choices, not requirements; eat how you want to. Trust your gut.
Sources:
https://www.thecut.com/article/erewhon-smoothie-boston-los-angeles-history.html
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10541680/
Cover Photo:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3237030977462014/\