Debbie Does Salad

Reading Summary

Kaufman’s article first starts by depicting a visual description of cooking shows that goes into depth on all the different aspects that occur behind the cameras. While the viewer may not initially (or ever) realize or ponder what goes on behind the scenes, much preparation and coordination transforms and elevated the viewer’s experience. Surprisingly, Kaufman brings into light the similarities of the execution of food channel shows and porn. One example of the connection between the two is that both parties wish to be in the world that the producers have created, but they cannot. Additionally, it is mentioned that too much storyline draws away from what is being shown, whether it be food or sex. The stars must be people that are liked by many or have a good personality and must be good at what they do to easily convey their message.

Outside Example

Initially I read the article and had no idea what I could possibly try to relate to the connection food has with porn. I did however remember seeing a photoshoot/video session for my high school’s football team a few months ago. Because I went to a highschool in Texas and my team had been 5A state champs three years in a row, the school placed importance on montage videos to play on the mini jumbotron before games to hype up the crowd. I don’t have footage of them making the video for the montage last year but I included a video that looked kinda similar to what I saw. The montage they played at our games had shots of the players in the weight room lit by few strategically placed lights where the players were holding up footballs or doing whatever. In addition to this, fast paced editing and loud music were utilized set the tone for the game.

Reading Connection

This article reminded me of the montage video because I had never really considered how much effort the producer put into it and what extensive planning and preparation went into shooting it. In addition to this, the crew had to decide what angles, spooky fog, and lighting would give the desired effect of hyping up the crowd. In this sense, the goal of the filming company was possibly to imitate scenes from movies and TV shows that used the same effects and video techniques to showcase the characters that are ready to do something badass. Similar to a movie production crew, a large amount of planning was used to create the perfect scene and evoke a particular emotion. In post-production, there would be a similar importance placed on the power of editing and music choice to get the desired outcome.