The Feel and Mood of the Meal and Food

In response to Chapter 3: Nice to Eat with You; Acts of Communion

For some reason unbeknownst to me, eating is very intimate.  One of our most essential, basic needs is so secretive.  In fact when you think of it, it is our most basic acts that we keep most to ourselves.  There are several reasons for this.

For one, referring back to these essential parts of life remind us that we are human, we are mortal.  Ultimately, having needs reminds us of our weaker points.  Things we must do for survival remain intimate because the simple reminder that we are not invincible.  It's a humbling experience, that one would think would become habit, yet they retain that "wannabe" mysterious quality.

Also, kind of going down the same path. People don't want to be reminded of the commonalities between their enemies.  Similar to the statement about the opposing team putting on one pant leg at a time.  Does anyone want to be reminded that under all the superficial, built up facades of who we want to be or how we want to appear, we are all humans fighting for survival?

This is why it is so uncomfortable to eat with someone you don't like or someone you are currently fighting with.  Because it feels as if with every bite that enters your mouth you are admitting your vulnerability.  I don't believe there is anything more uncomfortable than eating with someone you are fighting with.

Now in regards to sexualized meals, I watched the scene they referred to, the Tom Jones one. It was extremely primitive, which makes perfect sense considering the primitive nature of sex.  Sex joins eating in the category of intimate basic needs (not so much a personal need as a societal one).  In this scene, the man comes off as very aggressive and much more animalistic than the woman.  She seems much more seductive and luring.  It goes back to the stereotypical roles of a man and woman is a sexual relationship.  He disregards how "sexy" he is, and is much more just going after it.  Whereas the woman is very conscious of how attractive she is as to interest the man, yet she also shares those moments of aggression which together make it realistic.  This is also keeping with the times regarding gender roles and all.

In every special event, people eat.  At this point it's beyond the expectation of there being food.  It is expected for the food to be good.  Eating together is such an essential part of celebrations.  Also, the food sets the tone for the event.  Pizza at a birthday party offers a whole different atmosphere than finger sandwiches and pasta salad.  People acquaint, more so marry, the mood of the meal and the feel of the food.  I mean there's even Thanksgiving... an entire holiday based around a famous meal. 

In many scenarios, dinner provides a situation where a character is unable to escape.  Therefore they must deal with whatever obstacles is in their way, find a clever way to beat around the bush, or take it upon themselves to consider the stakes so high as to walk out on the meal, escalating it all the further.

I'm trying to think of an instance regarding meals. One that comes to mind is in the Tony Winning, Gentleman' Guide to Love and Murder, there is a big dinner scene towards the end of the musical.  Throughout the entirety of the show, Monty Navaro is murdering all the heirs that stand in his way to an earldom (lordship?).

In this dinner scene he must find a way to dispose of the final heir.  And it is approximately in this scene (definitely as a result of this scene) that he is caught for the murders. This is a very climactic scene, as most of the cast is present.