Commodified identities: The myth of Italian food in the United States

• This study approaches the phenomenon of ethnic food - in particular, Italian food - from a semiotic perspective, keeping in mind the notion of food as communication. The restaurant chain Fazoli's is used to exemplify some of the communicative strategies employed to promote the association of a company and its products with Italy. These communicative strategies serve the ultimate goal of commodifying the Italian ethnic identity and promoting its symbolic consumption. Through a semiotic analysis, the article identifies a core group of seven themes that constitute the basic structure of the myth of Italian food in the United States. The analysis highlights an unobtrusive use of stereotypes, a mass phenomenon of identity construction, and the depletion of a cultural capital. At the same time, it is recognized that the myth has some positive aspects - namely, the celebration of personal relations (romance and family) and the enjoyment of a more expressive and slow-paced lifestyle. © 2004 Sage Publications.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap -- Kommunikationsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications -- Communication Studies (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Kulturstudier (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Cultural Studies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Barthes's theory of myth

Barthes's theory of signs

Commodity-sign

Consumer culture

Identity construction

Italian food

Italian identity

Italian restaurants

Postmodernism

Semiotics

Stereotypes

Visual communication

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)