Médias à la carte. La représentation de la cuisine et du cuisinier au cinéma, à la télévision et sur les réseaux numériques en Italie

The representation of the acts of preparation and consumption of food in audio-visual and digital media is both a reflex and an active element of the symbolic and cultural construction of social life. Adopting a socio-semiotics approach, this article focuses on the communicative functions of the figure of the chef and of the act of cooking as they are employed in different media, with a particular focus on the Italian mediascape. The first paragraph briefly retraces the symbolic and narrative valences of food in the history of Italian cinema from Neorealism to the present. The second paragraph focuses on the “spectacular” role of food in contemporary tv genres, such as talent show, reality show and game show. The third paragraph point out the “exhibitionist” exploitation of food in participatory and user-generated content media such as weblogs and social network sites.