“I was hungered and ye gave me meat”: In search of the Ultimate Eating Experience in Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Gourmet
This article reads Ishiguro’s early screenplay The Gourmet (1986) as a work of comic Gothic, blending archetypal Gothic elements (ghosts, cathedrals, crimes) and a dark, eerie, and supernatural atmosphere with elements of comedy and satire. The main character’s quest for the most unusual food on ear...
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Casa Cărții de Știință
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Cultural Intertexts |
| Online Access: | https://b00e8ea91c.clvaw-cdnwnd.com/4fb470e8cbb34a32a0dc1701f8d7322d/200000494-b4318b431a/76-85%20MIHAES.pdf |
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| author | Lorena-Clara MIHĂEȘ |
| author_facet | Lorena-Clara MIHĂEȘ |
| author_sort | Lorena-Clara MIHĂEȘ |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article reads Ishiguro’s early screenplay The Gourmet (1986) as a work of comic Gothic, blending archetypal Gothic elements (ghosts, cathedrals, crimes) and a dark, eerie, and supernatural atmosphere with elements of comedy and satire. The main character’s quest for the most unusual food on earth, or rather unearthly, serves as a mere pretext to depict a postThatcherite London, where homelessness and hunger were at every corner of the street. The screenplay explores two types of hunger: the literal starvation of the poor who have nothing to eat and depend on night shelters for survival, and the insatiable cravings of the rich, embodied by the epicurean Manley, for whom nothing is good enough and who treads the earth far and wide and depletes his great financial resources to satisfy his gastronomic desires. Manley finally manages to reach his goal but is disappointed: the ghost he has eaten does not taste good and he feels sick afterwards. In the end, the two worlds remain separate as they have always been: while the ever-dissatisfied Manley is likely already plotting a new culinary adventure, the hungry remain forgotten and ignored, the real flesh-and-blood ghosts of the story |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e5a067edb9814675a62be0e2464611c0 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2393-0624 2393-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Casa Cărții de Știință |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cultural Intertexts |
| spelling | doaj-art-e5a067edb9814675a62be0e2464611c02025-08-20T02:31:30ZengCasa Cărții de ȘtiințăCultural Intertexts2393-06242393-10782024-12-01147685https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14287876“I was hungered and ye gave me meat”: In search of the Ultimate Eating Experience in Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Gourmet Lorena-Clara MIHĂEȘ0University of BucharestThis article reads Ishiguro’s early screenplay The Gourmet (1986) as a work of comic Gothic, blending archetypal Gothic elements (ghosts, cathedrals, crimes) and a dark, eerie, and supernatural atmosphere with elements of comedy and satire. The main character’s quest for the most unusual food on earth, or rather unearthly, serves as a mere pretext to depict a postThatcherite London, where homelessness and hunger were at every corner of the street. The screenplay explores two types of hunger: the literal starvation of the poor who have nothing to eat and depend on night shelters for survival, and the insatiable cravings of the rich, embodied by the epicurean Manley, for whom nothing is good enough and who treads the earth far and wide and depletes his great financial resources to satisfy his gastronomic desires. Manley finally manages to reach his goal but is disappointed: the ghost he has eaten does not taste good and he feels sick afterwards. In the end, the two worlds remain separate as they have always been: while the ever-dissatisfied Manley is likely already plotting a new culinary adventure, the hungry remain forgotten and ignored, the real flesh-and-blood ghosts of the storyhttps://b00e8ea91c.clvaw-cdnwnd.com/4fb470e8cbb34a32a0dc1701f8d7322d/200000494-b4318b431a/76-85%20MIHAES.pdf |
| spellingShingle | Lorena-Clara MIHĂEȘ “I was hungered and ye gave me meat”: In search of the Ultimate Eating Experience in Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Gourmet Cultural Intertexts |
| title | “I was hungered and ye gave me meat”: In search of the Ultimate Eating Experience in Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Gourmet |
| title_full | “I was hungered and ye gave me meat”: In search of the Ultimate Eating Experience in Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Gourmet |
| title_fullStr | “I was hungered and ye gave me meat”: In search of the Ultimate Eating Experience in Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Gourmet |
| title_full_unstemmed | “I was hungered and ye gave me meat”: In search of the Ultimate Eating Experience in Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Gourmet |
| title_short | “I was hungered and ye gave me meat”: In search of the Ultimate Eating Experience in Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Gourmet |
| title_sort | i was hungered and ye gave me meat in search of the ultimate eating experience in kazuo ishiguro s the gourmet |
| url | https://b00e8ea91c.clvaw-cdnwnd.com/4fb470e8cbb34a32a0dc1701f8d7322d/200000494-b4318b431a/76-85%20MIHAES.pdf |
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