Edition #036: The Menu
Do not eat. Our menu is too precious for that
The Menu (2018) is a tasty social commentary with a palatable cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, John Leguizamo — they even got Voldemort in this one.
While this movie doesn’t quite break new ground, it's fun and bold, and full of CLAPPING!
What’s the deal?
A couple goes to a restaurant on a remote island. The courses get weirder and more related to the guests and their secrets. When someone tries to leave, they find that they’re not allowed.
Twist! All the guests and staff are going to die - it’s performance art! It’s a statement! It’s a luxury dining experience!
Finding out that the cook (Voldemort) started his career as a line cook, Margot (Taylor-Joy) chooses chaos by asking him to make her a burger, because she’s still hungry after all the pretentious, loveless fine dining.
He obliges, and when she asks him if she can take it “to go,” he has to let her leave, because... burger logic. Margot escapes and the rest of the guests go up in flames during the dessert course: human s’mores.
CLAP PLEASE.
I can’t stop thinking about...
In The Menu, the relationship between fan and creator plays out: fan as consumer, fan as consumed.
When you adore something, you want more and more of it, and as you continue to consume, so too are you consumed by the thing you are taking in.
And how does the creator stand to benefit from this consumer/consumed relationship of capitalism?
Specifically, how does Chef Voldemort benefit? Sure, he has money and acclaim. But his fans have consumed him in turn, and turned his love - cooking - into something entirely commodified.
And the only way he can reclaim this consumer/consumed relationship is to ensure that the consumption cycle ends, and he’s the one getting fed.
To be consumed entirely by what you love - isn't that the secret hope of every fan?
Chef’s kiss,
Horrorshow Jane