Blog Post 6: Food network in relation to Hell

In the same fashion that Patel (2007) examines the world food system's reactions to the human influences of necessities for profit, ease of access, the farmers themselves, and activism/social movements, I have been examining the Monster Hunter Hell Facebook group through multiple lenses to show myself different perspectives, and trying to understand different positions on the controversial issues on the group. Patel argues that the act of choosing in this food network has left '...many stuffed and many starved...' (Patel, 2007, pg18). In a metaphorical sense, this applies over to social networks such as Hell, with members of the group's "Network of food" being "stuffed and starved", with group prestige/notoriety being the metaphorical equivalent of food. Members who create the original content can be considered the farmers, the Popular majority, or 'celebrities' of the group, act as a government of sorts, organising through acceptance in this case. This has sometimes left both the creators/farmers and government/popular circles impoverished, as the content creators can become tired of the popular crowds forgetting who made the content, and acting as if they created it themselves, which results in less content, bringing it full circle and showing a metaphorical example of the 'socio-cultural factors' (Atkins & Bowler, 2001, pg 272) of food/content consumption. Atkins and Bowler (2001) also suggest that social groups and classes can be identified by their distinctions of palate, both for food and other items for consumption, such as popular culture and conversation. Monster Hunter Hell has exactly this, with its badge of identity being the more critical, less censored form of monster hunter culture, allowing often the most controversial, or crude content to be associated with the page and group members. In summary, Patel (2007) and Atkins & Bowler (2001) show that food is not just a part of a person's palate, but also can show their cultural identity, and this example of the food networks for the world can be shown also as a network of cultural consumption.









An example of the kinds of culture that can be shared in the group, this specifically being constructive advice. Image taken from: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=966246426766964&set=pcb.1691279441093995&type=1&theater

References

Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001). The origins of taste. In P. Atkins & I. Bowler, Food in society (1st ed., pp. 272-295). London: Arnold.
Patel, R. (2015). Introduction. In R. Patel, Stuffed and starved: Markets, Power and the hidden battle for the world food system (1st ed., pp. 1-18). melbourne: Black Inc Books.