JOURNAL # 18: Read and annotate Michael Pollan’s “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” For JOURNAL #18, identify 3 passages you think might be interesting to work with in the context of Project # 3. For each passage, identify the page and para, and then offer 75 or so words on why you think the passage might have potential.
JOURNAL # 18: Read and annotate Michael Pollan’s “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” For JOURNAL #18, identify 3 passages you think might be interesting to work with in the context of Project # 3. For each passage, identify the page and para, and then offer 75 or so words on why you think the passage might have potential.
9 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 18: Read and annotate Michael Pollan’s “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” For JOURNAL #18, identify 3 passages you think might be interesting to work with in the context of Project # 3. For each passage, identify the page and para, and then offer 75 or so words on why you think the passage might have potential.”
Pg. 8 para. 3; Shows on Food Network know how to get and keep an audience. People enjoy watching competitions; those that are fast, dramatic, and action-packed. People prefer shows that are high energy, rather than slow and methodical tutorials. This comes down to advancements in technology, where shows can be edited with a higher production value. Of course, people have gotten used to this type of programming. This whole thing boils down to people, especially Americans, having a shorter attention span, and therefore finding the task of cooking tedious and undesirable.
Pg. 15 para. 2; Advancements in technology cannot be reversed. When people get used to a new technology, such as microwave ovens, it’s unreasonable to go back to the more inefficient way of doing things. I found it very manipulative how as a way to increase sales, cake mix companies allowed you to add your own egg to the mix, to make you feel like you have some industry over your “cooking”. This passage could support an argument about the negative effects of corporations owning the food industry and about technological advancements making things too quick and easy.
Pg. 19, para. 3; It seems as though nowadays, people are settling for less. I mean, the relationship makes sense; the less food costs, the less quality it will have. Also, the less it costs, the more you can have. Special treats that would have been a labor intensive process to make long ago can today be bought on a whim. I do find it pretty gross how corporations exploit humans’ innate physiological response to fat, sugar, and salt for profit. Again, this could tie into an overarching argument of leaving control of food production in the hands of corporations being a mistake.
Page 17 para 2 – this passage stood out to me and reminded me of other essays we wrote such as our soylent essay, they talk about the importance of food in our culture and the fact that since everything is so easy, we don’t want to put in the work anymore. Cooking did give us the occasion to eat and not just eating it itself, but it seems as if many Americans have lost the definition of cooking, because does throwing pre-packaged sauce on boxed pasta really count as cooking? Page 7 para 2- this passage explains the different relationships with food according to generations, as this passage makes a joke about your dead grandmother being mad about your food choices, it really makes you think. This made me think that technology and cooking shows really have put a dent in our cooking, after all we would rather watch for entertainment then do it ourselves. It’s just so different from what generations before us were like. My last passage “people don’t watch television to learn things’ ‘-page 8 para 3 goes back to my last statement a little bit, when watching these cooking shows are they really inspiring us to get up off the couch and do it ourselves? Most likely not. The development of our technology has led to a lazier, and even more obese generation. I found it interesting but not surprising that people who prepare food in their home are less obese. It’s interesting because you would think if they are making more food they would be more obese. The fact is that many people who eat processed foods and never make their own are obviously not as healthy as people who cook homemade meals.
(pg. 1 paragraph 1): While reading the beginning of this article my thoughts about how I will approach Project. 3 came flooding. Immediately in the first paragraph Pollan describes how his mother was inspired by Julia Child to cook. Pollan even claimed that Julia Child had bettered their living situation, and overall home life. The first paragraph also portrays how cooking/food brings people together, as Pollan and his mother would watch Child’s television program together. Something that I do as well with my mother with a variety of television series/movies. That first paragraph is extremely relatable and perfect for the topic of project. 3.
(pg. 5 paragraph 1 & 3): In the first paragraph of this page Pollan demonstrates how Julia Child incorporates a sense of comfortability during her program. He states that even when she makes mistakes, she is not instilling fear into the audience, but instead, saying that it is okay to make mistakes in the kitchen. This ties into the later paragraph on the page which talks about how Child really puts in the effort, and gains the true pleasure from cooking. This can work with the project because both Child and Pollan are showing us that food is not just something we eat. It is an art, something which provides pleasure and comfortability, both physical and mental.
(pg. 7 paragraphs 1 & 2): The first paragraph on this page talks about how food and cooking is, and has been redefined in many ways. Pollan describes how there are a lot more shortcuts, buying of products, etc. and not as much cooking from scratch. He ties this into the next paragraph by saying most meals today would “roll their grandmother in her grave”. A rather bold claim, but extremely true. I might want to tie this into my essay by explaining the traditions and origins we have, and used to have. I feel that this will connect very easily with the FMEs I will end up using.
Pg 17 paragraph 2 brings up for the first time the idea of community around food and not just the aspects that we have lost. It outlines the fact that for many many years both animals and people eating together has formed bonds and created more than one would originally think. The importance of coming together, and even coming together instead of packaged meals comes up in this paragraph which connects with our previous ideas greatly.
Pg 14 paragraph 1 the author narrates Julie’s feeling towards the feeling that cooking can bring to you and the importance of having something to rely on both mentally and physically. With everything in the world around us changing every day, especially now more than ever. Cooking and its relationship with a person can create a comfort that arguably can be found in many other places, but can be found in one’s home, never changing.
Pg 6 paragraph 1 outlines the work aspect of cooking and how accomplishing it can feel. This is in large a connection with the last quote, but is important to look back at how cooking has changed not only over time but in your lifetime. What it means to bring a meal all together with preparation and if all goes well, something to enjoy or bring to others to enjoy. This paragraph brings out more of the real world in comparison to what is publicized, that good things require work, and sometimes lots of it.
Page 4 paragraph 2 talks about how people spend more time watching cooking than actually cooking. I think this would be an interesting thing to write about because it is true. I find it so interesting that people still enjoy watching television shows about cooking but do not want to cook food for themselves. I think it is fascinating how much time people spend making themselves dinner compared to how much time people used to spend.
Page 5 paragraph 2 is all about Julia Child and how she was not afraid to make mistakes when she was cooking. I found this part super interesting because it made the television show feel real. It allowed normal people to relate to a professional chef in the kitchen. She made cooking something that anyone can do, and she inspired so many people to follow along and make food for themselves. I think this is a really important part of cooking shows.
Page 12 paragraph 1 is all about how the Food Network made their shows less about cooking real food and more about getting people to watch more television. I think this is something I would like to write about. Food television shows used to be about teaching people who are not chefs how to cook, and now they are all about getting views. I love to watch the competition shows that Food Network runs, but I do not learn anything new from watching them. They are only for entertainment purposes. Having shows like this makes people not want to cook as much as just sit and watch other people cook.
after reading into the kitchen and onto the couch by Michael Pollan, I found a few passages that had great potential for this specific essay prompt and also found it interesting to be using this specific passage along with this essay prompt in the first place. On page three continuing onto page four in the bottom paragraph, Pollen explains how american cooking has largely been marginalized between preparing meals at home compared to “cooking” dinner in a microwave or in an oven for 7 minutes. This position interested me in how we as a country have normalized take out or dinner tv meals as much as it was normal to kill and consume an animal before this technology had been offered. Further into the reading on page five, in the second paragraph, we are introduced to of julia childs segments on tv where she had failed to flip a pancake resulting in julia having to piece its parts back togather again. Pollan then goes into depth on how it was moments like these that had given so many stay at home mothers and people in general to have the confidence to get into the kitchen and cook a meal. Lastly, on page 8 in the first paragraph, pollan had chosen an analogy from a cooking show aired in the same time period as julie and julia. I had hinted at it before but the analogy talks about how a hundred years ago, people didnt think about why the were killing, harvesting and consuming the animals they had killed and ate, they just did it. This is mainly because the options we have today are vastly different from those of the 1920s, but at the same time they truly had no other choice, they just had to “get over it”. I look forward to using thee quotes from into the kitchen and onto the couch as we further discuss more points in class.
Here I love the idea of parents watching TV. I feel like every child has had to experience the boring times of having to watch your parents favorite show. Cooking channels especially for my mom when I was a child, before the days of netflix and amazon prime where I could watch my own stuff by myself. All I had was cable and had to endure whatever anyone else was watching.
P.3 P 2
Here I like how they describe Julia Child, and talk about how she was the first real celebirty chef. Today you see these types of “famous” chefs on every social media platform. From people like Gordon Ramsay and Guy Fireri on television, to other people like Binging with Babish on youtube. Here they take a deep dive on the history to see how far we have came with food. Food used to be just a way for survival, now it’s become more of an art and everyones looking for their meal to become the next viral thing on instagram.
Pg.4 p2
This paragraph I really enjoyed. Here it discusses the transition of food over years and how it evolves. First it talked about the evolution of fast food, and how it’s become part of pop culture. Now more and more you see fast food ads pop up all over the place and usually have big music artists or famous athletes attached to them. More likely than not these people on the ads aren’t regularly enjoying these foods on their own time. It also talked about how women used to be mostly stay at home wives. Now more often than not they have their own careers. My mother for example a strong independent women, someone I look up to has been in sails for about twenty five years now. She didn’t always have time to cook so instead she would look for other alternatives like fast food or frozen food options.
Page 8 Para 2: I think this paragraph would work well in an essay because of the last sentence. Michael Pollan states that Harry Balzer described “that’s exactly how cooking will seem to your grandchildren: something people used to do when they had no other choice. Get over it”. I think this specific quote would work well in project #3 when discussing how cooking is so different now. How our grandparents had all these recipes they used to cook all the time, and how now it is just frozen meals.
Page 12 Para 3: This paragraph discusses watching our mom or parents cooking in the kitchen and enjoying the food they prepared. My own Favorite meal essay emphasized this a lot, and I am sure other essays for Project #3 agree with this statement. Especially since our favorite meals are created by our parents or grandparents and having happy memories of watching them prepare this meal.
Page 16 Para 2: This paragraph regards cooking to have a “deep emotional chord in us”, this specifically would be good to use in project #3. I think it would work well with our Favorite meal essays and provide context to how all of our favorite meals have those happy memories and reach towards “our identity as human beings”. Mainly because these foods we enjoy are not just because it tastes good, it is because we have memories that share the delicious food making it mean so much more.
9 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 18: Read and annotate Michael Pollan’s “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” For JOURNAL #18, identify 3 passages you think might be interesting to work with in the context of Project # 3. For each passage, identify the page and para, and then offer 75 or so words on why you think the passage might have potential.”
Pg. 8 para. 3; Shows on Food Network know how to get and keep an audience. People enjoy watching competitions; those that are fast, dramatic, and action-packed. People prefer shows that are high energy, rather than slow and methodical tutorials. This comes down to advancements in technology, where shows can be edited with a higher production value. Of course, people have gotten used to this type of programming. This whole thing boils down to people, especially Americans, having a shorter attention span, and therefore finding the task of cooking tedious and undesirable.
Pg. 15 para. 2; Advancements in technology cannot be reversed. When people get used to a new technology, such as microwave ovens, it’s unreasonable to go back to the more inefficient way of doing things. I found it very manipulative how as a way to increase sales, cake mix companies allowed you to add your own egg to the mix, to make you feel like you have some industry over your “cooking”. This passage could support an argument about the negative effects of corporations owning the food industry and about technological advancements making things too quick and easy.
Pg. 19, para. 3; It seems as though nowadays, people are settling for less. I mean, the relationship makes sense; the less food costs, the less quality it will have. Also, the less it costs, the more you can have. Special treats that would have been a labor intensive process to make long ago can today be bought on a whim. I do find it pretty gross how corporations exploit humans’ innate physiological response to fat, sugar, and salt for profit. Again, this could tie into an overarching argument of leaving control of food production in the hands of corporations being a mistake.
Page 17 para 2 – this passage stood out to me and reminded me of other essays we wrote such as our soylent essay, they talk about the importance of food in our culture and the fact that since everything is so easy, we don’t want to put in the work anymore. Cooking did give us the occasion to eat and not just eating it itself, but it seems as if many Americans have lost the definition of cooking, because does throwing pre-packaged sauce on boxed pasta really count as cooking? Page 7 para 2- this passage explains the different relationships with food according to generations, as this passage makes a joke about your dead grandmother being mad about your food choices, it really makes you think. This made me think that technology and cooking shows really have put a dent in our cooking, after all we would rather watch for entertainment then do it ourselves. It’s just so different from what generations before us were like. My last passage “people don’t watch television to learn things’ ‘-page 8 para 3 goes back to my last statement a little bit, when watching these cooking shows are they really inspiring us to get up off the couch and do it ourselves? Most likely not. The development of our technology has led to a lazier, and even more obese generation. I found it interesting but not surprising that people who prepare food in their home are less obese. It’s interesting because you would think if they are making more food they would be more obese. The fact is that many people who eat processed foods and never make their own are obviously not as healthy as people who cook homemade meals.
(pg. 1 paragraph 1): While reading the beginning of this article my thoughts about how I will approach Project. 3 came flooding. Immediately in the first paragraph Pollan describes how his mother was inspired by Julia Child to cook. Pollan even claimed that Julia Child had bettered their living situation, and overall home life. The first paragraph also portrays how cooking/food brings people together, as Pollan and his mother would watch Child’s television program together. Something that I do as well with my mother with a variety of television series/movies. That first paragraph is extremely relatable and perfect for the topic of project. 3.
(pg. 5 paragraph 1 & 3): In the first paragraph of this page Pollan demonstrates how Julia Child incorporates a sense of comfortability during her program. He states that even when she makes mistakes, she is not instilling fear into the audience, but instead, saying that it is okay to make mistakes in the kitchen. This ties into the later paragraph on the page which talks about how Child really puts in the effort, and gains the true pleasure from cooking. This can work with the project because both Child and Pollan are showing us that food is not just something we eat. It is an art, something which provides pleasure and comfortability, both physical and mental.
(pg. 7 paragraphs 1 & 2): The first paragraph on this page talks about how food and cooking is, and has been redefined in many ways. Pollan describes how there are a lot more shortcuts, buying of products, etc. and not as much cooking from scratch. He ties this into the next paragraph by saying most meals today would “roll their grandmother in her grave”. A rather bold claim, but extremely true. I might want to tie this into my essay by explaining the traditions and origins we have, and used to have. I feel that this will connect very easily with the FMEs I will end up using.
Pg 17 paragraph 2 brings up for the first time the idea of community around food and not just the aspects that we have lost. It outlines the fact that for many many years both animals and people eating together has formed bonds and created more than one would originally think. The importance of coming together, and even coming together instead of packaged meals comes up in this paragraph which connects with our previous ideas greatly.
Pg 14 paragraph 1 the author narrates Julie’s feeling towards the feeling that cooking can bring to you and the importance of having something to rely on both mentally and physically. With everything in the world around us changing every day, especially now more than ever. Cooking and its relationship with a person can create a comfort that arguably can be found in many other places, but can be found in one’s home, never changing.
Pg 6 paragraph 1 outlines the work aspect of cooking and how accomplishing it can feel. This is in large a connection with the last quote, but is important to look back at how cooking has changed not only over time but in your lifetime. What it means to bring a meal all together with preparation and if all goes well, something to enjoy or bring to others to enjoy. This paragraph brings out more of the real world in comparison to what is publicized, that good things require work, and sometimes lots of it.
Page 4 paragraph 2 talks about how people spend more time watching cooking than actually cooking. I think this would be an interesting thing to write about because it is true. I find it so interesting that people still enjoy watching television shows about cooking but do not want to cook food for themselves. I think it is fascinating how much time people spend making themselves dinner compared to how much time people used to spend.
Page 5 paragraph 2 is all about Julia Child and how she was not afraid to make mistakes when she was cooking. I found this part super interesting because it made the television show feel real. It allowed normal people to relate to a professional chef in the kitchen. She made cooking something that anyone can do, and she inspired so many people to follow along and make food for themselves. I think this is a really important part of cooking shows.
Page 12 paragraph 1 is all about how the Food Network made their shows less about cooking real food and more about getting people to watch more television. I think this is something I would like to write about. Food television shows used to be about teaching people who are not chefs how to cook, and now they are all about getting views. I love to watch the competition shows that Food Network runs, but I do not learn anything new from watching them. They are only for entertainment purposes. Having shows like this makes people not want to cook as much as just sit and watch other people cook.
.
after reading into the kitchen and onto the couch by Michael Pollan, I found a few passages that had great potential for this specific essay prompt and also found it interesting to be using this specific passage along with this essay prompt in the first place. On page three continuing onto page four in the bottom paragraph, Pollen explains how american cooking has largely been marginalized between preparing meals at home compared to “cooking” dinner in a microwave or in an oven for 7 minutes. This position interested me in how we as a country have normalized take out or dinner tv meals as much as it was normal to kill and consume an animal before this technology had been offered. Further into the reading on page five, in the second paragraph, we are introduced to of julia childs segments on tv where she had failed to flip a pancake resulting in julia having to piece its parts back togather again. Pollan then goes into depth on how it was moments like these that had given so many stay at home mothers and people in general to have the confidence to get into the kitchen and cook a meal. Lastly, on page 8 in the first paragraph, pollan had chosen an analogy from a cooking show aired in the same time period as julie and julia. I had hinted at it before but the analogy talks about how a hundred years ago, people didnt think about why the were killing, harvesting and consuming the animals they had killed and ate, they just did it. This is mainly because the options we have today are vastly different from those of the 1920s, but at the same time they truly had no other choice, they just had to “get over it”. I look forward to using thee quotes from into the kitchen and onto the couch as we further discuss more points in class.
Pg.1 P2
Here I love the idea of parents watching TV. I feel like every child has had to experience the boring times of having to watch your parents favorite show. Cooking channels especially for my mom when I was a child, before the days of netflix and amazon prime where I could watch my own stuff by myself. All I had was cable and had to endure whatever anyone else was watching.
P.3 P 2
Here I like how they describe Julia Child, and talk about how she was the first real celebirty chef. Today you see these types of “famous” chefs on every social media platform. From people like Gordon Ramsay and Guy Fireri on television, to other people like Binging with Babish on youtube. Here they take a deep dive on the history to see how far we have came with food. Food used to be just a way for survival, now it’s become more of an art and everyones looking for their meal to become the next viral thing on instagram.
Pg.4 p2
This paragraph I really enjoyed. Here it discusses the transition of food over years and how it evolves. First it talked about the evolution of fast food, and how it’s become part of pop culture. Now more and more you see fast food ads pop up all over the place and usually have big music artists or famous athletes attached to them. More likely than not these people on the ads aren’t regularly enjoying these foods on their own time. It also talked about how women used to be mostly stay at home wives. Now more often than not they have their own careers. My mother for example a strong independent women, someone I look up to has been in sails for about twenty five years now. She didn’t always have time to cook so instead she would look for other alternatives like fast food or frozen food options.
Page 8 Para 2: I think this paragraph would work well in an essay because of the last sentence. Michael Pollan states that Harry Balzer described “that’s exactly how cooking will seem to your grandchildren: something people used to do when they had no other choice. Get over it”. I think this specific quote would work well in project #3 when discussing how cooking is so different now. How our grandparents had all these recipes they used to cook all the time, and how now it is just frozen meals.
Page 12 Para 3: This paragraph discusses watching our mom or parents cooking in the kitchen and enjoying the food they prepared. My own Favorite meal essay emphasized this a lot, and I am sure other essays for Project #3 agree with this statement. Especially since our favorite meals are created by our parents or grandparents and having happy memories of watching them prepare this meal.
Page 16 Para 2: This paragraph regards cooking to have a “deep emotional chord in us”, this specifically would be good to use in project #3. I think it would work well with our Favorite meal essays and provide context to how all of our favorite meals have those happy memories and reach towards “our identity as human beings”. Mainly because these foods we enjoy are not just because it tastes good, it is because we have memories that share the delicious food making it mean so much more.