The CW Flash TV show had an excellent point - Barry Allen has to eat a lot to run as fast or as far as he can. They even show what kind of food Barry eats to get that many calories.
That's a form of deconstruction we usually don't see in movies. Movie characters don't usually eat onscreen, and when someone points out that a character has to eat, it almost feels out of place. I'd forgotten just as much as the main character in The Devil Is A Part-Timer that the main character needs to eat food, so I was surprised when he passed out in the pilot from lack of food.
The Martian took that deconstruction 5 steps further by making a significant part of the plot about answer the question "How does the main character eat?"
We could ask "Why don't characters eat in so many movies?", but the answer is simple and rather disappointing. To take Hitchcock's quote out of context, "because it's dull". After all, quoting Hitchcock again, "drama is life without the dull parts". The characters can eat during the 23 hours of the day when they don't have a camera on them.
So my question is "Why do characters eat in movies?" Because let's be honest, watching someone eat is pretty dull. It's dull enough that we still don't have a TLC show where we watch people eat. So when characters do eat in movies, why do they eat when we see them onscreen?
Purpose #1: Move the plot forward.
Need a character poisoned? Time for food.
Need Jean Valjean to have a reason to steal? Time for food.
Need a character to turn into a talking llama? Yup. Definitely time for food.
Purpose #2: Strikingly demonstrate character by having him or her eat in an inappropriate situation.
When a character eats in an inappropriate situation, it tells us that character cares more about his or her own appetite than about engaging in the situation or respecting the people he or she is around.
Remember how often Tony Stark eats? Especially in the middle of conversations?
Remember when cherry tomato dripped down Denethor's chin while thousands of his men died in battle?
Remember when Kirk takes a bite of an apple during the Test scene in Star Trek (2009)? He's cares so little about the Test that all he's thinking is "I'm hungry".
A more personal example: I tend to eat in the car. What does that say about my character? I'm too busy to sit down and actually eat a meal.
Purpose #3: Show what a character is like when he's normal by having him or her eat in a normal situation.
Eating is a perfectly normal thing for people to do, so it gives plenty of opportunities for characters to do what they normally do around certain people.
The Incredibles has a wonderful scene at dinner where we get to see the family dynamic when they're just being themselves around the family.
When Hodgson recruits Nedry to steal the eggs on Jurassic Park, they're eating at a local shop, so Nedry is at ease enough to be condescending towards his employer and elated over the Barbasol.
Groundhog Day probably has the best example, because each time Phil eats at the diner, he shows what his new "normal" is, whether he's changed to become hedonistic, or whether he's changed to become sincere, or whether he's changed to become a "god".
Purpose #4: Juxtapose the normal-ness of eating with an unusual plot point.
When a character needs poisoned, we don't just give him food to hide the poison. We give him food because food is so normal that we don't expect someone to die in the middle of eating.
So, break-up scene? Food would make this feel a little more shocking.
Sniper bullet hits a main character? Food would make that feel a little more shocking by showing how unexpected it really is.
End-of-the-world scene? Food would definitely show how shocking this is! The end of the world while I'm still taking a bite. That was half the premise of Seth Rogen's comedy This Is The End: The end of the world happens - and all the characters are in the middle of a party.
People don't usually eat in any movie. But when they do, it's important. Watch for how it progresses the plot, shows character, or juxtaposes the shocking nature of what's about to come.
That's a form of deconstruction we usually don't see in movies. Movie characters don't usually eat onscreen, and when someone points out that a character has to eat, it almost feels out of place. I'd forgotten just as much as the main character in The Devil Is A Part-Timer that the main character needs to eat food, so I was surprised when he passed out in the pilot from lack of food.
The Martian took that deconstruction 5 steps further by making a significant part of the plot about answer the question "How does the main character eat?"
We could ask "Why don't characters eat in so many movies?", but the answer is simple and rather disappointing. To take Hitchcock's quote out of context, "because it's dull". After all, quoting Hitchcock again, "drama is life without the dull parts". The characters can eat during the 23 hours of the day when they don't have a camera on them.
So my question is "Why do characters eat in movies?" Because let's be honest, watching someone eat is pretty dull. It's dull enough that we still don't have a TLC show where we watch people eat. So when characters do eat in movies, why do they eat when we see them onscreen?
Purpose #1: Move the plot forward.
Need a character poisoned? Time for food.
Need Jean Valjean to have a reason to steal? Time for food.
Need a character to turn into a talking llama? Yup. Definitely time for food.
Purpose #2: Strikingly demonstrate character by having him or her eat in an inappropriate situation.
When a character eats in an inappropriate situation, it tells us that character cares more about his or her own appetite than about engaging in the situation or respecting the people he or she is around.
Remember how often Tony Stark eats? Especially in the middle of conversations?
Remember when cherry tomato dripped down Denethor's chin while thousands of his men died in battle?
Remember when Kirk takes a bite of an apple during the Test scene in Star Trek (2009)? He's cares so little about the Test that all he's thinking is "I'm hungry".
A more personal example: I tend to eat in the car. What does that say about my character? I'm too busy to sit down and actually eat a meal.
Purpose #3: Show what a character is like when he's normal by having him or her eat in a normal situation.
Eating is a perfectly normal thing for people to do, so it gives plenty of opportunities for characters to do what they normally do around certain people.
The Incredibles has a wonderful scene at dinner where we get to see the family dynamic when they're just being themselves around the family.
When Hodgson recruits Nedry to steal the eggs on Jurassic Park, they're eating at a local shop, so Nedry is at ease enough to be condescending towards his employer and elated over the Barbasol.
Groundhog Day probably has the best example, because each time Phil eats at the diner, he shows what his new "normal" is, whether he's changed to become hedonistic, or whether he's changed to become sincere, or whether he's changed to become a "god".
Purpose #4: Juxtapose the normal-ness of eating with an unusual plot point.
When a character needs poisoned, we don't just give him food to hide the poison. We give him food because food is so normal that we don't expect someone to die in the middle of eating.
So, break-up scene? Food would make this feel a little more shocking.
Sniper bullet hits a main character? Food would make that feel a little more shocking by showing how unexpected it really is.
End-of-the-world scene? Food would definitely show how shocking this is! The end of the world while I'm still taking a bite. That was half the premise of Seth Rogen's comedy This Is The End: The end of the world happens - and all the characters are in the middle of a party.
People don't usually eat in any movie. But when they do, it's important. Watch for how it progresses the plot, shows character, or juxtaposes the shocking nature of what's about to come.
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