Food has always been an important part of our lives. Not only do we consume food every day (second breakfast, anyone?), it is also featured prominently in festivities and celebrations. Besides filling us up, why do we celebrate with food? The reason is simple. It’s because food brings us closer. It unites us. Sharing a meal over a dinner table can give us a shared point of relevance. It doesn’t even strictly need to be sharing the same food. Food gives us a reason to occupy the same space at the same time, an example being a cafeteria at lunch break. Therefore, food, and the need to eat to survive, has bound us together. We bring different food along wherever we go depending on the occasion, such as in picnics, and we are keen to try out different foods while on vacation. Food is highly appreciated and integrated into our lifestyles, and all it takes is a simple search on YouTube to pull up numerous recipes and tutorials. It is not uncommon nowadays to see social media feeds peppered with restaurant or café recommendations, and there have been many blogs dedicated to reviewing good food. And it isn’t only while we’re living that food is important. The importance of food has been prevalent in our lives since childhood, and it remains relevant throughout our lives. Even in death, the importance of food carries into our afterlife. As National Geographic puts it, “Consider the cultures that leave delicacies graveside to let the departed know they are not forgotten.”
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The following article discusses topics of a sensitive nature which may be disturbing and/or controversial to some readers. Hence, reader discretion is advised. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the article belong solely to the authors and do not reflect Sunway University and Sunway College’s values.
Hot or cold? Yes or no? In or out? Up or down? No, this isn’t a play on Katy Perry’s hit pop single, but it most definitely does involve the argument of hot versus cold, specifically in the context of showers. Yes, the menial, clockwork task of cleansing one’s body. Go ahead, read on to amuse yourselves as we, the writers of Echo Media, attempt to sell you the idea of washing yourself in hot or cold water as if you would change the kind of temperature your body is suited for at the drop of a hat. Maybe you will, maybe you won’t, but you should still read on anyway, because why not?
Imagine this – a camera shot panning up a woman’s slender legs, lingering on her pert buttocks before following the curve of her body up to her bountiful bosom, lingering there some more before finally reaching the seductive fullness of her lips and her well-framed face. Well, you don’t need to imagine this. After all, there are plentiful examples in movies and TV shows. Laura Mulvey, a feminist film theorist, coined the phrase the “male gaze”, which seeks to explain why women are depicted as passive sex objects in mainstream film narratives.
