rant · moment 4 of 18
Anthony Bourdain's Death and the Hero Narrative
from Dinner Pig · #99
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
4 minThey discuss the sudden cultural canonization of Bourdain after his suicide, mocking the idea that eating fancy food abroad is a subversive act, and contrasting it with Subway's Jared as an alternate example of a food-based cultural figure.
- 7:50Bourdain was smart and a good guy, but his shows were never funny to Tim because they were self-important and serious.
- 8:13Tim wanted Bourdain to break the fourth wall and acknowledge the absurdity—like admitting it's ridiculous to discuss hummus while a family laments their missing daughter.
- 8:45Eric Kondabalu called Bourdain a hero, which Tim sees as emblematic of how his death became about people's desire to feel remorse.
- 9:03Consuming Bourdain appeals to middle-class people who think eating dessert on vacation is subversive behavior.
- 9:32Bourdain cared about poor people's cuisine, but most people just don't care about the people who make and eat burritos.
- 9:48To actually be subversive with food, become a bloated pay pig humiliating yourself on TV for 15 years like Subway Jared did.
- 10:13Jared destroyed whatever made him human and forced Subway to waste money protecting an active pedophile, genuinely subverting the brand from inside.
- 10:28If Jared from Subway died, that would deserve the "we lost a hero" treatment from Twitter and celebrity tributes.
Anthony BourdainJaredLin-Manuel MirandaEric Kondabalu