Saviour or Scapegoat?
Jamie Oliver has become a household name in Britain thanks to his television shows and his campaigns promoting healthy eating. Since 1999, Oliver has presented over thirty television shows and even released a video game called What’s Cooking? With Jamie Oliver which was intended as a cooking guide for video-gamers. In his most recent work, Oliver has become the face of the mission to defeat junk food and childhood obesity. Not only does Oliver campaign for healthy eating, he also incorporates these messages into his television shows. By doing this he has created an image of himself that has been susceptible to widescale ridicule and criticism. But is he deserving of the meme-treatment?
A meme has the ability to manipulate the way people approach different subject matters, they use humour as a way to gain public attention. The meme shown above is just one example that has circulated social media as a result of Jamie Oliver’s campaigns to decry junk food. The meme’s tones often suggest that Oliver is the bad guy and that he gets a sense of satisfaction or pleasure from highlighting the unhealthy nature or even the banning of certain foodstuffs. The composition of the meme itself is important in trying to convey the idea that Oliver is not deserving of praise for his campaign but the opposite. For example, the image of Oliver they have chosen shows him in a “superior” position to the viewer as it appears as if he is looking at them with a smug expression which implies that he is judging their food habits which is why he must come to their rescue. The caption of the meme is also incredibly telling as it suggests that the creator of this meme and its respondents believe that Oliver will not stop until all unhealthy food is banned. Turkey Twizzlers were banned in schools due to the campaigns spearheaded by Jamie Oliver and have since stopped being produced altogether. The recipe of Irn-Bru has also been altered to fit within the limits of the Sugar-Tax, a government proposal that Oliver assisted with. As meme’s circulate via social media, it shows how that they can have a greater influence on the wider public than the actual campaign that Oliver is attempting to promote. By becoming the poster boy of a healthy eating campaign and incorporating these campaigns into his television shows, Oliver has also become the face of criticism of the campaign against obesity – a campaign that in fact involves a great deal of government intervention.
I suggest that this meme may represent an example of messages being decoded in a different way than was expected when they were decoded. This meme is clearly conveying Oliver in a negative manner but why? There is no doubt that Oliver’s intentions to reduce the vast number of unhealthy foods that are available to children are good so why do people have such a negative reaction to his campaigns and TV shows. There are several reasons that can explain why Oliver has become a villain to so many people. Stuart Hall argues that ideology is not always produced by the producers, people have pre-conceived ideas that are always with them therefore they watch the media through a specific lens due to previously accumulated attitudes.[1] This suggests that if people have prior beliefs to a person or a system then the intention of the message is decoded differently than is intended or expected. This can be seen in the case of Jamie Oliver’s campaigns. Oliver is a wealthy, upper-class, privileged white male and many of the people he aims to help come from a completely different background to him. This results in a dislike of his character as people assume that he thinks of himself as a “saviour of the poor”. This results in more attention being given to the way that Oliver presents himself as a media figure rather than the ‘good’ intentions he wishes to present. The meme exemplifies this argument as it focuses on Oliver’s literal image along with a negative reinforcement that implies his campaign is ruthless against foods that people love. By doing this, the meme corresponds to Hall’s argument as people clearly already think badly of Jamie Oliver therefore no matter what his intentions are they will still view him in a negative manner due to influences from memes and other media.
Jamie Oliver uses the television and media as vehicles to enforce behaviours into a culture, this is governmentality. Oliver has worked alongside the government for many of the campaigns that he incorporates into his television work. Thus, Oliver and the government use reality television as a way to improve the impoverished in a way that seems as if they are letting the impoverished make their own choices regarding their lifestyle. Megan Warin argues that new technologies have allowed reality television to encourage their viewers to be “transformed into functioning citizens.” [2] This aspect of Oliver’s work has also been subject to ridicule as many tweets regarding Jamie Oliver criticize him for wanting implement regulations surrounding food or wanting to ban specific foods altogether. For example, responding to claims that government representatives have met with fast food chains regarding the capping of calories in takeaway foods, somebody tweeted “I’ll just order two pizzas instead, what now Jamie Oliver you fat f**k”.[3] Despite, this being a government intervention it shows how media figures can face the wrath of the public due to previous attempts of reinforcing certain attitudes on the public. This suggests that due to his prior associations with governmentality, Jamie Oliver becomes a scapegoat for the government as it is in fact him that often gets publicly blamed and ridiculed through memes and tweets and not the government itself.
Meme’s have gained the ability to transform the way people approach certain subject matters in society. Jamie Oliver has been subjected to the meme-treatment and as a result the aims of his work have been misinterpreted. Meme’s and social media have also used Jamie Oliver’s approach to television to blame him for government interventions rather than turning their attention to policymakers. Meme’s show how the response of the public is to focus attention on media figures and their strategies as they become easy targets for ridicule and criticism.
[1] Stuart Hall and Simon During, The Cultural Studies Reader (London: Routledge, 1993) p.92
[2] Megan Warin, “Foucault’s progeny: Jamie Oliver and the art of governing obesity.” Social Theory and Health (2011) p.25
[3] _Ollie2505. Twitter Post. October 2013, 2018, 07.50am. https://twitter.com/_Ollie2505/status/1051122895190192128