Pleasure, Guilt, and Talk Shows
I've mentioned here before my love of Anthony Bourdain's travel/food shows. Last night saw the premiere of an occasional talk show titled "At the Table with Anthony Bourdain." It's the sort of thing that only the elite New York foodies could even dream up – a talk show where elite New York foodies and writers eat at a trendy restaurant and well, talk. Navel gazing in the extreme. And then there are the people like me that are fascinated by the whole thing.
So as Bourdain and his guests proceed through a molecular gastronomy tasting menu, they address deep and meaning questions like "is it ethical to spend $1800 on one meal?" and "is torturing animals for our pleasure wrong?" Alright. I half expected the group to use the space as a platform for humane eating or at least an ironic look at the absurdity of high end dining. But no. While acknowledging that they should perhaps care about such things, they all agreed that they would choose such guilty pleasures any day – and not feel guilty. It was all about savoring the pleasure of the experience. Sure it's insane to spend $1800 on a meal, but they would spend more on a piece of art; so, the memory of their enjoyment of the meal is well worth the cost.
Of course it could be easy to dismiss the silly New York elite who are so self-consumed that they make a TV show about how self-consumed they are. But the whole thing intrigued me. Here is a group of people who have no qualms stating that seeking pleasure is the greatest good in their lives. It honestly made me laugh. These are the people I've been warned about my whole life. The pleasure seekers who "exchange the truth of God for a lie" or try to fill their God-shaped vacuum with sex, drugs, and food. They are the negative example given to demonstrate that pleasure – all pleasure – is a sin.
Either pleasure is the greatest good or the biggest sin. It's the ongoing either/or issue. I find both extremes absurd. But it seems that all to often all we get are the extremes. I want to affirm pleasure. One should not feel guilty for enjoying life. Life is meant to be savored. But not at the expense of others. My desire for pleasure should never justify torturing animals or enslaving people. We really need a third way that gets beyond both self-centered myopia and guilt inducing condemnation. Pleasure should affirm life – all life. Pursued in joy and love and enjoyed guilt free.
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I think that the great quest of the Christian life is to begin to care about others so completely that we really do ask the questions that these New York Elite ask, but answer in the opposite direction.
Jordon Cooper just wrote a very intriguing blog about this very issue. Do we even care?
http://www.jordoncooper.com/2008/10/21/no-one-really-cares-that-much/
Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed. Somehow that got corrupted. Even the words "living" and "enjoy" became corrupted and misappropriated, and everyone started grabbing more than their share of the good life. If we'd only just enjoy the simple things – the good things, be it food, friends, a gorgeous sunset or the occasional splurge…
Living in the moment with an eye to the future, enjoying all the blessings and gifts we have isn't wrong. We just need to be sure we share the joy and make life better for those in need. I'm sure there would be no joy in my life if I enjoyed something at the expense of others…even if sometimes I think I would.
Moderation – in all things.
I keep forgetting to watch the show…..
Have you ever seen/read "Babette's Feast"? You probably have, but it always bears repeating. I think that gets the balance right. There is great joy in God's good creation and our own role as creators but it is in the context of gratitude and generosity rather than self-indulgence.
btw – going along (sorta) with this post – whaddya think about this?
I think it's a sad commentary on our society that pleasure gets linked with expense and indulgence. The middle ground has to include simple pleasures — and I wonder if we have pretty much forgotten how to enjoy them. Simple, wholesome food (produced without torturing animals or exploiting people if possible) prepared with love and shared with friends and family sounds a whole lot more appealing than an overpriced restaurant. Though it might not make better TV.
Haven't the extremes of hedonism and asceticism been around for a long time? Each culture just has a different way of expressing them, and may tend more toward one extreme or the other.
As for a 3rd way, scripture and historic Christianity have some good and healthy things to say about neither extreme being the answer – even if many individual Christians and Christian communities have missed it.
oh, wow, would I ever love to see that show. I love me some Tony Bourdain.
I had some similar thoughts when talking with a few friends recently about a man who bought a completely restored, absolutely gorgeous 1971 Mercedes 280SL about 9 years ago for 48K. SInce then, he put about 50K miles on it and just recently sold it back to the restorer for only a little bit more money. There was a lot of talk about conspicuous consumption and of a poor investment. But I couldn't help but admire the person who bought such a beautiful car and actually had the courage and temerity to drive it to his beach house every weekend in the summer. I mean sure, it's conspicuous– there's no denying that– but at least he enjoyed it, used it, and celebrated it.
So, food for the stomach, and rare cars for driving? It may be shameful (and perhaps sinful), but at least these folks know how to enjoy themselves.