Social Studies
Culinary Assimilation: A Journey Through Identity in David Byrne's 'Social Studies'
Lyrics
I thought that if I ate the food of the area I was visiting.
I believed that consuming local food would help me understand the perspective of the area I was visiting.
That I might assimilate the point of view of the people there.
I thought that by eating local food, I could adopt the mindset of the people there.
As if the point of view was somehow in the food.
Imagining that the essence of their viewpoint was somehow infused in the food.
So I would make no choices myself regarding what food I ate.
Wishing to avoid making personal food choices and instead follow the locals.
I would simply follow the examples of those around me.
Planning to emulate the eating habits of those around me.
I would study menus very carefully,
Carefully analyzing menus, noting differences and similarities.
Making note of important differences and similarities.
Being attentive to menu details for cultural understanding.
When shopping at the supermarket
Expressing a desire to observe and study other people's grocery choices while shopping.
I felt a great desire to walk off with someone else's groceries
Feeling tempted to take someone else's groceries to analyze them more thoroughly.
So that I could study them at length
Wanting to study the purchased items in detail.
And study their effects on me.
Intending to observe the effects of those groceries on personal experiences.
As though if I ate their groceries I would become that person; until I finished their groceries.
Imagining a transformative experience by consuming someone else's groceries.
And we might find ourselves going to the same places.
Envisioning shared experiences with the person whose groceries were consumed.
Running into one another at the movies
Anticipating chance encounters with that person in various places.
Or in a shopping mall.
Expecting to run into each other at the movies or in a shopping mall.
Reading the same books.
Imagining a shared cultural experience, including reading the same books.
Watching the same TV programmes.
Visualizing shared entertainment experiences like watching the same TV programs.
Wearing the same clothes.
Envisioning a connection through shared fashion choices.
Travelling to the same places.
Imagining similar travel destinations and experiences.
And taking the same pictures.
Thinking of capturing the same moments through photography.
Getting sick at the same time.
Contemplating the idea of falling ill at the same time as the person whose groceries were consumed.
And getting well again simultaneously.
Imagining a synchronous recovery from illness.
Finding ourselves attracted to the same people.
Thinking of shared attractions towards the same people.
Working at the same job.
Envisioning working in the same profession as the person whose groceries were taken.
And making the same amount of money.
Imagining identical financial situations by making the same amount of money.
Living identical lives - as long as the groceries lasted.
Conceiving a life mirroring that person's as long as the groceries lasted.
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