“Used to be that artists in films were the likes of Vincent van Gogh (Lust for Life) and Michelangelo (The Agony and the Ecstasy), suffering and starving for their art,” writes Carrie Rickey. “Today’s artist in cinema is the chef (Babette’s Feast, The Big Night, Spanglish, Ratatouille and No Reservations.”

Rickey points out in her Philadelphia InquirerFlickgrrl blog, “Food is such an elastic metaphor that it can be stretched to embrace everything — from art to cannibalism, from capitalism to spiritual communion, from aphrodisiac to colonialism.”

So true.

So, by implication, food plays a role of its own when it’s presented in movies. And, in that role, it serves up special messages to moviegoers about living the good life and being good–or not.

What messages are food films really cooking up?

Rickey cites several examples:

With these impressive titles in mind, can it be said that films about food are nourishment for the soul? Your thoughts?