Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution premiered a couple of weeks ago. I have been a fan of the "Naked Chef" and his long gone BBC shows for a number of years and was recently reintroduced to him by, one of the greatest websites to come around since Google itself : TED.com and Oliver's being honored with a grant from TED. The new series, scheduled on ABC Friday night lineup at 8:00 PM Eastern has all the trappings of the most successful reality television shows, and, I'm hoping, a bit of a whole lot more. To watch the shows moments and see the tapestry the producers are are weaving for us has a few "Emperors New Clothes" undertones, but more on that later.
Basically, lovable Jamie Oliver is coming to America, big fat sloppy America and trying to convert us back to thing we already should know! Surprise, fresh home cooked meals made with simple and common ingredients are probably better for you! The show probably wont touch on the arguments that the nucleic family organization and togetherness also promotes better health, but I suspect viewers will pick that up, as we should, instinctively. It's simple and down home logic that, when it comes down to it should make any matron of the school lunch services programs (my clever "Lunch Lady" euphemism), from any proud and gritty southern town nod their heads and confirm with a "Sure is!" That's where this show, at least I hope, is getting very very clever.
See, I've lived in the south so I can relate a little and have spent enough time in the North to think that I know just about everything. So, going to the unlikely city? Town of Huntington, West Virginia. (Relax, I can say this, much like everyone who lives in the Town of Buffalo, NY knows.) If the show is trying to make us, the people who should already know how to eat healthy, the heroes of this "Food Revolution" it probably will succeed. In order to do this three things have to happen: one, Jamie Oliver will remain the likable anti-hero pushing the real heroes: Alice Gue, Polly Midkiff, Linda Ball, and Lawona Ferris.
They will lead the revolution because they will eventually learn what all people should learn: "We are Teachers!" in the case of our unenviable lunch ladies. They are also educators at that school, their knowledge, ideas, opinions and feelings will be absorbed by those beautiful tiny sponge brains so hungry and thirsty for knowledge about everything. Including health, diet and wellness.
Second, we need a villain. It can be the Administration, the DAWG Radio host,Rod Willis, the USDA or even ourselves, but for a revolution to be a success, something has to be laid on the altar of sacrifice. I hope Jamie Oliver doesn't feel the need to martyr himself for this cause, but he might.
Thirdly, the show must go on! I don't care if you have to persuade ABC to get egg on their faces enough to say the show will be cancelled and make the audience rise up to keep it alive and in doing so spread the message to every twitter, junket and paper in the country. If the creators of this show genuinely believe it; they must be prepared to lose it and let the American people as a whole take up the banner and move the Revolution into the next steps. It's unfortunate that we can't let this Brit's passion simply win us over conventionally. See, Americans are a passionate people, but our passion is in ideas and in order for a good idea to take hold with us you have to let us own it. Yep, the old model of ownership we continue to espouse here in the States. So to Jamie Oliver and producers of this interesting new show experiment, I wish you the best failure you could possibly imagine or trick us into believing!
