Food Advertising, Psychoanalytic Cultural Theory, and the Making of Tampopo with Professor Patrick Chimenti (University of Minnesota)

This presentation explores how filmmaker Juzo Itami’s television advertising work, particularly his food commercials, and his psychoanalytic cultural theory of the 1970s and 1980s influenced the development of his early films, including The Funeral and Tampopo. By examining the production and reception of Tampopo, the talk considers how food, media, and cultural identity intersect in modern Japanese culture.