Gastronomic Utopias: The Legacy of Political Hunger in African American Lore

African-American lore and literature demonstrate how gastronomic utopias are not just the product of hungry dreams, they can be fantasies created to fool and control their audience. This might explain why so many food utopias exist in child culture: because food is one of the primary vehicles of struggle and control for children. Gastronomic utopias are lures that invite audiences to concentrate on desires that cannot be fulfilled, ultimately deferring power.