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By Logan Bibby
You know, for my first blog as a McConnell Scholar, I genuinely wanted to show all facets of my writing skills to utterly wow and amaze my peers, but after reflecting on what I originally wanted to write about—the intersection between language and upholding social institutions and how it affects Black Americans (maybe later)— I realized that I would much rather do something that reflected a different aspect of my personality. I have decided to take a break from the extreme amount of social commentary I have built up from my sociology, political science, and world religion courses and my pent up anger at the world common to those of Gen Z and talk about one of my absolute favorite people in the entire world: Gordon Ramsay.
Throughout my first few months of college, I have found myself relying on three things, excessive amounts of Mountain Dew, Twitter, and Gordon Ramsay, to get me through the day. All three have captivated me in one way or another, but the impact that Chef Ramsay has had on me is unnecessarily insane and it has caused me to wonder what exactly it is about him that has entranced me so. It isn’t because he’s a Scorpio (even though that is the best zodiac sign in existence and those who know me know that this is something I would say), it is because of his ability to play right into the hands of our American media social institution.
Everyone knows that right next to the great American rights and values of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, there is one other thing that gets us going in this country: Great Television. And that is what Gordon Ramsay embodies, he IS Great Television. Also, as much as all of us love to tote that we are above drama, it is undeniably up there in our American values whether we like it or not. From his television beginnings in Britain with Masterchef to the American version of the show, Hell’s Kitchen, and Kitchen Nightmares, he has become a leader in producing drama on television, and he did it and continues to do it through his unforgettable sayings.
The average human attention span is currently eight seconds, down from twelve seconds since 2000. Advertisements have long been capitalizing on the fact of humanity’s shortening attention span by utilizing jingles, catchphrases, one-liners, anything to hold our attention just for a second longer. Chef Ramsay is truly a revolutionary when it comes to those memorable phrases, whether it is the infamous “idiot sandwich” question, anything he refers to as being “as flat Gandhi’s flip flop”, or just him yelling “IT’S RAW!” at some poor, unsuspecting Masterchef contestant who has severely under-cooked a chicken breast. These memorable and hilarious outbursts compounded by his fiery delivery are more than enough to turn heads and keep our eyes glued on the television, expectantly waiting for the next explosive jabs. His sayings have permeated another large part of our media institution as well: social media. His words have been used over and over in his own and others’ YouTube compilations, tweets, and Instagram posts. He also is pretty interactive on platforms such as Twitter, where he often rates (poorly done) dishes by people who tag him in pictures of their plates, while using those very sayings that keep our interests.
Gordon Ramsay is my hero, not just because he is my inspiration for confidence and success, but also because he was able to strategically take advantage of an opening in the United States for dramatic reality television and capitalize on it. He pursued an international career that he loves while becoming a loved or notorious household name in the meantime. Another thing that we Americans cherish so much is our love to hate people, and Chef Ramsay is one that is not afraid to spark that anger and hatred. The well-known brash and arrogant demeanor that he so often displays is a shock to many and simply a reason to keep watching his shows. His grasp on the American pathos and social institutions is phenomenal and unrivaled. Though I promised that I would be stepping away from my usual adeptness to engage in social commentary, everyone should’ve known that was not possible, and you can only blame yourself for falling for my introduction. I’m a Sociology major, I can’t help it. Regardless, I am just the latest person to fall victim to Chef Gordon Ramsay’s successful media manipulation tactics in our country and I will definitely not be the last. As our institution of media grows ever-powerful and develops new ways to engage audiences, there is quite literally nothing in the way of Chef Ramsay becoming even more prominent in our society. He is now using current popular, mainstream sayings to title his YouTube videos and gaining attention in that way while targeting younger audiences. Even the children on the first season of Masterchef Junior were able to recite many of his favorite quips. Gordon Ramsay, generation by generation, is seeping through the cracks of the American media institution and making sure everyone knows how he likes his steak cooked. (Medium rare, by the way. If you didn’t know this, go watch Masterchef, trust me, it’s Great Television.)
Logan Bibby is a McConnell Scholar in the class of 2025. She is studying sociology, political science, and Spanish at the University of Louisville.