Recently I came across a worrying Youtube video in which a man celebrates reaching a weight of 400 pounds (182 kilograms). As a reward, he treats himself to an extremely generous meal from McDonald’s. I paused the video to count how much food he has in front of him: six different burgers; forty chicken nuggets; three to four large fries; multiple sauces. For more than half an hour, I watched with a contorted face as the man stuffed, smacked, became breathless and cried. Why did I keep watching? I was a disaster tourist, hypnotized by something repulsive.
The man in question is popular YouTuber Nikocado Avocado, the “artist” name of 30-year-old Ukrainian-American Nicholas Perry. He has over three million subscribers and a billion viewers on the platform. The “avocado” in his name comes from the beginning of his YouTube career; then he vlogged about his vegan lifestyle and violin playing, he still looked fit and calm. Now you see him open-mouthed crying out loud because his burger is missing extra cheese. Eating in front of the camera is his full-time job.
In the video about his 400th pound, he laughs out loud at some viewers’ claims that he would throw up after filming in order not to gain weight. A claim that often goes back and forth within the online mukbang community. The mukbang trend of consuming excessive amounts of food on social media platforms started in South Korea in 2010. Initially, it was mainly slim, beautiful women who ventured into the trend. Hence the accusation that they would expel the food again. Hair-raising smacking and slurping sounds take center stage.
In addition to the food, mukbangs are also about contact with the public. Many successful mukbangers are talented entertainers. They manage to hold the attention for half an hour with personal anecdotes or tell exciting stories while eating. But in the end, the internet rewards the most extreme cases. The tiniest girls with the biggest portions in front of them – or the guy with the worst temperament.
You could interpret Perry’s case as a man who has been guided by his lusts, but that would do his acting short. The man has built up an audience of millions since 2016. In this context he is a true performer. Someone who uses the statement ‘negative attention is also attention’ as a business model. In their own words Perry has always been dramatic and chooses to capitalize on his lows.
What does this corner of the internet say about our society? Many people get a certain satisfaction from watching dirty content, from experiencing extreme discomfort for a short time while hiding safely behind their own screen – and media platforms like YouTube have no problem meeting that need, even if Critics say the trend contributes to youth obesity and is arguably unhealthy for the most extreme mukbangers, who continue to stuff themselves for clicks.
The American news platform mashable compares watching these kinds of videos to the traffic jam that results from drivers slowing down to stare at an accident. Fortunately, it didn’t happen to me, the viewers think. Fortunately, I’m not celebrating my four hundredth pound by whining with a mouthful of Quarter Pounder with cheese.