Wooten, StephenSanchez, Bela2022-10-262022-10-262022-10-26https://hdl.handle.net/1794/27766Food is a biological necessity imbued with numerous social, cultural, and economic implications for identity production and everyday meaning-making. Food television is a unique medium for the meanings of food and foodways to be illustrated and communicated. This research analyzes the food docuseries Taco Chronicles as a popular media text that reflects cultural and national identities and ideological struggle in Mexico. Specific themes which emerged include the interplay of indigeneity, Europeanness, and mestizaje as racialized identities; food as a way to uphold or challenge heteronormative gender roles and expectations; and shared cultural identity and the everyday practices of the nation as conveyed through food. This thesis interrogates the multiple sociocultural hierarchies at stake in Taco Chronicles and argues that the show (re)creates the boundaries of shared identity through its visual and discursive elements.en-USAll Rights Reserved.Cultural studiesFood cultureFood studiesFoodwaysIdentityMexican foodElectronic Thesis or Dissertation