Comfort Culture

The cultural equivalent of comfort eating – i.e., consumption for pleasure, reassurance, and security.

Coining this term in The Guardian, Jonathan Freedland noted that as supermarkets report increased sales of pies, cakes, and stews, so the cultural hits in this recession include reality TV, feel-good films, and trashy celebrity biography:

While Waitrose reports an 80 percent increase in sales of loaf cakes, ITV is cheering a rise in the television equivalent: viewing figures for “I’m A Celebrity” are up on last year. “The X Factor” and “Strictly Come Dancing” are doing a roaring trade too. And what has just become Britain’s fastest-ever selling DVD? “Mamma Mia!” Think of it ascomfort culture to accompany the comfort food. We want to be eased through the freeze.