The show

In this chapter we consider the performance of mukbang as a complete show, where structures and elements are woven to create something that is more than the sum of its parts. We start with an overview of characterisation, and how this moves from mukbanger to props and back again, in moving forward a performance. We go on to consider what makes mukbang worth watching, with an emphasis on how successful mukbangers do it. In doing so, we highlight how mukbang, in its practice, performance, and expression, use various kinds of transgression to attract and captivate audiences in context-specific ways. We end by considering the flow of senses in this form of absurdist performance.