History Main / CityPeopleEatSushi

* Weirdly averted in ''Film/HowardTheDuck'', especially at [[TheEighties a time]] when sushi was still almost exclusively seen as yuppie fuel. The small-town diner Howard, Beverly, and a possessed Dr. Jenning visit is packed with rowdy hick customers, but apparently specializes in [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot "Cajun Sushi"]], complete with a Japanese sushi chef on duty.

* In ''Film/YouveGotMail'', sushi is mentioned by the yuppie newspaper columnist as what dinner's gonna be. His bookstore owner girlfriend repeats "Sushi!" with a mix of surprise and approval.specializes in "[[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Cajun sushi]]", complete with a knife-wielding Japanese chef on duty.

* Weirdly averted in ''Film/HowardTheDuck'', especially at [[TheEighties a time]] when sushi was still almost exclusively seen as yuppie fuel. The small-town diner Howard, Beverly, and a possessed Dr. Jenning visit is packed with rowdy hick customers, but apparently

* An ad from [[TheNineties the late 90s]] for 10-10-220 long distance[[note]](for you kids out there, dialing it on a landline phone let you use a different, and presumably cheaper, carrier for long-distance calls than your primary)[[/note]] had [[GoodOlBoy Terry Bradshaw]] and Doug Flutie at a sushi restaurant. While Flutie digs in, Bradshaw remarks that when he was growing up they called it "bait" and lets the server know they forgot to cook it.

* Weirdly averted in ''Film/HowardTheDuck'', especially at [[TheEighties a time]] when sushi was still almost exclusively seen as yuppie fuel. The small-town diner Howard, Beverly and a possessed Dr. Jenning visit is packed with rowdy hick customers, but apparently
* ''Film/OtherPeoplesMoney'': corporate raider Larry takes Kate Sullivan to a Sushi restaurant, and initially acts uncomfortable with the weird way the food is eaten, but as Kate leaves, Larry becomes more comfortable, and orders more food in Japanese.

* ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'': Rich AlphaBitch Clair eats sushi for lunch and Bender, a {{delinquent}} from a lower class background, thinks it's disgusting.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'': At a party in Tokyo, lovable American hick Mater mistakes wasabi for pistachio ice cream and asks for a big heaping scoop. He then embarrasses himself by rushing to a fountain to wash off the burning sensation from his mouth.

* In ''Film/YouveGotMail'', sushi is mentioned by the yuppie newspaper columnist as what dinner's gonna be. His bookstore owner girlfriend repeats "Sushi!" with a mix of surprise and approval.
* ''Film/Bombshell2019'': The [[StrawCharacter ultra-conservative Beth]] catches her assistant eating sushi, to her obvious derision. The assistant tries to downplay it by claiming that she got it from a gas station and blurts, "It's not liberal food," but Beth isn't buying it.
* Weirdly averted in ''Film/HowardTheDuck'', especially at [[TheEighties a time]] when sushi was still almost exclusively seen as yuppie fuel. The small-town diner Howard, Beverly and a possessed Dr. Jenning visit is packed with rowdy hick customers, but apparently specializes in "[[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Cajun sushi]]", complete with a knife-wielding Japanese chef on duty.

* When the Israeli Occupy protests started, David Amar, the mayor of the Israeli town Nesher, dismissed the protesters, saying, "There's no protest, Bibi, note everyone on Rothschild Avenue, note got their hookahs and sushi." Soon, "hookahs and sushi" became a symbol for a condescending, dismissive view of the movement in Israel.

Just like a [[KidsHateVegetables distaste for vegetables]] (particularly StockYuck things like broccoli, spinach, or Brussels sprouts) is often associated with children, fiction has a tendency to portray those who have not or refuse to eat sushi as either uncultured or old fashioned. This is especially common in stories where [[CountryMouse people from the country or small towns]] are taken out to eat by their {{city mouse}} or coastal friends/relatives, only to be disturbed that they're being fed uncooked fish; whether we sympathize with them depends on the writer. Also expect them to accidentally eat too much wasabi, usually by mistaking it for guacamole. In contrast, liberal upper-middle-class 20-somethings adore sushi, at least according to sitcom land. And finally, expect no one to mention that there are a whole lot of sushi, such as the California roll, inarizushi, ebi nigiri, and tamago nigiri, that contain no raw fish. Or even no fish at all. In fact, the term "sushi" refers to the sticky, vinegared rice, and it can be filled or topped with cooked meats, seafoods, and vegetables (called "neta"). Again, though, don't expect this to be pointed out in a lot of fiction, where even today "sushi", "sashimi" and "raw fish" are still used interchangeably quite often.

* In ''Film/YouveGotMail'' sushi is mentioned by the yuppie newspaper columnist as what dinner's gonna be. His bookstore owner girlfriend repeats "Sushi!" with a mix of surprise and approval.

* This [[https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-unshakable-beliefs-you-develop-growing-up-redneck/ article]] from ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' about what it's like growing up a redneck in the [[DeepSouth Southern United States]] mentions this view on sushi. The two major causes the author attributes to it are the South's relatively late adoption of refrigeration and the fact that the local climate is freaking hot and humid (which makes keeping fresh fish even more difficult than other places).

* ''Christian Mingle: The Movie'': Gwyneth takes Patrick (a [[WhiteAngloSaxonProtestant WASP]] who is TwoDecadesBehind) out for sushi. He struggles with the concept and spends an agonising amount of time chewing, tasting, and swallowing a piece, only to gasp with relief once it's down his throat.

Just like a [[KidsHateVegetables distaste for vegetables]] (particularly StockYuck things like broccoli, spinach, or Brussels sprouts) is often associated with children, fiction has a tendency to portray those who have not or refuse to eat sushi as either uncultured or old fashioned. This is especially common in stories where [[CountryMouse people from the country or small towns]] are taken out to eat by their {{city mouse}} or coastal friends/relatives, only to be disturbed that they're being fed uncooked fish; whether we sympathize with them depends on the writer. Also expect them to accidentally eat too much wasabi, usually by mistaking it for guacamole. In contrast, liberal upper-middle-class 20-somethings adore sushi, at least according to sitcom land. And finally, expect no one to mention that there are a whole lot of sushi, such as the California roll, inarizushi, ebi nigiri, and tamago nigiri, that contain no raw fish. In fact, the term "sushi" refers to the sticky, vinegared rice, and it can be filled or topped with cooked meats, seafoods, and vegetables (called "neta"). Again, though, don't expect this to be pointed out in a lot of fiction, where even today "sushi", "sashimi" and "raw fish" are still used interchangeably quite often.

* ''Film/Bombshell2019'': The ultra-conservative Beth catches her assistant eating sushi, to her obvious derision. The assistant tries to downplay it by claiming that she got it from a gas station and blurts, "It's not liberal food," but Beth isn't buying it.

* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl: The Eternity Code'': In a conversation between BumblingHenchmenDuo Pex and Chips, one mentions that he tried sushi and it was delicious... and convenient, since all he had to do was stick it in the deep-fryer. Juliet finds this inane enough that before beating them up, she has to stop and explain what he's doing wrong.

Just like a [[KidsHateVegetables distaste for vegetables]] (particularly StockYuck things like broccoli, spinach, or Brussels sprouts) is often associated with children, fiction has a tendency to portray those who have not or refuse to eat sushi as either uncultured or old fashioned. This is especially common in stories where [[CountryMouse people from the country or small towns]] are taken out to eat by their {{city mouse}} or coastal friends/relatives, only to be disturbed that they're being fed uncooked fish; whether we sympathize with them depends on the writer. Also expect them to accidentally eat too much wasabi, usually by mistaking it for guacamole. In contrast, liberal upper-middle-class 20-somethings adore sushi, at least according to sitcom land. And finally, expect no one to mention that California rolls, which are served at all sushi places, contain no raw fish. In fact, the term "sushi" refers to the sticky, vinegared rice and does not ''have'' to include raw fish ("sashimi") by definition; it can also be filled or topped with cooked meats, seafoods, and vegetables. Again, though, don't expect this to be pointed out in a lot of fiction, where even today "sushi" and "raw fish" are still used interchangeably quite often.

This trope's existence is likely because sushi falls in a grey area as far as "foreign food" goes in America. Its preparation is still considered strange enough to (believably) alienate some Westerners, yet it's mainstream enough that calling it {{foreign queasine}} would be considered silly (at least in America). This trope would not work, for example, if we replaced "sushi" with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_%28food%29 balut]], but it might work if we replace "sushi" with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceviche ceviche]].