Authenticity: Attribution, Value, and Meaning

Consumers and scholars show increasing interest in authenticity in products, services, performances, and places. As typically used, authenticity is an attribution that is socially constructed and appears in many domains of social life. The interest in authenticity presumes that its attribution conveys value and emerging evidence agrees. Authenticity, however, carries some very different meanings, including those about classification, morality, craftsmanship, and idiosyncrasy. Parsing these various interpretations requires attention to cultural and historical context. A FIRE AND TWO FIRESTORMS OnMarch 8, 2013 a small restaurant on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, California experienced an early morning fire that damaged the front of its two-story building. Of course, a restaurant fire is nothing remarkable, especially an apparently minor one such as this; it was doused by the sprinkler system and put out by firefighters in less than an hour. Yet news of the fire spread quickly and received immediate attention in most of the Bay Areamedia and beyond. The owner even issued a statement in less than 12 h that concluded by saying: “We are deeply touched by the outpouring of support from the community, our friends and extended family. Thank you! It inspires us to think of what might be possible... ” The remarkable attention accorded this otherwise unremarkable fire stems from the fact that the restaurant in question was Chez Panisse. Started on a shoestring in an old house by the hippie-like Alice Waters in 1971, Chez Panisse became the flagship for California cuisine initially and then an icon in its own right, symbolizing a new type of American food, emphasizing quality, freshness, and localness in its approach. By 2013, AliceWaters’ restaurant was, in many observers’ eyes, the most admirable and influential culinary establishment in the United States, if not the world. It was no surprise, then, that when Chez Panisse caught fire, it became news. Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Edited by Robert Scott and Stephan Kosslyn. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-1-118-90077-2.