Dear André!

You don't get it. I am not scolding the United States. Nor am I scolding anyone. My task is to understand why this is happening. Or, to build on your answer, why throwing food causes relaxation and pleasure.

Thanks for the clarification! No, I have no desire to consider the question in terms of contrasting rich and poor countries.

Only sociological and psychological aspects.

Thank you!

Thanks for the reply!

It never relaxed me when people threw food around. On the contrary, it created tension. I think there are three layers of cultural code that cause the rejection of food-throwing humor.

1 ) I grew up in 1990's Russia when the country went through hyperinflation twice in 7 years (1992 and 1998). And wastefulness with respect to food is distasteful.

2 ) Whenever I see food being thrown around in movies, I think of the Leningrad blockade in WWII, I think of starving Africa, poverty in Bangladesh, etc.

3) Whenever I see food being thrown around for fun, I think of it as disrespect for the effort and time involved in preparing the food, disrespect for the work of the cook. It seems to me that throwing food is a demonstration of superiority of the rich over the poor, the white-collar over the blue-collar.