Why do we smear cake?
Cake smash is a birthday trend that started in the US, and the rest of the world is slowly catching up.
A toddler celebrating its first birthday is left alone with a cake; to get messy. A professional photographer captures moments from the entire episode for the family. The sole agenda behind this act is to get captivating pictures of a messy baby!
Personally, it doesn’t sit well with me; similar to how I don’t appreciate people smearing cake during birthday celebrations. Not only is it a colossal waste of food, but the act doesn’t serve any purpose- apart from it giving people a chance to exhibit their hooliganism. That too, by defacing the person whose birthday is being celebrated.
Despite the element of humor and the entertainment factor associated with the act, if people draw pleasure from putting someone in distress, it is a questionable act.
I vividly remember a birthday celebration that went haywire during my college time; solely because my classmates decided to smash the cake ruthlessly. That day, nobody got a chance to taste the cake.
There was a phase when Steve Aoki (the popular DJ and entertainer) used to throw cakes during his music festivals. Caking someone is a tool of expression according to Aoki, and he only lobs it at people who ask for it. Even though it is done with consent, it still qualifies as an outrageous act.
Rage seldom leads to productive outcomes. When one is filled with uncontrollable anger, objectivity is hijacked, and there is little room for civilized behavior.
Sometimes, the environment acts as a check & balance system, and people are pushed to suppress their anger. But, it materializes in certain situations and it gets tagged as righteous anger.
Righteous indignation or ethical anger is usually a response to unjust treatment. Smearing food on people, especially on their birthdays, is nothing but a convenient way of exhibiting repressed anger in the pretense of justified anger or entertainment.
Thank you for reading!
