Reel World and Food Cinema

La’Raye Francisco May 3, 2020 Reel Food and World Cinema Dinner Rush and Big Nights The film Big Nights and Dinner Rush are both films about an Italian family and their restaurants. Both main characters had Italian roots. Both films had characters who had issues with the way things were going in their restaurants. In both films, there was one character who wanted to Americanize their food for success. In Big Nights, Secundo wanted to serve what was popular to the customers, but Primo wanted to preserve and teach the customers the correct way to have tradition Italian cuisine. In Dinner Rush, the owner of the restaurant, Louis wanted his restaurant to serve traditional Italian cuisine, but his son, the head chef, refused to do so, realizing that his food is bringing the restaurant success. Both films had artwork hanging on the walls in their restaurant.             In Dinner Rush , the head chef, Chef Udo wanted to ...

La’Raye Francisco April 26, 2020 Reel Food and World Cinema Big Nights Primo and Secundo are two Italian immigrant brothers who moved to American to reach their ultimate goal, which was to have the “American Dream.” The two brothers own a restaurant, called Paradise. Their restaurant serves Italian cuisine. The younger brother, Secundo, is the restaurant manager and the older brother, Primo, is the head chef. Primo is deeply influenced by his culture at home. Primo only cooks traditional Italian food and he does not stray from it. For example, a customer orders a dish called ‘Rosotto’ but asks for spaghetti and meatballs on the side. When he was told, he refused to do so. Secundp also refused, at first claiming they did not go with the dish, but eventually gave in to the customer.   Secondo believed he can achieve success and live his dream of comfort with the help of Primo’s cooking. Secondo wants it all, the flashy car, the girl, the money, and the success. He b...

La’Raye Francisco April 12, 2020 Reel Food and World Cinema Soul Food/ Once Upon A Time When We Were Colored African American cuisine is shown throughout most of the film, Soul Food . The film shows the typical African American meal. It is common for African Americans to eat fried foods, especially fried chicken. In the film, Big Mama mentions a few of the foods she cooks. Green beans, sweet potato pie, and Southern fried chicken are mentioned. In Once Upon A Time When We Were Colored , Aunt Punk cooks some of the same foods that are shown in Soul Food . She cooks fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, cornbread, and sweet potato pie. According to Aunt Punk, this is what is needed to be considered “eating good” and I wholeheartedly agree with her. The family’s gathering in Soul Food are a great representation of different holidays celebrated in the African American community. In the beginning of the film, Ahmad talks about the family coming over to eat with Big Mama...

La’Raye Francisco April 4, 2020 Reel Food and World Cinema Tortilla Soup vs. Eat Drink Man Woman Although Tortilla Soup is a remake of Eat Drink Man Woman , there are a few differences. Obviously, in both films, the culture is a huge difference. In Tortilla Soup, the film is more focused on a Mexican culture. Eat Drink Man Woman is based focused on Asian culture. The film is more focused on the lives of Martin’s daughters, while Eat Drink Man Woman focused more on the father, Chu’s life. Tortilla Soup had more humorous moments and was more comical than Eat Drink Man Woman . The titles of the films are obviously different. With the title, Tortilla Soup , we at least get a sense about what the movie may contain. We know a little about the culture that will be portrayed, and we know there will be food. With the title, Eat Drink Man Woman , we get no such thing. We are left to guess who the movie represents and the overall plot of the film.      ...

La’Raye Francisco March 26, 2020 Reel Food and World Cinema Chocolat In the film, Chocolat, the main character Vianne, plays the role as the cook, heal, and shaman. She helps multiple characters in the film with her chocolate. Vianne’s, along with her chocolate, offered a solution to many of the characters. For example, Vianne’s chocolate beans brought the spark back to one of the character’s marriage. Her confections brought passion, excitement, and love back into their marriage. Another example of Vianne’s chocolate solving someone’s problem would be with Vianne’s close friend, Josephine. Josephine was with an abusive husband and decided to leave him. Vianne started a friendship with Josephine when she first gave Josephine some chocolate. Vianne taught her how to make chocolate and in turn she helped her change her life around. She went from a mute, to an expressive woman. Vianne also helped fix the relationship between her elderly landlady, Armande and her grands...

La’Raye Francisco March 8, 2020 Reel Food and World Cinema What’s Cooking? Thanksgiving has been celebrated every year for generations in America. It’s a holiday where families come together for a beautiful feast to spend time and have fun with their loved ones. In the film, What’s Cooking, you can say the families had an interesting Thanksgiving. Each family went through their trials and tribulations during the dinner, regardless of their diverse backgrounds. It seemed as though the children of the family did not agree with their parents regarding their lifestyles. The characters’ ethnic identity is shown throughout the film in multiple ways. For example, when the scene would switch to a different family, the music would change. When the scene would switch to the Latino family, the music would change to Hispanic music, or Mariachi music. In each family, the women prepare the Thanksgiving meal. This shows the ‘woman’s traditional role in each culture. Another way the...