Reel World and Food Cinema

La’Raye Francisco May 6, 2020 Reel Food and World Cinema Final Blog This semester, I have learned how food is relevant in films. Usually when watching a film, I never really paid attention to the food that is presented throughout a film.   Now I will most certainly do so. I have learned that the food alone can say so much about the characters, the culture, how characters are feeling, and the film itself. I have also learned that America has influenced many cultures when it comes to food. In a few of the films we watched, the food was Americanized. This class has taught me to analyze films better. When watching films, I can now pay attention to the cultures that are presented throughout the film, and of course the food. It also made me realize that some movies I have watched in the past can be considered as food movies. For example, one of my favorite movies, The Princess and The Frog is a food movie. It shows a chef preparing food and people enjoying the food prepare...

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...

La’Raye Francisco March 1, 2020 Reel Food and World Cinema Like Water for Chocolate As Tita cooks, her becoming a woman is shown throughout the movie. From her first dish in the film, to her quail, her sexual identity has come to life. She is changing throughout the movie. She is no longer an innocent girl who obeyed her mother’s command. She grew up to be a woman who followed her passion. Although Tita was not allowed to do much and show much emotion, her emotion took place in her food, through her cooking. Tita acted through her emotions. I believe her emotions are what stirred the other actors to behave the way they did. If it were not for Tita’s food, we would not have seen the identities of the other characters. Though her food we could see just who each actor is and their true identity. Food also showed Mexico’s identity. In the film, there were many dishes that Tita cooked that represented cultural differences. There were many dishes that Tita cooked that repres...

La’Raye Francisco February 23, 2020 Reel Food and World Cinema Soylent Green In the article, Laurel Foster talks about how food can be a metaphor for social concerns. “These mass, international mean of producing and distributing foods have been a factor in global food concerns regarding surpluses in some nations and food shortages in others, with no politically satisfactory means of ensuring the obvious equality of food supply.” In the film, soylent green does just that. The actual food, Soylent Green plays a huge role in the film. The food, and the lack of food, shows the characters’ status in terms of class. In the movie, the characters’ economic status played a part in what kind of food they had access to. Those who were rich were able to obtain healthy and fresh foods. For example, they would eat things like lettuce, beef, tomatoes, and celery. While the poor people were stuck eating soylent green. There is an immense lack of resources for those who are not rich. ...

La’Raye Francisco February 15, 2020 Blog #3 The food in the film represents Martha, her emotions, and how she is feeling. Martha uses food to structure her life. For example, she told Lina that she wished she had a recipe for her. Martha needs things like instructions and guidance to give her the outcome she wants. In the book, the author mentions how the need for a recipe for Lina shows her “reliance upon simple and methodical solutions to complex problems and interpersonal relationships.” The author writes how emotional and familial experiences are ‘alien’ to her. I believe that for Martha, food provides not only structure for her, but also comfort and peace. Food also shows represents the progress that Martha is showing. For example, throughout most of the movie, Martha was not seen eating any food. It was later in the film that Martha was seen eating the leftover food that Mario had left for her and Lina. This shows that Mario is getting to Martha. Their romance i...

La’Raye Francisco February 8,2020 Reel Food and World Cinema Blog 2 Food can bring out the best and worst in people. I believe the main idea of “Power of Food and the Protestant Ethics” is basically that food has the power to bring forth many different emotions. For example, it can change how you feel about something, or about a person. It can also bring you joy. Food can allow people to remember things of the past. For example, after tasting Babette’s signature dish, he was able to remember the time he went to that restaurant and ate her cooking. Good food can relieve tension and bring people closer. In the movie, Babette’s food changed the actions of the people living in the village. In the book, the author talks about how Babette’s food equated to having an angel come down. “One way of understanding the revelatory impact of Babette’s feast on her diners is to suggest that she did indeed call an angel down into their dining room, an angel of communion and forgive...

La’Raye Francisco Reel Food and World Cinema January 28, 2020 Blog #1     https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d6/65/45/d66545c11007951ba8b8275ce27c730f.jpg I have chosen to take Reel Food and World Cinema because I had never heard of the subject before so I thought it would be interesting. When I am at home, or in my dorm, I am most likely watching a movie. I love watching movies. When I found out we would be watching movies, I was really excited. I did not initially choose this class on my own. I chose this class because my friend was also taking the class and she suggested I join her. I am glad that I did. I assumed we would be learning about different foods that are made in different cultures, around the world. I thought we would be watching documentaries about how certain food became to be and how it is made. I am glad that the class is not what I thought it would be. My favorite food film is Princess and the Frog. I enjoy the film mainly because it is a m...