Reel World and Food Cinema

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...