Why did I choose "Reel Food and World Cinema"? And What is my favorite "food" movie?

I have always had a love for learning about different cultures. Because I grew up in a community that was not very diverse, I always yearned to understand the cultures and lifestyles of the communities that I was never exposed to as a child. And because of that yearning, I've always wanted to travel, learn about, and experience as many different cultures as I can (even if I can't always travel to those places). It’s amazing to think that the building blocks of our society are made up of so many variables like body language, aesthetics, beliefs, folklore, the arts and, of course, food. If there were a World Cultures major or minor here at McDaniel, I would sign up in a heartbeat. I’ve taken The French-Speaking World class and the Asian Approaches to Acting class and loved it. So naturally, I had to sign up for the class that had both cinematic & cultural aspects.

Although I haven’t watched many food movies, a food film that I really enjoyed was Le Bouillon D'awara also known as Awara Soup (1996). I was introduced to this film in my French-Speaking World class, and I still think about it to this day. This documentary is about the tradition and process of making Awara soup. This type of soup is known for its tedious cooking technique, its significance to the community, and the various and unique list of ingredients. Awara soup is made up of Awara fruit, smoked fish, smoked chicken, corned beef, shrimp, cabbage, green beans, and spinach and takes about thirty-six hours to prepare. Like awara soup, the city of Cayenne, French Guiana is filled with so many different types of people, cultures, and subcultures. If you are intrigued by the histories & cultures of french-speaking counties, then I would definitely recommend that you watching this film!

Comments

Vianne's Many Roles Within "Chocolat"

It's without a doubt that Vianne Rocher is "the falcon" of Chocolat. She enters our story as a literal force of nature to be reckoned with. Just like her chocolates, Vianne is a mixture of many things; two of those things being of both French & Mayan descent. Some other important aspects of Vianne's character is that we see her cook and heal throughout the film. Because of Vianne and her cooking & healing, we see the French town of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes transform from drab and subdued to vibrant and full of life. The role that I want to focus on is her role as a cook. Without cooking, we wouldn't have a story! Vianne's job as a cook allows for her to heal & help the villagers around her because she heals through cooking. When she first opens her shop, we see the townspeople reluctant to venture into her store. She convinces her first customer, Yvette Marceau, to by a bag of unrefined cocoa nibs from Guatemala that will waken the passion be

Final Blog Entry: The Reel Food & World Cinema Experience

Now that the semester is coming to a close, I decided to go back and reread my previous blog posts. I can't say that I've taken the time to go through my entries after the initial publishing. It's strange to go back and read them and remember my headspace when writing them or what was going on in my life during that time. Memories rush back of sitting decker auditorium, locking eyes with my friends when something unexpected or hilarious happened, hearing Dr. Esa laugh at a scene that no one else found as funny, and chuckling at the one person who was always asleep and snoring during the screening. Overall, I didn't really find this course challenging. After taking both Intro to Cinema & Film Analysis: Hitchcock , I was used to this style of class. It was difficult to keep up with the journal entries from time to time. I really appreciated the variety of films we watched (even if I didn't agree with the choices of the films). I don't think I would hav

How Food Helps Discover Personal & National Identities in "Como Agua Para Chocolate"

Food is the most coherent, articulate, persuasive, and powerful speaker within the entirety of Como Agua Para Chocolate. Communication is a very important aspect of this film. The very first thing that we, the audience see is an onion being chopped as we hear the narrator explaining a trick to prevent crying from onions (we find out later how important this moment truly is). Although we've seen food being used as a means of communication in previous films- such as Mostly Martha - this film best executes the idea that food can speak louder than words, especially when words can't be spoken amongst main characters. The first time we see an example of this is when Tita and Nacha are preparing the Chabela Cake for Pedro & Rosaura's wedding. We can see how absolutely torn up Tita is by this, despite knowing Pedro's true intentions. She is succumbed by anguish and nausea that she begins to cry into the batter. The next day at the wedding, we witness Tita's grie

The Cinematic World of Culinary & Culture

Search This Blog