The Final Post

This class has given me a new perspective of food.
Looking at all of my previous blogs, I see that I understand the ways food can be
used in a movie to push the story along.
Food can do many things like can teach about other cultures (like in almost every single movie we have seen from Babbette's Feast to Once Upon a Time when we were Colored), food can bond characters, like Madame Mallory and Hassan's Dad in The Hundred Foot Journey, pull them apart, like in Primo and Secondo in big night, for love, like Mario and Martha in Mostly Martha, or simply be an extension of a character, like Tita in Like Water for Chocolate, my favorite movie we’ve watched this semester. I loved watching how magic realism interacted with the food Like Water for Chocolate.

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The plot in Like Water for Chocolate was beautifully driven by Tita’s food and showed the power of intention which
I never really thought about before when making food. I also loved hearing the lecture
about the culture before watching the movie. It gave me a solid foundation of knowledge
to watch the movie with and I felt that I appreciated it and understood it more than I would
have originally. I also LOVE a strong female protagonist.

 

As you know, I am a film student, and I love film so much because it is a universal language.
I was most fascinated when we first learned myths of genre films and the falcon of a movie.
I was especially challenged when we read about genre films as myth, which took a long time to sink in. I really had to step back and ask myself “what expectations do I have before watching
a movie when I read the genre of a film?” It’s a simple question but it really blew my mind.
I have never learned those elements in film before and now I feel that I will always remember
them before and after watching a movie.

The movies in the class became easier and easier identify elements that make it a food film.
I feel that I have learned another perspective on film, food and culture
(just as the title of the class proclaims).

Thanks!

Big Night vs Dinner Rush

Both of these movies portray the Italian- American struggle in the Restaurant Industry. Both movies teeters between the importance of true Italian dining and food to please the masses to bring in money. The films also focus on family and the conversation between immigrants on how to preserve and honor their culture in the USA.




Big Night focuses on the first generation immigrants. The brothers, Primo and Secondo, show more of the struggle of immigrants as their restaurant has little to no customers and they are running out of money. Primo values great food and Italian culture over money, and Secondo is focused on making it in America and knows what the brothers need to thrive. Primo refuses to cook to please the customer and wants them to learn the culture, similar to Luigi in Dinner Rush. Secondo can be compared to Luigi's son, Udo, who has cooks in an Italian fusion, blending cultures to create a new kind of cuisine, similar to 3rd generation Udo is not Italian, not American, but a different breed of his own.



Dinner Rush's restaurant thrives because of Udo's cooking, but the authenticity is gone, only preserved by sous-chef Duncan's cooking, which only goes to Luigi. Even though money is not a struggle in Dinner Rush, power is an issue throughout the movie. Power of who owns the restaurant, Luigi or Udo, along with Black and Blue, the gangster wanting a share due to Duncan's downfall in his gambling addiction.

The food in both movies pay an homage to Italian culture, with Primo and Secondo's falcon food being the trifle dinner meal, and Udo's lobster pasta dish. Both pleased American patrons, but Udo had to not add butter or bread at his picky ex lover's request. Both movies allow American's to share in Italian culture on way or another.




I had an easier time enjoying Dinner Rush. Big Night's pacing of the movie was not consistent throughout the movies, with some scenes being very slow and other's picking up so fast I had to backtrack. Although, did like the characters better in Big Night though. Specific scenes like Primo and Secondo fighting on the beach and the omelet scene make the movie great by showing these intimate circumstances of brotherhood. Dinner Rush's old Italian gangster story I did enjoy more. I enjoyed all of the side plots like Duncan and Nicole's romance, Jennifer (& her BAD wig) and her friend's annoying arrogance, but my favorite character would have to be Fitzgerald. He's such a well thought out character and for only being a supporting character.  The twists and turns of the plot kept me on my seat.  I also will pay money  to see Ken Roloff play a demure hitman ANY. DAY.

Big Night

Q: Describe the relationship between the two brothers and their situation as first-generation Italian immigrants.

Primo and Secondo are not American nor Italian. They exist somewhere in between. Yes, their roots are from Italy, but with the American exposure they have become caught between the two worlds which is the premise of the entire movie. Brotherhood is an unbreakable bond, but because Primo and Secondo went on the American journey together, there is an even closer tie between them. Their downfall is how they perceive their time in America.

Secondo understands the business and faces the bills, debts, and clients right in the face, while Primo is behind the scenes cooking up his food, which he sees more as art. This is shows though Primo always accepting art pieces in exchange for his meals- an equal trade. This infuriates Primo. The business is dying and Americans are not Italians, so they do not understand true Italian masterpieces Primo makes.




Primo and Secondo also have the same dream, but Secondo is willing to sacrifice his Italian heritage by serving risotto with spaghetti in order to have the American dream, and Secondo wants to stick to his pure Italian cooking, feeling it is betraying his kind. This is the struggle of being first generation immigrants. Adapt somehow or getting booted out. Which is what happened to each brother. in the end, Primo walked off with Anne and Secondo lost both of his girls (as he should- scum!)

Secondo may be absolute garbage after cheating on his girlfriend, but it has great symbolism. It shows Secondo's struggle to choose the American lifestyle. He is dating an American, but refuses to settle down with her, because he is still holding on to his Italian roots. By loosing both girl by the end, it shows Secondo is now fully changed into the Italian American. He does not need the girls to show that he is both.



Primo on the other hand, refuses to change himself, but he does accept American culture in another way, though Anne. He finally has the American audience he wants to eat his food. Anne is quiet and eager to learn in which Primo's character arc goes full circle and he does become successful, but not in the restaurant business, but in love.



Even though the brothers part at the end, they both are able to come together in the morning, put the fight behind them and eat. Showing their bond will never break.

Soul Food

As Robin Balthrope writes, "The dinner table, laden with good food and surrounded by loving family and friends, is the scene of good times-- jokes and laughter shared by all, children and adults enjoying memories of past dinner(s) and dreams of the future" (108).



In both movies, Once Upon a time when we were Colored, and Soul Food, Food is more than nourishment. In Soul Food Ahmad talks discusses how black people didn't have much to celebrate back then (early -mid 1900s. The period when Once Upon, takes place) and food was the only thing that brought people together to talk with each other, celebrating family. Big Mamas meals are paying respect to like Poppa, Ma Punk and Cliff who lived during the times of slavery by cooking up the same things they ate and staying together as a family, because that's all they had in Once Upon.




Big Mama's cooking transcends periods. By teaching her daughters how to cook, Big Mama not only shows her daughters love but she is able to explain the black struggle. Balthrope explains, "...Many slaves received the worst scraps of food... black cooks learned to create flavorful meals through the use of various spices and a little imagination. A cooking style literacy developed that did not rely on written instructions since slaves were denied literacy...a tradition was established of passing down cooking secrets orally" (104).  Soul food touches on this subject early on when Bird complains about always cooking with ham hocks and not using proper measuring tools.


Cooking is also not only bringing people together, but when people are together working hard on a favorite meal is a way to show love. This is scene in Once Upon when Ma Punk's son comes home from the North to visit her. She cooks him all of his favorite dishes and it is one of the only scenes with a decently elaborate display of food, unlike Soul Food where every Sunday there is a feast. 
Appreciating what you have to eat and who you are eating it with is at the core of Soul Food. It is a important reminder of Black struggle that still is being fought today.

Eat, Drink, anything but Tortilla Soup

Right off the bat, I full heartedly enjoyed Eat Drink Man Woman more than Tortilla Soup.

Here's why:

1. Food

This is the only element I feel that was well executed in both movies. The shots of the food and the importance of family united around a table were always portrayed well. You always get to see the father preparing food, whether it be for the daughter or for the younger future step-daughter's lunch and the elements of the traditional meals in their respective cultures are both properly represented. For example, dishes that stuck out to me in Eat Drink were when Chu was carving out a design on the sides of the water melon, the dragon made out of colorful veggies at one of the family dinners, and even as simple as when Jia- Jen brings Chu his "mountain tea" towards the end of the movie. I was so interested in the name and the little pot Jia-Jen brought it in, I was yelling at the screen "Why would you want water Chu?! Give me the tea!"
In Tortilla Soup, the banana leaf brush scene is always iconic. I also enjoyed the beginning scene when all of the food gets destroyed at Martin's work. I thought it was really interesting seeing all of the baked apples being remade into the little martini glass desserts. Although, I thought the food was more decadent looking in Eat Drink just because it seemed like there were more plates on the table.
Overall, both movies did a decent job.


2. The Core Narrative/ Cinematic choices

Both movies took place in relatively the same time period, so film style was pretty basic Hollywood style shooting for both films (shot reverse shot, soft, warm lighting, good variety of wide, medium and close shots) BUT, the actors, tone of narrative, and dialogue SCREAMED shitty sit com in Tortilla Soup. All of the sisters and giggly, smiley, and relatively dull in comparison to Eat Drink. The character development and traits are so much more fleshed out in Eat Drink. For example, the oldest sister is supposed to be a religious prude who is charred by her last relationship years ago. WHY would she be enticed by the love letters SO much so that she would go to the coach and publicly make out with him? I watched Tortilla Soup first, and after watching Eat Drink and how Jia-Jen goes the podium during yard time and screams at everyone in anger about the letters makes more sense. It also makes more sense for her to figure out it was a student before confronting Coach Chai. While watching Tortilla Soup, I thought to myself "What student is able to make up believable love poems?" and my question was easily answered in Eat Drink when Jia -Jen hears the love song lyrics in the hallway. Everything is more believable in Eat Drink. From Li Kai being torn up about Jia- Ning's friend to getting knocked up; AND Chu knocking up Jin-Rong! Why would they cut that out from Tortilla Soup!? Choices like that make Tortilla Soup garbage compared to Eat Drink... and Tortilla soup was the re-make! Ridiculous!


3. The Characters

The difference in character that stuck out most to me was mostly the supporting roles. The sisters in both movies have the same basic core values and character arc, different things just happen to them, like Jia- Ning becoming pregnant and Maribel is becoming...  more annoying. The character of the Chai is very differently portrayed in both movies. In Eat Drink, he's a bit goofy but has an air of cool about him as he rides off into the crowd on his bike. He's innocent; that's the soul I get from that character. In Tortilla Soup, he's borderline mentally challenged. If that was his character, he nailed it, but I don't think that was supposed to be the character. Tortilla Soup morphed charmingly goofy to blatantly stupid.  For example, the way he continuously talks about "training" Letty and her untoned upper arms is more aggressively idiotic of a request than Chai's inviting for Jia-Jen to go on a team outing with him. It's less intrusive than commenting on Letty's body and then nagging her to let him "help" train her body. Other moments like Li Kai and Jia- Ning's slow growing relationship and Coach Chai being baptized I feel like are important details that Tortilla Soup should not have cut out. What the heck Tortilla Soup! The movie was produced by Starz not Hallmark!

Overall, I loved seeing Joe from Princess Diaries being a strong Mexican man, but Tortilla Soup is t.r.a.s.h. compared to Eat Drink Man Woman.

Chocolat

Aka my favorite food movie.

Vianne is the 100% best female protagonist in any movie I've seen in a long time. Her role in the movie is to unite and heal the village through her kindness which is represented in her chocolate. The village,  as a whole, undergoes a character arc which is most noticeable in the film. Armande is able to bond with her grandson, which helps him be able to experience the world away from his mother's rule, Guillaume finally gets together with the widow, Josephine escaped her abusive husband, Reynaud is able to stop his harsh rules and give into life with Caroline. Vianne's chocolate shop acts as a entry way for her to be social and almost meddle in the townspeople's lives. In the shop, she usually does the following:

1. The Cook
Vianne will "lure" people into the store innocently though her cooking. This reminds me of The Hundred- Foot Journey when Hassan's father would stand outside his shop and ask people to come in. This act of pulling in customers off of the street, as shown through Hassan's family's journey, is a very un-french thing to do. The townspeople are very meek and usually try to politely decline, but as soon as Vianne gets the villagers to taste the food, their eyes and minds are opened. Vianne has earned their trust though her act of kindness of sharing her chocolate and now she can move on to her true purpose in the town...

2. The Healer/ Shaman
Vianne's background in the story is perfect. Her father was a medicine man, healing the French, and her mother was a traveler who's tribe worked with chocolate in their shamanism. Vianne is able to relate to the townspeople though her father's side (she looks french/ speaks french no hint of foreign influence physically.) but her  mother's side comes out though her chocolate shop. Her cooking, just like in Like Water for Chocolate, is a direct line to her mother and her culture. She uses her chocolate to heal. For example, Vianne gives chocolate to one of the women in the town who is having a loveless marriage, and after the husband eats the chocolate it is solved. Another example is when Reynaud starts to destroy the chocolate and when he finally has a taste, he is able to see his strict ways are not working and is more open to what others input on others.

The most interesting example of Vianne's healing is though Josephine. Eating the chocolate is nice, but that does not fix Josephine's problem with her drunk husband. The act of making chocolate is what gives her freedom and the confidence to leave her husband. Vianne is able to show her a different way of thinking and helps Josephine heal from her past by helping Vianne in the shop. Vice versa, I believe the townspeople helped heal Vianne. Not in the mystical way Vianne is able to heal others, but they have showed her a sense of stability and family that she did not have growing up. She only had her mother who took her away from her father at a young age, which I see has jaded Vienne to jump from town to town, leaving before anyone could get close to her. The idea that she needed to travel to share her chocolate was a facade to hide her weaknesses, which might hinder her healing of others. Overall, the town needed Vianne as much as Vianne needed the town.

What's Cooking?

What's Cooking deals with cultural differences and major issues many families face during the holidays. The one thing that brings the families together is the meals they share, even though many times there are differences even in that.
Once major moment I found of interest is when the mother is when the Chinese family cooks the turkey. One side is covered in traditional Chinese style sauce and the other is plain, representing the American way of living. The two sides of the family baked into one big turkey that eventually burns up in flames, similarly to the family drama in the movie.
The drama in the different households is not necessarily specific to their ethnicity, but rather a snapshot of examples of the drama that could ensue with any traditional family of any ethnicity/culture.

The title What's Cooking refers to the drama that is heating up as these stories pursue, all while trying to cook the perfect meal for their families. The food is important but not the main event of the movie, but rather the food brings a reason for the families to join together and brings out the different flavors and spices every family has to offer.