Mama Elena is the devil incarnate, but even the devil was once an angel. Just like in Cinderella, the father dies which sparks the mother's evil outbursts due to her grief and her children. This causes she youngest and weakest child, Tita, to be the best choice for Mama Elena's personal punching bag. I believe because of this harsh upbringing, Tita developed a great gift; the ability to speak though food. The magic realism is highlighted whenever Tita cooks because of the way she is able to put her emotions into her food and for them to be felt by the public. This ties into what Dr. McNichols mentioned about how cook books are a way to connect to the part.
Dr. McNichols discussed in class about cultural setting in this movie and how food is also a common language outside the realm of magical realism. Dr. McNichols explained about the Chicanos and the natives who live in Mexico, which explains why Gertrudes has orange hair and speaks Spanish, and this also explains the significance of Nacha's cooking. Tita learned her cooking from Nacha and in a later scene Tita is preparing a meal after Mama Elena's ghost is gone, we see the spirit of Nacha and Doctor John's native grandmother as it is shown there is a bloodline through cooking.
Dr. McNichols most importantly discussed the importance of heritage and cooking in the female community. She explained how women were unable to express themselves formally and publicly, but their memory lives on through women's cook books. There, women were able to express themselves. This ties into the movie right off the bat when the Narrator(who we later realize was the great granddaughter of Esperanza), when she puts the onion on her head in order not to cry. This movie is definitely categorized as a food movie because the cook book is what propels the Narrator to begin telling the story. We learn about Tita and her cooking though the Narrator who is reading her book.
Because of cookbooks like Tita's, today we are able to learn about how women lived in earlier periods and the direct relation food has to their history and the women before them.
I also just wanted to add a list of my favorite scenes in the movie
- The Priest grabbing a woman after eating Tita's love quail -iconic-
- Tita riding away in her sad blanket to the mental hospital with Dr. John.... that blanket was LONG.
- Rosaura dying of flatulence and Pablo's face looking down at her. (I tried to put a screenshot of his face, but it won't let me upload it... I swear he's smiling juuuust a little)
<--- Rosaura
<---Pablo& Last but not least
- Chencha's character as a whole. She is so smiley and loyal to Tita--- I just love her!!
No comments:
Post a Comment