A Feast Full of Stereotypes by Dain Ruiz Juel Taylor’s directorial debut, They Cloned Tyrone, is a Sci-Fi/Blaxploitation film that follows three characters: Fontaine, Slick Charles, and Yo-Yo. These characters discover that the government is experimenting on their entire community to figure out how to control the Black population. As they begin to uncover the secrets of the government testing, they find that what they believe to be essential characteristics of their community are fabrications. These three characters work to uncover how far this conspiracy goes and rise with their community to fight against their white oppressors. As seen in many Blaxploitation films, the use of stereotypes of the Black community is heavily prevalent. For example, in the image, we see these stereotypes through the clothes and jewelry that our three main characters adorn for the roles that they play: Fontaine, a “thug,” wearing baggy clothes and a grill; Slick Charles, a “pimp,” wearing a flashy coat and expensive diamond rings; and Yo-Yo, a “hoe,” wearing a fur coat and oversized hoop earrings. Furthermore, Taylor utilizes these stereotypes through the use of food in They Cloned Tyrone. After finding a cloned version of Fontaine in a secret lab, the group decides they need some comfort food to calm down and go to “Got Damn Chicken” to get some well-deserved hot and spicy fried chicken. The group then begins to feast on the fried chicken in a packed restaurant filled with others who look just like them. In the image above, when they eat the chicken, they are all instantly overcome with happiness and begin laughing euphorically. Slick Charles then realizes that the people running the conspiracy have put something into the comfort food to trigger this reaction artificially. This scene in the chicken shop forces characters to realize how far into their community the government has reached in its experimental testing. Juel Taylor, a Black filmmaker, uses elements of the Blaxploitation genre to display the relationship between the Black community and the feast. Specifically, Taylor displays the importance that soul food plays in this relationship, tapping into the stereotype of soul food being Black comfort food. Kass explains in The Hungry Soul that we as humans are “not capable of full self-command,” meaning that we succumb to our desires, especially when it comes to what we want to eat. This relates to the film because as the characters go to the restaurant to feast, there is an assumption that the food they choose to eat will undoubtedly be fried chicken, based on the stereotype that the Black community favors fried chicken as their form of comfort food. More specifically, as shown in the image, there is an additional assumption that the characters will eat their soul food at a cheap, fast-food restaurant. The government understands the importance and desire of eating traditionally Black foods in this community, so they specifically chose to include this cultural pillar in their drug testing. Taylor includes this stereotype in the film to showcase how the predominately white government abuses this perception of the Black community. They Cloned Tyrone. Dir. Juel Taylor. Perf. John Boyega, Jaime Foxx, Teyonah Parris. Netflix, 2023. Streaming. Kass, Leon. The Hungry Soul Eating and the Perfecting of Our Nature. The Free Press. 1994.

Rose’s Identity Through Feasting in Titanic by Kenan Bateman In James Cameron’s Titanic (1997), a newfound romance emerges between Rose Dewitt Bukater and Jack Dawson on the RMS Titanic before disaster strikes. Rose is an upper class woman unhappy with her current life. Engaged to an overbearing man named Cal, Rose’s depression in that lifestyle leads her to attempt suicide by jumping off the back of the boat into frigid waters. As this is happening, Jack happens to notice her and stops her from jumping. A romance ensues, and the two of them start spending more time together on the ship. Noticing this, Rose’s mother immediately bans her from seeing Jack. She wants Rose to marry in her own class and follow through with her engagement to Cal. However, Rose wants Jack regardless of his class difference. Their romance blossoms, but disaster cuts it short. The RMS Titanic hits an iceberg and sinks. While sinking, the first class passengers are the first to leave the ships, yet Rose opts to abandon her family in favor of staying with Jack and the third class. Going down with the ship, the two lovers find themselves in the frigid water, which eventually takes Jack’s life. A lifeboat finds Rose, and she changes her last name to Dawson, immortalizing her love with Jack. It is very apparent throughout the film that Rose is struggling with an identity crisis. As an upper class passenger, she feels more at home in the third class area with Jack. This identity crisis is a central role of the film, and its setting on the doomed Titanic makes it even more poignant as it literally turns into a life or death decision. And although we see her struggle with this decision in many different settings on the ship, they reach a climax whenever food or drink is around. Rose’s changing tastes become the most apparent at dinner and party scenes throughout the film. This is best illustrated through back-to-back scenes of a high-class meal followed by a steerage class pub party directly after. Whenever Rose is eating or socializing with the upper class, she always appears to be disinterested, uncomfortable or unhappy. The scene where Jack first accompanies Rose to a first class dinner perfectly illustrates her lack of fulfillment amongst the rich. There is fakeness about her throughout the scene. Everything she does seems very well rehearsed, bordering on uncomfortable at times. She is the only one that doesn’t laugh at the jokes others make at dinner, and she frequently flashes Jack uncomfortable looks. Rose even goes as far as to mock the upper class under her breath to Jack – “Next it’ll be brandies in the smoking room. Now they’re treated to a cloud of smoke as they congratulate each other on being masters of the universe.” She obviously isn’t comfortable in this lifestyle, and it is no coincidence that she is only shown taking one brief sip of champagne throughout the meal, not consuming this lifestyle. It is also worth noting that when she takes this sip, she is out of focus, showing that it isn’t even the most important aspect of the shot. The scene is also shown entirely in high-key light. In video, this often implies that a scene is very planned and scripted. Granted this is a generalization, but most high-key lighted scenes will not have very strong emotions present, which is true in this scene and supports Rose’s lack of enthusiasm. The last aesthetic choice worth noting is the composition of each shot and depth of field choices. A small aperture is used for the entire scene creating an incredibly shallow depth of field. This narrowly focuses each shot. Due to this, no other tables in the dining area are ever clear in the scene. In the same light, most of the shots are tightly framed with one person’s head and an assumed eyeline. Both of these aspects working together makes all the characters feel very distant from one another and isolated. This is true of the first class, and it undoubtedly mirrors Rose’s identity crisis and her apparent fakeness in upper class. It is also worth noting that many of the characters at the dinner have at least one shot of only their face while they are talking, yet Rose is never shown by herself, often framed with at least one other character in her close-ups. It shows how her identity in the first class is very much tied to those around her and how she isn’t truly an individual in this setting. In contrast, Rose doesn’t resist the third class lifestyle at all. All Jack has to say is, “So you want to go to a real party?” and she immediately follows him. At this Irish dance party, Rose shows a completely different side of herself. We see her clapping along to music, smiling, and even laughing when a drunken man falls and breaks a table. Rose chugs a glass of dark beer and smirks, “What? You think a first class girl can’t drink?” The lower class lifestyle surrounds her, and she consumes it wholeheartedly. She even cockily pulls a cigarette out of a man’s mouth, takes a drag, and then stands on just her toes to show everyone her toughness. Rose shows no resistance to their way of life and quickly jumps on stage with Jack to improvise a dance while laughing and shrieking in happiness. The aesthetic choices of this scene are also drastically different than those in first class. The entire scene is white balanced to give a much more red, warmer feel – mirroring the third class’s warm, accepting nature. James Cameron also chose to use mixed lighting in this scene, which creates more love-like emotions, and he uses that to illuminate Rose’s happy faces. Cameron’s cinematographer also chose to use a higher aperture in this scene to leave much of the party in focus in each shot. This gave a community feel to the pub and helped illustrate how Rose blended in more as she was not the only thing in focus in her shots. And unlike her shots in the first class, Rose has shots in this scene that show only her, reinforcing her individuality in third class. This form of feasting, a polar opposite from her fine-dining passengers, seems to appeal to her much more. A feast with less food, more alcohol and more carefree interactions brings out an entirely different side of Rose. In the film, it is the presence of food that often accents Rose’s struggles with her identity, not necessarily the actual act of eating it or specific food eaten. It is not merely convenient that the emotional turning points in the film often involve food – Jack and Rose’s chase scene that takes them through a kitchen, Cal flipping a table of food while angry at Rose, or the plates shattering on board as the ship sinks and Rose’s love goes down with it. The film is about a romance and a disaster, yet food plays a central role to mirror Rose’s struggles that is often overlooked. She wants to escape her scripted, fake lifestyle in first class to become more of an individual in the authentic, accepting third class.

To the Bone: An Internal Battle Against Food by Junessa Sladen-Dew In the film To The Bone (2017), directed by Marti Noxon, the internal battle with self-image and the social pressure to be thin are revealed through cinematographic elements and displays of food. This 2017 American drama, featuring stars such as Lily Collins and Keanu Reeves, offers an insightful look into a widespread issue that plagues many adolescents around the globe. Ellen is a 20-year-old college dropout who returns home during her battle against anorexia nervosa and looks to a new form of treatment. She is placed in an unconventional group home where the fellow residents are also battling an array of eating disorders. Marti Noxon takes the audience on a harrowing journey through the lives of Ellen and her fellow residents, showcasing the ups and downs of the battle against an eating disorder. Throughout this movie, food is the antagonist and holds a negative position, in comparison with the feeling of comfort usually associated with food, invoking comfortability in the characters and the audience. The relationship between Ellen and her food is extremely intricate and leaves the audience questioning societies role in the expectations of what food means. The group home takes an idiosyncratic view on the healing process and allows each resident to choose all the food they eat. Traditionally, the food chosen by someone is a comfort food or something that brings nostalgic memories; however, the residents have specific reasons for their choices. Usually these choices have little to do with positive associations and diminish the association of food and positive comfort in each resident. Through cinematographic elements such as panning shots, Noxon sets up a comparative analysis of the food that the residents are choosing and their respective emotions. This film holds an important societal message about body norms and the social expectations that are placed on all adolescents but specifically women concerning caloric intake and enjoyment of food. The specific regimen that the residents are forced to follow feeds into the idea that food can be viewed as solely a path of survival without any association. Creating a movie where food is the antagonist, To The Bone creates a stark and cold setting with a strong sense of foreboding unhappiness. Although food is seen as the enemy for many of the residents, the most pivotal scene occurs at the dining room table as seen in Figure 1. The table, traditionally a place of cohesive family behavior, is instead used as an arena of judgement and unhappiness. Through the medium shots that land on each resident and rests on Ellen, a strong sense of comparison is felt by the viewer. The scene ends in judgmental remarks being passed across the table at the choices of food by Ellen and ends in an establishing long shot of all the residents still seated and glaring in disgust at each other. Through this scene, we see that eating and food are not only an internal enemy for the residents but has the potential to tear apart their fragile friendships simultaneously. The film comes to an end when Ellen begins her recovery from her battle against anorexia nervosa and begins to build relationships with the people and food in her life. Through simple day-to-day interactions with family and friends, usually centered around gatherings that include food, Ellen begins to untwist her distorted image of herself and finds comfort with eating and showing an appreciation for her body. To The Bone. Directed by Marti Noxon. 2017. Netflix

Functional Food Making in Toast by Zishu Chen Toast (2010) is a British TV film directed by S.J. Clarkson, and based on cookery writer Nigel Slater’s autobiographical novel of the same name (wiki). It tells a story about Nigel Slater and his stepmother (Mrs. Potter)’s culinary completion in order to win Alan’s (Nigel’s dad) heart by pleasing his stomach. The still encapsulates the culmination of their competition. Throughout the movie, Clarkson juxtaposes the two character’s relationship with the food to contrast their motivation for food making. Nigel is naturally drawn toward gourmets at a young age; his self-awareness and individuality mature as his mastery of food-making progresses. Mrs. Potter benefits from her extraordinary culinary skills to captivate Alan’s heart in hope of abandoning her working-class lifestyle. After Alan’s death, Nigel breaks free from home to become a chef and later, a culinary writer. Mrs. Potter, left with no one to impress her food with, spends her aged years alone. The distinction between Nigel and Mrs. Potter’s approaches to food symbolizes as a metaphor for issues of self-discovery and instrumentalism: the former evolves into independence and liberation; the latter collapses as a result of unhealthy attachment to utilitarian purposes. Nigel discovers pleasure in toothsome food as an elementary school boy. He’d secretly read culinary books late at night, and sigh with voluptuousness pleasure at pictures of Spaghetti Bolognese. Nigel also insists on sticking to good taste, which empowers him to stand firm against authority and oppression. For instance, he refuses to eat his father’s nasty, half-raw cooking in faced with Alan’s physically violent threat, not even when Alan pushes him against the wall. A stubborn love for the delicious shapes Nigel’s self-identity in cradle. In high school, Nigel chooses home economics to make pastries every Wednesday, despite of the girls’ ridicule in class. By committing himself to this class, Nigel formalizes his relationship with food. It also rapidly advances his culinary skills, and gains him social recognition both at school and at home. Soon enough, girls crowd around him after class, eager to taste the scrumptious cakes and pies he makes. Even Alan approves of Nigel’s pastry by saying “It’s not bad. It’s really not bad. (Taste)” Gradually, food making transforms Nigel’s social identity from a quiet and plain school boy into a gifted cook. Mrs. Potter takes care of housekeeping for the Slater’s after the death of Nigel’s mother. To the maximum extent possible, she embodies the adage of getting to a man’s heart through his stomach. As Mr. Slater starts to respond to her seductive signal, she bakes an apple pie for his supper, a forward move that trespasses the role of a housekeeper. After moving in with Mr. Slater in the remote Herefordshire countryside, Mrs. Potter feeds Mr. Slater with delectable food non-stop, singing “As we used to say in Wolverhampton, bon appetitie.” Noticeably, Mr. Slater praises her as the best lemon meringue maker. Indulged in scrumptious feats everyday, Mr. Slater associates Mrs. Potter as the source of pleasure, enjoyment and comfort, and soon marries her. Mrs. Potter’s dream to become a housewife in an upper-middle class household eventually comes true. Empowered by her extraordinary culinary skills, she writes her own story of upward mobility. However, Mrs. Potter senses a dangerous sign of her dream being shattered as Nigel surprises Mr. Slater with his brilliantly made food. The lemon meringue in the still is Nigel’s master-piece after his strenuous efforts put into studying the recipe. Snowy white creamy meringue piles up on its top, covered by a baked, crispy layer; the lemon pie illuminates bright, lively yellow color; its texture is so spongy that it’s ready to jump into your mouth if you don’t take a bite. This lemon meringue pie announces a pinnacle of Nigel’s self-discovery driven by food. It has grown to a point of maturity where his culinary skills are capable of expressing his love for food. This spectacular culinary masterpiece also foreshadows Nigel’s future life trajectory. Up to this point, his individuality and competence sets him ready to make a living as a chef on his own. In the same still, Mrs. Potter is examining a piece of Nigel’s lemon meringue with close attention and hostility. Alerted by its luring color and the tempting smell of sweetness and tartness in the air, Mrs. Potter poses like a hound ready to attack its enemy. Her nostrils enlarged, lips tightly closed into a straight line, her gaze tightly fixed on the pie, Mrs. Potter radiates an aura of tension, belligerence, and animosity. She clutches a coldness-beaming silver folk, full of eagerness to cut up that triumphant-looking piece of lemon meringue the charm of which declares her defeat. Mrs. Potter’s posture reveals her threatened inner self. Before the challenge from Nigel, she prides herself as the unmatchable lemon meringue maker, a role that represents her indispensableness to Mr. Slater. As a figure of power and authority in the family, Mr. Slater’s approval and affection signifies her erected status in the house. Therefore, Mrs. Potter interprets Nigel’s marvelous lemon meringue as a threat to what she has thrown her old life away to strive for. This insecurity reveals Mrs. Potter vulnerability, and forecasts the collapse of her life when no utilitarian end is left to for pursuit after Mr. Slater’s death. In Toast, food functions as a device that takes Nigel onto a journey self-discovery. Across time, his identity as an avid food lover gets discovered, sustained, grown, matured, and manifested. Nigel is empowered by his love for food to become a professional cookery writer. On the other hand, food serves as an instrument to transform Mrs. Potter from a cleaner into Mrs. Slater. Recognizably, food gains her power to transcend her working class living condition; yet it can only take her this far. Note: We need to be cautious not to have a modern Cinderella-like black-and-white reading of the film. It’s narrow to interpret Nigel as Cinderella and Mrs. Potter the stepmother (Holden). To critically understand characters, it’s critical to take their background into consideration. Nigel, born into an upper-middle class family, is financially secure to afford the freedom of self-discovery. And coming from working-class, it’s natural for Mrs. Potter to desire a life of higher-quality living standards. A moral hierarchy that tops food for pleasure over food as power tool is biased and limiting. References Holden, Stephen. “’Billy Elliot’ by Way of Kitchen, With a Pinch of ‘Sweeny Todd’”. New York Times 22 Sep. 2011: Movies. Wikipedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_(film)>.

Toast-y Feelings: Comfort Food and Memory by Georgia Jeffrey Toast (2010) is a film that nourishes the soul. It is a biographical motion picture based on British celebrity chef Nigel Slater’s book Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger (2003). The audience is taken on a journey that looks back on Slater’s childhood and discovers what precipitated his love for food. Slater’s mother, Kathleen, is depicted as a loving but hopeless cook while his father struggles to show affection to his son. After the death of his mother at a young age and the introduction of a culinary-gifted but dismissive step-mother, Nigel must seek affection from elsewhere, in the kitchen. The film is an exploration of memory, gender roles, sexuality and comfort food. One scene in particular, after which the book and film were named, depicts the role of memory and comfort in food (0:04:56). Nigel’s biological mother hopelessly tries to boil a tinned meal in a pot, which burns when she is distracted. Her response, “I think I better make some toast,” is a line Slater relates to his mother and her failed cooking attempts. The film cuts to a long shot of the family at the dinner table. Muted tones and dull lighting emphasize the feeling of disappointment from Nigel’s father. A brief silence is followed by the overwhelming sound of crunching. The camera zooms to a medium close-up of Nigel’s face displaying a wry smile as he crunches through the crust. His internal dialogue plays over the shot “no matter how bad things get, it’s impossible not to love someone who made you toast.” This dialogue is paired with natural lighting illuminating the left side of his face portraying a moment of sublimity. Nigel goes on to break the fourth wall with a look of acknowledgment and pleasure that many of the audience will understand. Roth (2017) argues that comfort food does not necessarily have to be the food that you like the most, but that it is often entwined with the memory of a loved one. “Food items become comfort foods because people are repeatedly exposed to them in the presence of relational partners” (188). They are often associated with childhood (Jones, 2017). This film confirms Roth’s (2017) idea that nostalgia does not depend on a happy childhood; “in fact, it often recreates a fictional one, glossing over difference and conflict to construct a more harmonious past” (196). In this instance, toast comforts Nigel as he relates it to the memory of his late mother. He finds her lack of culinary knowledge endearing. Works Cited Jones, M. (2017). “Stressed” Spelled Backwards Is “Desserts”: Self-Medicating Moods with Foods. In: M. Jones and L. Long, ed., Comfort Food: Meanings and Memories, 1st ed. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, pp.17-41. Roth, L. (2017). Comfort (and Discomfort) Food: Social Surrogacy and Embodied Memory in Real and Reel Life. In: M. Jones and L. Long, ed., Comfort Food: Meanings and Memories, 1st ed. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, pp.182-207. Slater, N. (2003). Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger. London: Gotham Books. Toast. (2010). [film] Directed by S. Clarkson. UK: BBC Films.

From Salmon to Saffron: A Homecoming by Abhishek Das In Today’s Special (2009), protagonist Samir must overcome personal failures and decide whether to continue life as an American chef or embrace his Indian culture and run his family restaurant. When we cook for the first time, we are afraid that an aspect of a dish might be ill-prepared: the amount of coriander to add, the temperature at which the masala can be heated, or even the proper basmati rice serving. We prepare food countless times to achieve perfection. This always comes through practice, and often with the assistance of a mentor. In the film Today’s Special, Samir acquires a mentor who provides him a profound connection with food. This mentor, Akbar, teaches Samir how to cook and appreciate the art of Indian cuisine. At the outset of the film, viewers meet Samir, a talented sous chef who cannot find a restaurant opportunity. He resigns from his job as he is passed over for another head chef position because his employer feels that he is too methodical and lacks passion in his cooking. Being denied a new job forces Samir into introspection; he wonders how he can cook food with more passion and zeal. In addition, Samir’s father, Hakim, owner of Tandoori Palace, is selling the family restaurant. This event forces Samir to come home and take over the business after his father falls ill. With zero experience in Indian cuisine, Samir lacks consistency and care for preparing Indian dishes. Along with Hakim’s emotional disownment of his son, Samir sees little use in appreciating Indian food culture, let alone running the restaurant. This animosity towards home is directly reflected by his inability to incorporate spices and emotion into his cooking. To improve his cooking skills, Samir hires Akbar, a previously a high accomplishing chef from India. Akbar functions as a foil to Hakim, as Samir learns intricacies of spice combinations and other food preparations in Indian cuisine from Akbar. Hakim has long been disappointed in his son, and Samir has never looked to him for fatherly assistance. This theme of disconnect and disappointment Hakim feels for his son reflects their poor relationship and the substandard quality of Tandoori Palace. Akbar transforms the restaurant into a well-known establishment, but must move away. Samir, as if reborn, becomes entranced by the smell, taste, and touch of the strongly aromatic myriad of spices he presides over. He recounts Akbar’s adages of “one must trust the aromas before adding ingredients” and “determine the character of dosa according to the chef’s mood” to provide a dimension of synesthesia to his cooking. This all-encompassing form of cooking transfers to his customers. Samir continues to draw from his Indian culture to cultivate his passion of cooking, which is directly noticed in the increasing success of his restaurant. Samir finds pleasure in making Indian food by discovering cooking as a natural passion and not a systematic process. He learns to appreciate the history behind the food he creates, allowing him to rebuild his career as a chef and accept the rich history of Indian cuisine. Work Cited Kaplan, David, director. Today’s Special. Reliance MediaWorks Ltd. 2009.

How Traditional Cooking Brings People Together by Christian Ortiz The 2001 film Tortilla Soup tells the story of a retired chef named Martin Naranjo, who lives in Los Angeles with his three adult daughters Carmen, Maribel, and Leticia. Each night, the family convenes to eat an exquisite dinner that their father, Martin, has spent hours preparing, despite his loss of taste and smell. Martin ingrains in his daughters the importance of eating as a family, living at home until marriage, and pursuing a professional career, but they grow tired of his old-fashioned ways, causing conflict within the family. Even during rough times for the Naranjo family, food acts a way to reunite the family and maintain their traditional values. Carmen, Maribel, and Leticia reach a point in their lives where their father still wants to raise and care for them, but they are growing increasingly independent and looking for other men to spend their time with. The transition to independence begins when Carmen, the middle daughter, announces to the family that she is moving into an upscale apartment away from the family. Then, Maribel, the youngest daughter, meets a Brazilian guy at her job, and she decides to move into his apartment. Lastly, Leticia, the eldest daughter, meets a baseball coach while teaching, and they escape to Las Vegas to elope. Each of these events pulls Martin’s daughters away from him, but his cooking is what helps him cope with the change. Martin is a widower, and without his daughters, he grows lonely, but preparing food gives him something to do each day and draws his daughters home for dinner. Martin takes pride in the preparation, and he uses it to maintain family tradition and remain in his daughter’s lives. This is where the cinematography shines in the film: Rather than the usual extravagant food sitting on white, glossy plates, the film concentrates on the preparation. The vivid close-ups of Martin chopping and seeding fresh fruits and vegetables, rolling out dough, and putting the final touches on each dish make you feel as if you can almost taste it. For example, Figure 1 is a close up of Martin mashing together lovely vegetables he roasted. dough After the preparation, close-ups of the presentation of the food on the table make the viewer imagine the spicy smells that surely fill the room. This style of shot also emphasizes how alone Martin is. There is no conversation or people hustling around the kitchen, but, instead, it is just Martin and the food. It seems as if Martin develops a relationship with food as he prepares it from beginning to end – a way of dealing with his loneliness and inviting his family back into his home. Each of them, despite their more distant lives, come home to enjoy their father’s unbelievable meals. They bring the men they have met with them to dinner, introducing them to the amazing cooking and their father. Each of the guests go out of their way to compliment Martin and ask him more about each dish, allowing them to get to know each other through food. This helps Martin become accustomed to his daughters living more independently while still holding some of his traditional values. Food acts as a way for Martin and his family to maintain their relationships as they grow apart, all the while bonding over his mouthwatering food. As the film nears the end, Martin realizes that he needs to let his daughters be adults and make their own decisions rather than trying to take over their lives. Food helps him come to this conclusion by demonstrating how he can still be with his family as they transition to living on their own. This easy-going attitude even helps Martin find a woman that he enjoys being around after being a widower for fifteen years and helped Carmen realize she wanted to be a chef after Martin pushed her to be a businesswoman for years. In an extremely rough time in Martin’s life, food is what he turns to, and it teaches him how to be accepting of change and shows him how it can be utilized to bring people together. Throughout the film, his daughters comment that his food just doesn’t taste exactly the same as before, which he adamantly denies. However, there are fewer complaints and more compliments from his daughters and guests. Ultimately, after Carmen becomes a chef, she makes her father a dish and serves it to him at his own dinner table. He takes a bite, savors it for a moment, and says that it is the best thing he has ever tasted. Just moments later, Martin realizes that he has regained his sense of taste and smell after just one bite of her dish. This recuperation of his senses is a metaphor for Martin’s new outlook and changed lifestyle. Without as much conflict at home, he is beginning to enjoy life and accept the change, showing his progress towards letting go of his traditional ideologies. His newfound outlook and relaxed nature are marked by the moment he regains his sense of taste and smell – the two most important senses for cooking and eating.

A Touch of Spice for a More Fulfilling Meal and Life by Skyler Tapley A Touch of Spice (2003) is a Greek film based around food, with a specific focus on spices’ role in food. This film has a unique way of bridging a gap between many different aspects of food, the universe, and life. The key to doing this is through spices. This plays a very important part in forming multiple analogies throughout the movie comparing food to the universe or life. Spices are an important aspect of food and life: they may taste bad, be bitter, or be invisible, but in the end they create a more satisfying meal and life. The movie begins focused on the protagonist, Fanis, as a young boy growing up in his grandfather’s spice shop in Constantinople learning astronomy and gastronomy. This is one of the first scenarios of an analogy between the stars, spices, and life itself. Fanis’ grandfather quizzes him on the different planets in our solar system and what different spices he is using to represent them. He first compares pepper to the sun, “Pepper, warm and it burns.” For Venus he compares how cinnamon is “sweet and bitter much like a woman.” The most important analogy was relating Earth to salt, “as life requires food and food requires salt to flavor it.” Fanis’ grandfather creates the relationship between spices being bitter or invisible, but those bitter or invisible flavors can become something more in a different context, just like in life through those bitter moments that create a greater appreciation or through an intangible invisible feeling that allows for a deeper connection. The film creates the feeling of a bigger world around it with the use of long shots and integrating a feeling of there being more than just one city, but multiple cities, and even an entire universe as part of the film. It also uses specific angles to convey a message, such as when Fanis’ father considers being a Muslim it cuts to an angle of the clock in the foreground and his father in the background. The bright and clean colors and lighting of the movie allows for a crisp and vivid depiction of the spices and aspects of food which are important since they hold a deeper meaning to the identity of the characters. The most important aspect is the use of symbolism throughout the movie, allowing for the central subject of spice to hold a deeper meaning that is applied to the rest of the movie. All of these techniques allow for a smooth connection to different concepts that previously would have been difficult to relate. Through these different recurring techniques it allows for a continuity that connects more than just the scenes, but the analogies and symbolism as well. A Touch of Spice gives the viewer a valuable lesson in cooking, astronomy, and most importantly, life. The film melds all of these aspects together into one conjoined theme. It surrounds food and spices with all of these important subjects to make it more palatable for the viewer. Salt and cinnamon may not be good on their own or even seem good in some dishes, but we may be surprised to see how cinnamon brings out the flavor of our meatballs, and salt brings out the flavor in all foods, or, as the analogy goes, we may be surprised at how salt or something bitter in our lives make for a more fulfilling life. A Touch of Spice creates a compelling and important film for all viewers, showing how a touch of spice isn’t always a bad thing in cooking or, more importantly, in life. Works Cited A Touch of Spice. Dir. Tassos Boulmetis. Perf. Georges Corraface. Capitol Films, 2003. DVD.

Food: Careers and Bonds by Tori Placentra Set in modern day England, The Trip (2010) focuses on two actors, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, who, though they share a profession and have known each other for sometime, seem to share little else. The two are forced to spend time together when Steve’s girlfriend cancels on a food tour of northern England. After failing to acquire any other travel companion, Steve asks Rob to join him, pitching it as a job opportunity writing for The Observer. Eventually, womanizer Coogan and family-focused Brydon come to appreciate one another as they consume some of England’s finest food while constantly try to “one-up” the other with their impressions, which are as carefully crafted as the food they are being served. With this is mind, the film is just as much a film about craft as it is about the role food plays in the development of interpersonal relationships. As the two sit down at the first restaurant, it is clear that neither of them is a food connoisseur – Steve refers to his soup as “soup-y” and “tomato-y.” At almost every restaurant they visit, shots of the food preparation are juxtaposed with shots of Steve and Rob conversing over the food. Often the conversations between are simply a series of escalating impressions of actors like Sean Connery and Michael Cane, the same line repeated with slightly different inflections. Though the kitchen scenes are often chaotic, they speak to the intricate and subtle processes of cooking. The very next shot would depict Steve and Rob eating the dish while arguing over the accuracies of their impressions – a process that is equally subtle, and perhaps hectic, as the food preparation. This juxtaposition of the high stakes cooking with the impressions serves to comment on the importance of honing one’s craft. Though Steve and Rob may not have refined pallets for foie gras, they have refined senses for comedic timing. Between mouthfuls of decadent food and their attempts to outdo one another, Steve and Rob manage to have some genuine conversations about family and relationships, coming to appreciate each other outside of the professional realm. One way that the film shows the evolving relationship between Steve and Rob is through spacing. The first meal they share together on the trip, they sit across from each other at a large table, Steve leans away from the table mostly, and their conversation is viewed through crosscutting, never showing the two in the same frame. One of the last meals they share together on trip (Figure 1), the two sit at a smaller table, feed each other bites of food, and shots include both of them in the same frame. By the end of the film, Steve and Rob are closer both physically and emotionally. The once work and romance driven Steve, takes a leaf out of Rob’s book, and begins to make decisions with more concern for his family, especially his son. This decision would have been much less likely to occur without the evolution of Steve’s relationship with Rob, which would not have been possible without the help of carefully crafted food.

Resolving Personal Struggles Through Food: So Close, Yet So Far by Renuka Koilpillai The film The Trip to Italy (dir. 2014 by Michael Winterbottom) grapples with the struggles of professional and personal fulfillment. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, both actors, have had trouble finding work and managing their family relationships. When tasked with touring Italy to review restaurants for a British newspaper, it appears that Coogan and Brydon use comedy disguises their unhappiness. The film takes careful effort directly to contrast the demeanor of the two main characters with the chefs and other diners of each restaurant they visit. By contrasting Coogan and Brydon’s behaviour to the passion-filled work of the chefs and the other gratified diners, the film accurately portrays Coogan and Brydon struggling with their lives while being surrounded by people who seem to content appreciating the food around them. One of the most notable features of the film is the display of food preparation at each restaurant Coogan and Brydon visit. As the two characters sit at the table talking about their life, the camera often cuts to the kitchen to show the chefs preparing the food the two are about to eat. One prime example of this is during the last restaurant scene. During this meal, Coogan and Brydon are having a conversation with Emma and Joe about what their life is going to be like after this trip, specifically Brydon who is talking about an acting role he just landed. As this conversation takes place, the audience gets a few quick shots of the kitchen. In the first snippet of the kitchen, there is a low-angle shot of one chef calling out the orders that are ready to be served. This shot portrays the chef as completely enthralled in his work. Because these shots are parallel edited with Coogan and Brydon’s conversation, they stand in stark contrast to the conversation. For this particular scene, Brydon is trying to convince everyone that the role he just received is one of the leading parts of the film, suggesting that it’s really not and that Brydon is dissatisfied with it. This message is heightened by the shots of the chefs who seem to be so satisfied with their work. Another aspect of the film that portrays Coogan and Brydon’s personal struggles is their demeanor compared to the other diners in the restaurants. The two main characters often do impressions of famous actors while they are eating. These impressions are over the top and very loud, especially compared to the other diners. One scene that illustrates this contrast is the scene at the first restaurant in Italy. Coogan and Brydon are suggesting future career projects when they start to joke. The jokes begin to take over the conversation and distract from the main topic of discussion. The camera cuts to frames of some other diners who appear to be quieter and focused on their food and the content of their conversation. One of the other diners has his hands raised as if he is explaining something and the others around him are nodding. The body language suggests that they are having a more thoughtful discussion. These contrasting behaviours suggest that Coogan and Brydon act as other people even during their real life in order to distract from their problems, while other diners seem to content by appreciating their food. Coogan and Brydon reveal many personal and professional struggles throughout the movie that are mostly laughed away in order to avoid the fact that they are both losing touch with their careers and families. The film portrays this message through the people who surround them in restaurants. On one hand, the chefs are so captivated in their work, that their demeanor calls attention to Coogan and Brydon’s eccentric behaviour. Additionally, the diners’ behaviour also contrasts that of the main characters’ because their presence, expression, and focus suggest that they are happy because they are appreciating the simpler things in life like food. Citation The Trip to Italy. Dir. Michael Winterbottom. Perf. Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon. BBC Films, 2014. DVD

A Cautionary Tale against the Modern Ills of Society by Marcella Pansini Troll 2 (1990) is a family comedy adventure that is widely considered to be one of the worst movies ever made. The film follows a young boy named Joshua Waites and his family during a “home exchange” vacation in the rural farming community of Nilbog. However, things very quickly go wrong when their family begins to be pursued by the town’s vegetarian Goblins whose ultimate goal is to transform the Waites family into plants so that they can be eaten. Troll 2 acts as an extended metaphor and warning against those that lead a vegetarian lifestyle and a criticism of its opposition to traditional forms of eating in the United States. The Goblins in Troll 2 are best described as carnivorous vegetarians. This essentially means that the Goblins are repelled by meat and do not eat it directly. However, the plant material they consume must come from human tissue and organs. In the film, the Goblins trick humans into consuming a green goo that they place inside items such as milk, baked goods, ice cream and various forms of produce. These foods cause a breakdown in the human body that transforms them into an edible green ooze, which is what Goblins primarily eat. The film’s concept of Goblins murdering humans in order to sustain their vegetarian diet creates a thinly veiled theme of criticism against vegetarians. Namely, the ways that a vegetarian lifestyle stands in opposition to what is seen as a traditional, meat-eating existence throughout the United States. In Troll 2, vegetarianism is seen as unnatural. The vegetarians are the villains, as they are not only destroying humans but an entire way of life. By casting the vegetarian Goblins as the villains, the film takes a stance against vegetarian lifestyles and indirectly asks the audience what will happen if we support lifestyles that do not include eating meat. Here, the green ooze is a substitute for the blood associated with most horror movies. Instead of using blood, green matter, and those who want to eat it are seen as evil. The scene described depicts a close up of one of the Goblins eating bright green goo, which is the girls transformed body. The shots focus on the Goblin’s face rather than what was previously the girl’s body, shows the heartlessness of the Goblins. In addition, by the film designing the Goblin as having large eyes with small pupils and a long pointed nose further emphasizes how distant they are from humans (0:27:36). One of Joshua’s friends, Arnold, comes across a girl while walking in the woods and follows her. Soon after, she is tricked into drinking a magic potion that dissolves her into a vegetable matter where she is then consumed by Goblins. People often associate vegetarianism with turning away from dominant religions. In the film, the Goblins’ religious gathering centers not on worshipping God but on the shared belief in the dangers of meat, “Symbol of original sin! Flesh is consumed by the human race that is so dear to us. Flesh, and by flesh I mean all that stinkin’, disgusting meat! The humans nourish themselves with these, violating their own bodies. Infecting themselves. Creating incurable ailments” (0:47:56). This quote shows the perspective that Goblins have of meat in that it is considered sinful. In the image captured, Joshua is captured by the Goblins after listening in on their sermon and he is force-fed ice cream in order for him to be transformed into a plant and eaten. The scene features a closeup of Joshua’s face in order to depict his discomfort and focuses on his screwed up eyes and stuck out tongue to demonstrate his fear and disgust. The camera angle is filmed from a slightly higher point that looks down at Joshua, isolating him in the frame, portraying him as submissive and overpowered. It also sets up the “beginning of the end” for the Waites family and the way they will soon be defeated by the Goblins. Joshua is surrounded by Goblins and force-fed ice cream that will transform him into Goblin food. In conclusion, vegetarianism is shown to be evil or looked down upon in the film by portraying Goblins as villainous figures that are distant from humans. Omnivorous lifestyles are believed to be the norm and therefore depictions of anything else are not accepted. Works Cited Not Shallow, http://www.notshallow.org/2009/10/a-critical-analysis-of-troll-2-reveals-diatribe-against-ills-of-modern-society/. Kern, Fred. “Froedipus Rex.” “Best Worst Propaganda Movie” – An Analysis of Troll 2, 1 Jan. 1970, froedipusrex.blogspot.com/2014/02/best-worst-propaganda-movie-analysis-of.html. “Troll 2.” A Regrettable Moment of Sincerity, regrettablesincerity.com/?p=653. “Troll 2: A Thematic Analysis.” The Cutprice Guignol, 2 July 2015, thethreepennyguignol.com/2015/07/02/troll-2-a-thematic-analysis/.

Food That Makes One Question Reality by Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez In The Truman Show (1998), Jim Carrey plays Truman Burbank, a man who is unaware that his life is a popular T.V. show. In the film, food is used in many instances to hint at the fact that Truman’s life is not quite what he thinks it is by being placed in the film in the form of in-show advertisements. The food that Truman eats, and all the food in Truman’s town, Seahaven, is real and yet at the same time it is being used to trick Truman into thinking his life is completely normal. Therefore food is used in The Truman Show as a metaphor for Truman’s life, a life that is completely real but at the same time not real at all. In one of the very first scenes of the film, Truman and his best friend Marlon are hitting golf balls out on a bridge. As they are sitting there talking, Marlon turns to a camera somewhere, and holding the beer with the label visible, says “Now that’s a beer,” (10:21:00) This scene is the first time a food item is even seen in the film, and that is telling because of the nature of Truman’s reality. All the items that Truman eats have not been chosen by him, they have been put into his world in order to make money off of advertising. In this way, the Penn Pavel beer that Marlon showed off can be seen as a metaphor for Truman himself. The beer is completely real, but everything about its placement in Truman’s life is fake. Like the beer, Truman is a completely normal person. He is funny, kind, and a good person, and yet he is living in a fantasy world created especially for him. Out in the real world, Truman would still be the same person, but he is stuck in Seahaven because he is being used as a prop for the benefit of the T.V. producers. In addition to product placement, food is used as a prop in Truman’s life. After Truman begins to realize he is in a T.V. show, he goes to visit Marlon at work. Marlon works for a company that stocks vending machines, and Truman walks in as he is working. The camera angle in this scene is interesting because it shows Truman and Marlon from the inside of the vending machine (34:47:00). The director chose this shot to illustrate the fact that Truman is always being watched, but it also sends a message about Marlon’s role in Truman’s life. Marlon is Truman’s trusted companion, yet in many instances it is Marlon that is stocking Truman’s life with events to control him. Just like in his fake job as a vending stocker, Marlon always shows up in Truman’s life when he is going out of bounds. Therefore, in the same way that Marlon stocks the vending machines with food that is not real, so does he do the same with Truman’s life. Overall, The Truman Show uses the element of food in product placements and as props to emphasize the fact that Truman’s life is not real. All the food that is in his life is there because of product placement, and all the food items he uses are sold to consumers in the real world. The fact that the food in the show is real but also completely fake represents Truman’s life because he is merely a man that has been placed in a fake world against his will. This world is controlled by his friends and family, including his best friend Marlon who stocks vending machines, but also acts as Truman’s main manipulator. Work Cited The Truman Show. Dir. Weir, Peter, Perf. Jim Carrey and Noah Emmerich Universal Pictures, 1998.

Bloody Vegetarians in Twilight by Chantel Gillus In the vampire world, there isn’t much eating going on—the feasting of human food I mean. Since vampires drink blood for their nourishment, there isn’t an appeal to human food. Although in the film, Twilight (Catherine Hardwicke 2008), eating human food is a way for the vampiric Cullens to conceal their identity. Otherwise, their usual habit of feasting is drinking the blood of animals. The Cullen family consists of Carlise Cullen (Peter Facinelli), Esme Cullen (Elizabeth Reaser), Emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz), Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed), Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone), Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene), and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). Carlisle and Esme are married, and the rest of the clan act as their adopted children. Being that they don’t age, they hop from one town to another, with the Cullen “kids” attending high school and later graduating, so their immortality doesn't become suspicious to the locals. Their current high school in the film is the real-life Forks High School in Forks, Washington, where Edward meets his future lover, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart). 17-year-old Bella is a new student, coming from living with her mother Renée Dwyer (Sarah Clarke) in Phoenix, Arizona, to now living with her father Charlie Swan (Billy Burke) in Forks. When Bella first sees Edward and his fellow Cullen siblings in the cafeteria, she is immediately intrigued by the mysterious and strange Edward. When the Cullens go to their designated table, secluded from the rest of the humans, the only foods they’re seemingly eating are veggies, boiled eggs, water, soda, and an apple. The light consumption of food is a ploy to conform amongst the humans and control their appetite for the human blood surrounding them. The cafeteria is filled with food they can’t eat. It’s like a kid in a candy store packed with delicious sweets, but their parents tell them they can’t buy nor eat any. Later, Edward sees Bella in biology class, but he is painfully engulfed with the scent of her sweet blood. It's painful to him because he and his family are “vegetarians” in the vampire community; they can only consume animal blood, rather than human blood. Bella’s blood is something Edward desperately wants, but he isn’t allowed to drink it or it’ll break he and his family’s moral code. Therefore, he must restrain himself from giving into his inner animal instincts and protect his identity as feasting on Bella could possibly blow the Cullens’ cover. Bella could become the first of many human victims to fall prey to a vampire. If too many humans turn up dead, it can cause hysteria; both in the human and vampire world. Vampires are instructed to maintain a balance when it comes to drinking human blood because killing too many humans can risk not only exposing the Cullen family, but other covens too, according to the Volturi. The Volturi coven is the coven of all covens; they are considered both royalty and the government amongst vampires, and they are the ones who delegate the rules. Those who pose a threat to the safety of vampires will reap the consequences, whether it be human or vampire, and be killed by the Volturi. The Cullens' eating habits are to protect them and those around them. They wouldn’t be able to resist themselves from feasting upon the humans in their high school, let alone their town, if they weren’t "vegetarians." Bella, especially, would be the first food item on Edward’s grocery list. Their ability to consume little to no human food and animal blood is an attempt at self-discipline and survival. However, their will power is challenged after Bella’s arrival to Forks. They considered themselves "vegetarians," yet their thirst for blood still lingers. Twilight. Dir. Catherine Hardwicke. Perf. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner. Amazon Prime, 2008. Streaming. Picture Citation: “The ‘Twilight Saga’s Legacy’: The Good, the Bad, and the Sparkly • the Daily Fandom.” The Daily Fandom, thedailyfandom.org/twilight-saga-legacy/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2023.

Healing In Tuscany by Tori Placentra In the 2003 film Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes, a well-known author and book critic, just had a divorce after her husband had an affair. Feeling disheartened, deeply wounded, and unstable she ends up on a tour of Tuscany. While in a small town not far from Florence she becomes enchanted by the spirit of the town – the colors and smells at the food market, and a mysterious women nuzzling a baby chick and eating an ice-cream cone. Frances is so enchanted that, on a whim, she buys a run down villa that is for sale. The process was incredibly quick, and before she realizes what she has done, Frances has spent just about all her money on this villa, leaving behind her broken life in San Francisco. But she is not healed yet. Frances takes stalk of what she has inherited in the villa. She writes that she is now the owner of “ten thousand empty wine bottles, one grape (Figure 1), and every issue of La Nazione printed in 1958.” The single grape clinging to a browning branch and the disheveled nature of the house in general are representative of Frances’ life at the time – she is scattered and clinging onto a branch trying to learn to thrive again. To begin her healing journey Frances hires a crew of Polish immigrants to help her renovate her house, her Italian neighbors teach her about farming olives and elderly grandmother teaches her about Italian cooking. Frances uses her new skills to cook lavish and delicious foods for her renovating crew. Their relationships, once cold, become warm friendships full of laughter, and she becomes especially close friends with the youngest, Pawel. Food in the film allows her to connect with the people around her. The film primarily shows this healing journey through the amount of a body shown in a shot and lighting. The beginning of the film frequently only shows parts of Frances in close shots: her face, hands, torso, or feet. These fragmented images show how Frances is fragmented. As the film progresses, the shots show more of Frances at a time, showing how she is healing and becoming more whole. Lighting is also incredibly important in this film. In San Francisco after her divorce the colors in the film are dark and the lighting washes out Frances and her surroundings, she wears mostly gray and other neutral colors. The lighting in the scenes set in Italy is warm and saturated, and Frances begins to cook with colorful food and wear more colorful clothing. Toward the end of the movie, Pawel and Chiara have their wedding reception at Frances’ house. She realizes that her wishes have almost entirely come true – there has been a wedding celebration at her house, there is a family at the house, and she has many people to cook for. Figure 2 uses a medium long shot to show Frances’ whole body, representing the fact that she is whole again, relaxed in her crowded back yard. The garden that once was brown and housed a single grape is now verdant and thriving; it has entered a new season, and so, in a sense, has Frances. Works Cited Under the Tuscan Sun. Dir. Audrey Wells. Prod. Tom Sternberg and Audrey Wells. Perf. Diane Lane, Sandra Oh, and Lindsay Duncan. Touchstone Pictures. 2003.

Feasting on Friendship by Mary Scott Brisson The Upside (2019) follows the story of an unlikely friendship between two individuals from opposite backgrounds. Dell Scott, parolee, miraculously lands a job working as a caretaker for Phillip Lacasse, a wealthy quadriplegic who lives in a multi-million dollar penthouse in New York City. The job provides Dell with a steady paycheck, proof to the court he is well functioning outside of prison, and an opportunity to reconnect with his ex and son. The unexpected duo become closer over the turbulent start to Dell’s new job, and a beautiful friendship unfolds that ultimately allows both individuals to grow and appreciate their lives despite their respective challenges. Throughout the course of the film, food serves as a symbol of comfort, indulgence, and bonding experiences. Moreover, Dell and Phillip’s relationship with food highlights the contrast between the character’s backgrounds and identities. In one scene, Dell takes Phillip to a hole-in-the-wall hot dog restaurant to show Phillip his idea of a meal. The two order sixteen hot dogs between the two of them and enjoy them over lighthearted conversation about their careers. The scene turns out to be a major bonding moment when the cashier asks Dell what Phillip wants instead of Phillip himself, implying Phillip is incapable of ordering for himself because of his visible disabilities. Dell tells the cashier to ask Phillip himself, and Phillip later thanks him for doing so. He tells Dell he often feels invisible unless people know he has money. Dell reveals that he too feels invisible for other reasons like his race, lack of money, past, and ex-convict status. Despite their drastically different existences, the hot dog scene allows viewers to understand their similar experiences of invisibility within broader society. Moreover, the scene exemplifies how eating together serves as emotional nourishment for the two; the companionship that occurs during their shared mean becomes a source of emotional support for both of them. As they continue to share meals as experiences, they begin to better understand one another and see each other’s perspectives. Furthermore, the duo’s food-based adventures demonstrate how the simple activities of cooking and eating are paramount in the development of strong relationships. The Upside. Dir. Neil Burger. By Oliver Nakache and Éric Toledano. Perf. by Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, and Nicole Kidman. STX Entertainment, Amazon MGM studios, Lantern Entertainment, 2019. DVD.

A Volver to the Feast by Brent Eisenbarth In Volver (2006), feasting signifies the Raimunda and Irene’s liberation from their husbands. Their husbands’ entombment marks the reversal of the eaten with the eater: while both men formerly feasted off the women’s labor, untethered from them their wives may now serve feasts to others. This movie ties feasting with female liberation and motherhood, contrasts drugs with food, and marks reunification. In the movie, although Raimunda and her mother Irene provided their husbands with food and sexual substance, their gluttonous husbands looked for sexual satisfaction outside of their marriage. Paco, inebriated, attempts to rape Raimunda’s daughter Paula, and Irene’s husband has an affair with Augustina’s mother. Paula kills Paco in defense, and Irene burns her home, killing her husband and his mistress. Both cycles of Volver’s multi-generational plot concern regaining agency, and agency is marked by food. “Remember, I killed him,” Raimunda directs Paula, in order to spare her from legal retribution. Although Paula killed Paco in self-defense, the morning after Raimunda hides the body into a restaurant freezer. In an immediate next scene, a cameraman enters the restaurant ask her to prepare them daily meals, thus enabling her to provide for her daughter. Cinematically, the camera cuts from the freezer-coffin to the intruding filmmaker, leaving no space for further plot development between Paco’s burial in the freezer and Raimunda’s sudden financial stability. Immediately seeking food from other neighbors, all women, Raimunda restaurant provides stable money for Regina, an exotic dancer. Food not only liberates Raimunda, but it also empowers her female companions to provide for themselves. Through food, Irene similarly develops a new capacity to provide. Following her arson, Irene feigns a ghost to feed her feeble sister, Tía Paula (Aunt Paula). While she failed to protect Raimunda from her father’s abuse prior to his death, cooking marks Irene’s assumption of the role of provider and as a mother. Near the beginning of the movie, Irene namelessly gives her daughters food through Aunt Tía, marking the beginning of the reconciliation between Irene and Raimunda, mother and daughter. Similarly, after protecting Paula from aftermath of Paco’s death, Raimunda assumes the role as cook. Food in the film marks maternal provision. Drugs contrast food’s role as restorative in the film. Paco is presumably an alcoholic, who was fired to due drunkenness. He mooches off of his wife, to the degree that she contemplates picking up Sunday work while he watches football with a beer. Similarly, while the viewer and characters assume Irene dead, and thus without agency, the film empathizes drugs. Agustina strikes blunt and discusses her drug use. In contrast, a small case a food Irene prepared foreshadowed her life and reconciliation with Raimunda. As characters believe Irene is a ghost, and later alive throughout the film, Irene progressively serves more meals on screen, ranging from her small snack box for her daughters (when presumed dead), and escalating to the meal she prepares at the end of the film, reunited, alive with her daughters. In contrast, Augustine becomes sickly, thus dramatically lessening her drug usage on camera. Finally, food marks reunification in the film. When Raimunda’s serves the filmmakers a celebratory final feast midway through the film, Soledad brings Irene to the feast to watch from the car. When Raimunda performs a song Irene taught her, the “ghost” and her daughter make eye-contact; one in the feast, paralleling the realm of the living, and the other isolated in the dark car, paralleling the dead. While this feast is party and excess, with lavish tequila’s and meals, the aforementioned reunification feast in meal Tía Paula’s home is plentiful yet familial. In conclusion, the feast plays a pivotal role in Volver. With food, agency returns (vuelve) to the women, contrasting the drugs present prior to their empowerment. Finally, food unifies them twice. The preparation of feasts is a process through which the protagonists heal, bringing an end to multigenerational strife. Work Cited Volver. Dir. Pedro Almodóvar. Perf. Penelope Cruz. Sony Pictures Classics, 2006. DVD.

From Glitz to Grits: A Lawful Waffle by Jennifer Na Based on the memoir of James Adams, directors Eshom and Ian Nelms develop a riches-to-rags story of an ex-hedge fund manager who seeks a blue-collar job at a 24-hour Papa’s Chicken and Waffles. The cliché narrative follows an upper-class heterosexual white male who soul searches by working an “honest” job. This paradoxically emphasizes the privilege he has despite his undesirable circumstances such as losing his million-dollar salary. Although Jim’s employment at Papa’s Chicken and Waffles is central to the plot, food is not depicted in great detail unless a character is engaging with it in a meaningful way. Waffle Street (2015) attempts to reverse the class associations with food and business but its inauthentic execution dilutes the impact of the uplifting resolution. Jim’ shift from being served to serving is commendable and results in tangible solutions for his new community. Jim discovers a way to marry his financial aptitude and help those who contribute to his success at Papa’s Chicken and Waffles by starting an affordable financial planning service. Despite the genuine dedication Jim displays in working a thousand hours, the process of displaying Jim’s self-centered heroism through his supposed suffering irresponsibly uses reductive foils. Nelms attempts to break the stereotype that financiers are haughty and pretentious through close-ups of Jim’s increasingly scuffed and stained crew shoes, his velcro’d feet a contrast to his initial pair of leather oxfords. Stereotypes are reinforced through the regular patrons such as the mentally ill homeless “Crazy Kathy” and the hardened ex-convict Manuel the line cook. Even the demanding sassy black female who notoriously throws grits on Jim after he accuses her of “bitching” affirms stereotypes to highlight Jim’s disconnection to a blue-collar atmosphere. He narrates, “Here, a tardy plate of bacon turned me into a Jackson Pollock,” which emphasizes his elite education (Figure 1). This scene frames Jim as the focal point; the freshly prepared bacon and grits are almost indiscernible. Jim’s “Waffle Fact” interjections in narration elucidate arbitrary information to demonstrate his intelligence and ability to study information, a skill he applies in attempt to become a franchisee (Figure 2). As the plot progresses and Jim endures the obstacles of what his family perceives as a low-level job. Despite the chaotic conditions the food still appears intricately assembled, representing Jim’s idealistic idyllic experience. The artificial appearance of food reveals Jim’s unrealistic attempt to substitute waffles as a bridge between class divisions. In some shots the posters look even better than the products being served. Although this location of Papa’s Chicken and Waffles is described as being in an undesirable part of town, the spotless environment and bright lighting creates a welcoming yet sterile atmosphere. The same effect is utilized on the food, making it look plastic and minimally edible, though perfectly assembled and garnished. The food is virtually indistinguishable since the focus is always on the characters and their actions, with a few exceptions when Jim or Edward, the grill cook, interacts with the food by cooking or eating. Most of the food that appears in the film, both at the diner and elsewhere, is within the beige spectrum. Items that deviate from the warm hues of yellow and brown tend to look muted. Even the food at white-table clothed restaurant where Jim announces his unemployment looks barely edible. Nelms’ well-intentioned film tries to encapsulate James Adam’s inspiring story of his fall from grace as a former Wall Street executive to redemptive journey through learning his way through the Papa’s Chicken and Waffles chain. Unfortunately the lackluster food and lackadaisical production diminishes the effect of Jim’s character development and encouraging enterprise he establishes through his meaningful interactions with unlikely characters that foster his success as a server. Works Cited Nelms, Eshom, and Ian Nelms, directors. Waffle Street. 6 Foot Films, 2015.

Waiting...for Life by Marcella Pansini Waiting…(2005) is an American workplace comedy film about the adventures of the staffers in a restaurant called Shenaniganz. It primarily follows two waiters named Monty and Dean and their struggles with dealing with a directionless life and entitled customers. As opposed to many of the other food films that we have studied in GLBL 492H, food in Waiting… is not used to convey a sense of love, culture or hierarchy, but rather a sense of anger and frustration. The food and service industry in the film is a metaphor for Purgatory; it is a place of suffering for all of the staffers as they strayed from “the path” that was meant for them as some try to make up for their sins. For Dean, this path was pursuing a higher education. For Monty, this path was becoming a high achiever and pursuing any kind of dream. While living in this inescapable Purgatory, Dean and Monty find themselves accustomed to the fact that they will never get an education and be forced to live out the rest of their lives doing the exact same daily routine and interacting with the same customers. In Shenaniganz, food is used as a weapon and form of retribution. The wait staff is constantly angry at anyone who comes in before the restaurant is about to close or right before a shift ends. Customers who have the nerve to send back meals are rewarded with the same food returned to them enhanced by bodily fluids, gamy secretions and freshly sprinkled dandruff. Steaks are even tossed onto the filthy kitchen floor to give them “floor flavoring.” This role of food as a weapon for revenge or outlet for anger is seen in the “hot fudge sundae scene.” In the scene shown above, Naomi, an abrasive waitress, fields a simple request from a patron for a hot fudge sundae. However, for Naomi, the request feels like a waste of her time and it offsets her well-known anger issues. Therefore, while she creates the desired sundae, she does it with high amounts of frustration and it is not done to the best of her ability. As she creates the sundae, she yells to her nearby coworkers, “Like that b**** needs to be eating dessert anyway” (0:46:54). Naomi convinces her coworkers to add some “special ingredients” to the woman’s sundae in order to exact her revenge. In this scene, Naomi was both able to use the sundae as a way to work out her anger on the customer and exact revenge. In the image, the use of fluorescent yellow lighting emphasizes the bags under Naomi’s eyes. The shot used is a medium shot as it is centered from the waist up and it still shows the clinical, unappealing environment of the kitchen behind her. In Naomi’s face, the audience sees her scowl, pushed together eyebrows and drawn upper lip. However, this intensity, as can be seen by her body language, is not due to intense concentration but rather pent up aggression towards the customer. While the relationship between food and revenge is not widely analyzed in our class curriculum, it is related to Korsmeyer’s paper on Food and Philosophy. Korsmeyer claims that one of the most remarkable experiences that a person has in relation to food is taking considerable pleasure in its consumption. Korsmeyer also argues that our philosophical tradition has ranked the sense of senses of hearing and vision as higher than the rest. Therefore, as Naomi interferes with the customer’s food, she is influencing their sense of touch, smell, and taste. These “lower” senses are also associated with gluttony, laziness, self-indulgence and overall moral degeneration. By influencing these senses, Naomi further demonstrates how lowly she values the customers. In conclusion, in Waiting… food is used primarily as a form of revenge or an outlet for anger. Customers are not highly valued and as the workers associate them with gluttony and laziness, their “base senses” are primarily targeted. Works Cited Holden, Stephen. “FILM IN REVIEW; Waiting.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Oct. 2005, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/07/arts/movies/film-in-review-waiting.html. “Waiting Script – Dialogue Transcript.” Waiting Script – Transcript from the Screenplay and/or Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, and Justin Long Movie, http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/w/waiting-script-transcript-rob-mckittrick.html.

Food Fostering Relationships of Love in The Waitress by Suejette Black Food often carries feelings. Many foods can be significant in people’s lives in more than just a sense of nutrition; they can bring back memories of home or loved ones or foster relationships that can only come over a shared dish. In the film The Waitress, director Adrienne Shelly reveals this ability of food by demonstrating how the baking of pies can build bonds of love. Jenna, a small town waitress at a pie diner, is known for her unbeatable pies. She hopes to use her talents to win a pie baking contest and escape from her abusive husband. Her plan goes slightly awry, though, as she goes through an unexpected pregnancy, but finds solace and catharsis in her baking. Through out the film, her pie baking and gifting brings her closer to her coworkers, customers, doctor, and her baby. Scenes of Jenna baking pies are usually scored with fantastical orchestra music and are filled with bright colors bringing feelings of happiness and a cliché sense of baking with love. One of the most notable relationships she forms through her pies is with the grumpy, lonely owner of the diner who comes in everyday. Despite his rather rude demeanor, it is clear that he loves Jenna’s pies and grows to care for her as the film progresses. Just by showing him kindness and serving him pies, the two form an unusual connection as he seems to become a protective, father-like figure to her. The impact Jenna has on his life is clear, when he dies at the end of the film and leaves Jenna $20,000 to open her own pie shop. Even stronger connections are formed though Jenna’s baking with her daughter. Although Jenna initially did not want to have a baby, it’s clear that after she is born she falls instantly in love with the child. Towards the end of the film, Jenna sings a song to her daughter while baking a pie, just as Jenna’s mom had done with her. The same familiar piano music opens the scene and fades out as a close-up shot shows a bowl of melted chocolate filling being swirled. The camera pans out over her baking station and moves to her as she rocks her baby and sings the lullaby with only the quiet non-diagetic sound of a piano in the background. Natural lighting shines in through the window and occasionally illuminates her and the baby in their matching bright yellow dresses and aprons. It then cuts to a pan over a table of the finished pies of saturated green, yellow, and pink colors. Hands come scooping up bites with their forks as more upbeat country music comes on. The total scene has a feeling of a happy fairytale ending, with the focus on the pies seeming to suggest that they were what brought about the love and happiness shown in the end of the film. Despite being a slightly sappy movie, the message shown that food can be a source of connection and love was portrayed well through the cinematographic choices. Work Cited The Waitress. Dir. Adrienne Shelly. Perf. Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Jeremy Sisto. Fox, 2007. ITunes.

When Life is Lifeless by Katelyn Liu Behind guise of a cute children’s movie hides an ugly dystopia that bears semblance to the reality of the present world around us. In the 2008 Pixar film, WALL-E (2008), Earth has become a wasteland filled with trash, forcing humans to evacuate by luxury starliners like the Axiom while robots, like WALL-E, are commissioned to clean the planet. Hundreds of years go by and Earth is deemed uninhabitable. Generations of humans come to know life exclusively on the spaceships, becoming morbidly obese due to inactivity and the microgravity of the spaceship. Passengers interact with one another through the holographic screens in front of them and pass the time through virtual activities. In a comical display, the captain of the ship asks for the definition of simple activities like, “sea,” “dancing,” and “farm,” indicating that the futuristic amenities and lifestyle aboard the ship meant to entertain its passengers has stripped all resemblance the life back on planet Earth. Reflecting the reality of rapid technological progression, WALL-E comes to question: How is life sustained? WALL-E is the movie’s unlikely protagonist, as he bumbles along collecting trinkets among the trash. One day, EVE, a sleek and modern probe, is left on Earth in search of any sign of life. WALL-E presents to EVE a small sprout that he finds among the trash, fulfilling EVE’s directive is to safeguard the plant life. Once the plant is returned to the Axiom, the evidence of hospitable life on Earth triggers the starship’s journey back home. For the majority of the film, the “dialogue” for the majority of the film is comprised of conversations between WALL-E and EVE in a variety of mechanical chirps and creaking. WALL-E and EVE are anthropomorphized by mimicking human life seen on old videos, displaying emotions like frustration and fear, and exploring the desire for companionship and love. Ultimately, the main non-human characters, WALL-E and EVE, are given more life and personality than any human upon the Axiom spaceship. Overall, the film uses color as a device to represent life. As the audience observes WALL-E explore the abandoned planet, WALL-E himself and the world around him is colored in dingy browns and a constant yellow haze. The first indication of life comes through the verdant green of the delicate life that WALL-E finds (Figure 2). Here, the connection between green and life is established. Later on, only the neon yellow-green on WALL-E’s solar panel charger and EVE’s indicator light after she absorbs the plant come closest to matching the greenness the initial display of life. Even aboard the Axiom, with a variety of lights and displays to keep its passengers distracted, there is no green imagery or colors that bring back the initial association of greenery with life. Aboard the ship, one of the most interesting lifestyle habits was observed through the passengers’ eating habits. Every meal is drunk and food selection is nonexistent; the choice is simply labeled “breakfast,” “lunch,” and “dinner.” With such rigidity and mundane food options, it seems strange that every passenger is degenerated to obesity. The widespread and chronic obesity inhibits even basic human movement like walking, or supporting themselves after they have fallen from their hovering chairs. Despite their liquid meals sustaining their physical life, the choice of inactivity in exchange for comfort has left humanity devoid of real interaction with the world around them. When WALL-E accidentally deactivates a woman’s screen, she looks around the ship and remarks, “I didn’t know we had a pool!” The comfort of even having food so readily available, food meant to sustain life, does not replace the choice of interacting and thinking, essential to truly living one’s life. In a world where technology’s main directive is to make life easier and more comfortable, perhaps it is activity, movement, and labor, which bring life in living life. Works Cited WALL-E. Dir. Andrew Stanton. By Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon. Perf. by Ben Burtt and Elissa Knight. Walt Disney Studios. 2008.

Food and the Environment in a Sci-Fi Setting by Yuejia Zhang The Wandering Earth is a science fiction film series set in a dystopian future where the Sun rapidly ages and is expected to expand into a Red Giant. To ensure the survival of humanity, a monumental global project, the Wandering Earth Project, is undertaken, involving building massive engines on Earth to propel it away from the solar system to a new habitable one. In the Wandering Earth Project, the Earth is first made to stop rotation and then driven away from the Sun. During the process, the Earth's environmental system is radically altered. The way the films portray the intimate relationship between the environment and the sustenance of life is intriguing. As the project pushes forward, extreme conditions - rapid increase in outer space radiation after Earth stops rotation and the sub-zero surface temperature after leaving the Sun – force people to move into the underground cities. These changes give rise to a series of societal and political discussions related to limitations in food production and shortages in food availability. Amid these challenges, the film introduces several unconventional foods, adding a layer of novelty and humor to the narrative. In one scene, when the characters are walking in the debris of an African city, one mentions, "the mosquito pie … about this thick. 500,000 mosquitoes in one pie. But now there's not even mosquitoes anymore." While the mosquito pie adds a touch of quirky novelty and humor to the lines, it also reveals the underlying environmental threat in the film's world – even the mosquitoes cannot survive. Another unusual food in the film is the dried earthworms. These are brought up in the film in a sarcastic way as the 'regional specialty' in the underground city. On the one hand, it showcases the limited resources, but it also highlights the residents’ positivity towards their new lifestyle underground. In addition, the film also features a scene in which residents receive food rations. When a woman holding a feverish child asked to move to the front of the line, people allow her. It is clear that even in this icy, apocalyptic crisis, the choice to be kind to others, especially to help women with children, is still the prevailing ethic in society. Hope for humanity is present. In contrast, when another man tries to cut in line by saying, "My wife is undergoing chemotherapy," he is turned down. "Who doesn't have a few chemo patients in their family these days?" It is evident that radiation sickness is widely impacting the post-rotation Earth society, further highlighting the environmental disasters. Food in the Wandering Earth is a minor element compared with other grander themes. Nevertheless, as a fundamental and crucial sustenance, it serves as a backdrop to the theme of the consequences and effects of environmental catastrophes on human society. The Wandering Earth. Dir. Frant Gwo. Beijing Culture, 2019.

Feeding Big Consumers in a Small Town by Shirley Pu The dull colors of Lamson’s Grocery (Figure 1), where Gilbert works, are contrasted by the saturated colorful interior of Foodland (Figure 2), the large chain grocery. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) follows the story of Gilbert Grape, a young man feeling trapped in the small town of Endora, Iowa, by his role as the sole male provider for his family, which includes his homebound mother and his mentally handicapped younger brother, Arnie. Adding to Gilbert’s struggle with responsibility and a desire for freedom are the changes coming to the town, seen through the encroachment of new standardized food sources such as the Burger Barn and Foodland. These corporate vessels represent the shift of society from local providers to consumer-driven industry. Gilbert’s inability to keep up with his family’s needs and his yearning to escape Endora represent the death of the small town through a personal narrative. The small town is no longer enough to feed the people who are hungry for the shiny and grand modern life, as shown through the characters’ attitudes towards food. Gilbert’s role as feeder is evident from the title itself- his last name, Grape, is a fruit, and the phrase “eating” refers to the ingestion of food as well as its meaning in context of a nagging worry or issue. As the title describes the conflict within Gilbert, it also suggests a force literally consuming him. The name Grape itself also suggests Gilbert’s relationship to his family– grapes grow in bunches, and the Grapes are tightly bound together, mainly by their mother, Bonnie Grape. She is nearly immobile due to her large figure, caused by overeating due to grief after the passing of the Grape’s father. This has made her unable to fulfill her role as a mother and instead her children provide for her, as nearly every scene including her features her children either preparing food for her or eating a meal together. Gilbert’s struggle with his mother’s debilitating weight and the need to provide for his family is shown through his rejection of food. The filming of the first dinner scene emphasizes how Gilbert’s situation has made food repulsive to him. The sounds Arnie makes as he slurps up the spaghetti they are eating are magnified so that each noodle seems wormlike. Each of Gilbert’s siblings is shown to be eating while talking, and his older sister heaps an additional helping upon Ernie once he has finished, but Gilbert never eats. Shortly after, Gilbert grows frustrated and leaves the table, taking his plate with him and dumping its contents on the ground. While he shows dissatisfaction with the food at home, Gilbert often also visits a local diner with his friends. When he assumes the consumer and not the provider role, he appears to have no qualms with food. Gilbert’s consumption and provision of food are not only intra-familial but a key part of his other interactions as well. Gilbert works within a local grocery store, Lamson’s, which faces declining sales due to the Foodland where, according to Gilbert, “everyone else shops.” The contrast between the cracked white façade of Lamson’s and the warm yellow exterior of the Foodland is emphasized in a crosscut early in the film, paired with a montage of the few run-down businesses within Endora. Their faded exteriors are dark inside, and the dusty streets are devoid of people. As Gilbert describes, describing Endora is like “dancing to old music”- it is clear the heyday of the town has long since passed. This impression is reinforced by the muted browns and reds of Lamson’s interior and the camera’s focus on the canned goods, suggestive of the age of the store. Many scenes filmed within the store are also backlit by the windows, creating a dingy atmosphere and highlighting the appeal of the outside against the dusty store. By delivering groceries, Gilbert provides food for another character, Mrs. Carver, an older woman who he is having an affair with. Gilbert functions as both consumer and provider in this role, as he is an outlet for a frustrated housewife but also relieves his own loneliness through these interactions. Mr. Carver’s character is a tragic parallel of Gilbert’s. He works as a lawyer and uses the money he makes to buy the products his kids demand. However, the Carver kids are never satisfied, demanding a pool when they have received a trampoline, and insisting on the big size of ice cream at the drive-thru. This aggressive consumerism reflects the shifting demands of the small-town people to big products and innovation and the seemingly impossible pressure the family provider faces. When Mr. Carver finally yells, “I can’t give anymore, I’ve given enough already!” it sounds like an echo of Gilbert’s own frustrations over his selflessness for his family. Ultimately, the out-of-town chain stores have triumph over the local, with consumerism winning over traditionalism. A new Burger Barn has arrived into town, as Arnie points out in the middle of Mr. Carver’s funeral. Arnie, after attending the grand opening of the Burger Barn, proceeds to wear a Burger Barn cap for the rest of the film, even during the death scene of his mother. The impersonal nature of these widespread chains is shown through their appearance even in the grimmest scenes. Work Cited What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Directed by Lasse Hallström. United States: Paramount Pictures, 1993.

Falling in Love over Meals by Kerry Walsh The movie When Harry Met Sally (1989) is a classic example of a man and woman who attempt to disregard their sexual tension between each other, and try to be friends, but instead they end up together and married. However, in the beginning of the movie, the Apollonian and Dionysian dichotomy is represented amongst Harry and Sally. While Sally is logical and almost detached from love (Apollonian), Harry is fully immersed in his relationships, and very emotional when it comes to love and sex (Dionysian). One can see this difference in the way that Harry and Sally order their food—Sally is meticulous when she orders, while Harry does not even care what he eats, it depends more on the company that he is with, i.e. Sally. The image above is one clear example of the dichotomy between Harry and Sally when they order; the waiter is looking at Harry in a “How do you deal with this” way because Sally is making a complicated order, and Harry is just shrugging his shoulders because he has no reason to give to the waiter about how he puts up with Sally. But, eventually, it can be boiled down to the fact that Harry loves her, regardless of their differences, and begins to accept her unusual way of ordering food. From the beginning of the movie, one can see the difference between Harry and Sally. The film opens with Harry making out with his current girlfriend, giving her assuring “I love you’s” in-between their locking lips, while Sally is busy mulling over the idea of what she will find once she reaches New York City—she is not concerned with fixating her time on love like Harry does, and even gives looks of disdain and discomfort to the couple. Another notable eating habit of Harry’s is when he eats grapes in Sally’s car—carelessly spitting the seeds out the window, while Sally almost scoffs at him and says that she “doesn’t eat between meals.” Grapes, since ancient times, have been associated with Dionysus, the god of wine, associating Harry’s character with Dionysus. One of the times at which this this dichotomy appears is whenever Harry and Sally are out to eat, and in the differences in how they order food. Sally on the one hand, complicates her order of how she wants her pie with ice cream, and “if the whipped cream is from the can, I just want the pie and ice cream.” Harry, on the other hand, orders a number three on impulse, without even knowing what comes on, or with, the meal. An interesting thing that occurs while they are eating is that they always debate about sex in one way or another. The first meal centers on what good sex is, while in another instance, Sally demonstrates to Harry through a loud orgasmic scene, that women sometimes fake orgasms in order to make a man feel accomplished, like he “got the job done.” Harry does not believe Sally until she fakes an orgasm right there in the diner, for everyone to watch and see; only then does Harry realize that women are more complicated than he thinks. What the orgasm and the “good sex” scene have in common is to show how loose Sally’s arguments are—she does not have a strong example of “good sex,” and proves that a woman, like herself, can be detached from sex and from love. The overall arching theme of the movie attempts to answer the question: “Can men and women be just friends?” This movie ultimately replies with, “No, because sex and emotions get in the way of things,” which is the argument that Harry makes straight from the beginning while the two are driving to New York City. Harry and Sally’s relationship seems at first friendly, but when Sally finds out Joe is getting married, and she becomes emotional, that is when they have sex and the friendly relationship is placed with a more romantic one. Afterwards, Harry continues to act on impulse, especially when it comes to Sally, notably when he runs to her on New Year’s Eve to tell her that he loves her and her strict regimens. The final moment when the viewer realizes the two are perfect for each other is the moment when they are being interviewed and they talk about the coconut cake—how Harry compromises for chocolate sauce on the side, because that is what he knows that Sally would want. Essentially, another theme from the movie is “love equals food,” because over time, with consistent meals shared together, Harry and Sally have adopted some of each other’s habits, especially Harry, in the case of Sally’s strange ordering and eating habits. In the end, the two characters fulfill their Apollonian and Dionysian roles, but with a twist of compromise that the coconut cake symbolizes, which is their love for each other.

I Don't Want the Raisinets: The Pursuit of Perfection by Oliver Eisenbeis To director Damien Chazelle, the opening sequence is the most critical moment of a movie and he uses it immediately to set the thesis statement of what’s to come. His electrifying 2014 music drama Whiplash begins with the sound of a single-stroke drum roll and a slow push in on our protagonist, Andrew Neimann (Miles Teller), seated at drum set. Chazelle describes this opener as equating the sound of the snare drum with warfare, speaking to the challenges of musicianship while establishing a tone of dread and menace that continues throughout the film (Scott). What follows is a fast, rhythmic montage of green-tinted establishing shots that convey the tone of New York City before dropping the audience off at a quiet, two-screen movie theater. Here we’re introduced to Andrew’s father, described in the screenplay as “mild-mannered, soft spoken, average in every respect,” with “the eyes of a former dreamer” (Chazelle). The brief interaction between Andrew and his father over popcorn introduces an equally important film theme: a son’s ambition to achieve what his father failed to achieve. By centering familial interactions around the sharing of food, Chazelle takes advantage of the notion that food brings people together and stresses the disconnect in his characters’ relationships and aspirations. As Andrew Neimann sits down in the warmly lit movie theater, his father Jim (Paul Reiser) holds out the bucket of popcorn, into which Andrew shakes a box of Raisinets, a routine that both characters seem to perform often. While little is said between the two, it’s clear that Andrew is disappointed in his recent interaction with his band conductor, a man he both respects and fears. Throughout the conversational medium shot-reverse-shots, Jim tells his son that he has “plenty of options still” and that “when you get to be my age, you get perspective” (0:06:01). It’s clear that he doesn’t fully understand Andrew’s commitment to his art. As the lights dim and the movie starts, Andrew responds by saying “I don’t want perspective.” The light bouncing off the screen now lights up their faces in a cool blue light, emphasizing the tension. Andrew picks out a few pieces of popcorn, but ignores his father’s gesture to eat the chocolate-covered raisins. “I don’t want the Raisinets,” he murmurs. Offended by his son’s comment, Jim shakes his head and mutters, “I don’t understand you.” In a discreet exchange, the disconnect between father and son is initiated, visualized through the refusal of a simple father-son bonding tradition. As an audience, we understand that Andrew has no intention of pursuing an average, unexceptional life full of “perspective” like his father. At the same time, we also recognize the father’s struggle to remain active in his son’s interests. A broader view of Andrew’s detached relationships is once more visualized over the consumption of shared food, this time at a family dinner. As his family eats meatloaf and drinks wine, we hear Andrew’s uncle criticize the food Jim Neimann has prepared. Aligned with Andrew’s perspective, we watch his father laugh off the insults, reinforcing his mild-mannered behavior. Quick cuts combined with sharp, aggressive dialogue turn the conversation into a verbal battle over who’s more impressive. Though Andrew stands up for himself and his role as the drummer for a world-class studio band, it’s clear that his family values his cousins’ concrete achievements in football and model UN, as well as his father’s unremarkable job as a high school teacher more than Andrew’s position as an aspiring musician. In fact, his family (including his father) knows practically nothing about his experiences at the conservatory, but show little interest in asking. This scene highlights a significant shift in Andrew’s view of personal relationships as he pushes away from his loved ones and focuses completely on his aspiration to become “the greatest musician of the twentieth century” (0:46:03). He intentionally isolates himself through dialogue and physically removes himself from the dinner table, signaling a departure from unnecessary familial relationships that only act to hold him back from his goals. After being pushed to the brink of insanity in his passionate pursuit of greatness, Andrew gets expelled from the music conservatory. He’s emotionally and physically drained. In a somber pan from a stack of college applications to a small couch, we see Andrew once again watching a movie with his father while sharing popcorn. While there’s nothing said between father and son, the moment feels vastly different from the first. There are no Raisinets, no smiles, no affection. Andrew is visibly betrayed by his father and their relationship is beyond repair; the initial tone of dread and menace has turned to pain. In a film centered on the pursuit of perfection, our protagonist isn’t shown taking a lot of breaks from his music to eat. When intimate moments of eating are shown, however, they’re always with a loved one, be it Andrew’s father or his girlfriend Nicole. Relying on the audience’s expectation of food sharing as a means to bring people together, Whiplash focuses on the characters’ differences when sharing food and uses those moments to distance the protagonist from everybody else. Works Cited Chazelle, Damien. Whiplash. Film Script, 2013. Sony Classics. 6 March, 2018. http://www.sonyclassics.com/awards-information/whiplash_screenplay.pdf Scott, A. O. “Drill Sergeant in the Music Room.” The New York Times. 9 Oct, 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/10/movies/in-whiplash-a-young-jazz-drummer-vs-his-teacher.html Whiplash. Dir. Damien Chazelle. Perf. Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser, Melissa Benoist. Sony Classics, 2014. DVD.

Candy: The Universal Diversion by Elliot Millner Candy is an extraordinary thing. It cures nearly any sadness with its sweet flavor, injecting positivity into nearly any day with its colorful taste. Although it is the not the most healthful, candy is just as pivotal to American society as any fruit or vegetable. Everyone has his or her favorite candy that they just can’t live without. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) presents a world where this is very much the case. People go wild for Willy Wonka’s chocolate, even before the golden ticket race begins. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory illustrates the necessity of candy throughout the film, ultimately proving that candy is a persistent love no matter the culture. Charlie’s family can’t afford much. Money is hard to come by and when it does come, it must be spent on the essentials; however, when Willy Wonka announces his golden ticket race, Charlie’s family makes an effort to give him a chance at the golden prize because they know how much it means to him. They know how much it means to everyone. So much mystery surrounds the Wonka factory, mystery and a hint of magic. Willy Wonka’s secret formula is a precious one and thus he’s locked his factory away from potential thieves. That is what makes his golden ticket announcement so stunning. It grips the attention of the entire world and doesn’t let go until all five tickets have been found. “Truly it is incredible the way that Wonka-mania has descended upon the globe!” one news anchor says on the craziness, “…and to the five people who find them will come the most fabulous prize one could wish for, a lifetime supply of chocolate!” (12:40) People of all shapes and sizes line up to have their chance at finding a golden ticket. Old, young, fat, and skinny; all infatuated with the idea of being able to witness Wonka’s magic first hand. It is evident that chocolate is everything to these people. One image that appears about 13 minutes into the film, just after Willy Wonka has announced his contest, illustrates just how sought after Wonka bars become. The image sees shoppers in a department store with shopping carts filled completely with Wonka bars. The shoppers are all women of a similar age, implying that these are mothers buying the treats for their families, or perhaps just for themselves. There is hardly any negative space in the shot, showing just how crowded this store has become. Each shopping cart, as well as its respective shopper, barely has any room to breathe. The background is also cluttered with grocery products and other business, further illustrating the cramped tone of the scene. The film uses news broadcasts to illustrate how significant an event Wonka’s contest truly is. A scene that takes place just 18 minutes into the movie shows another newscaster comment on what the “Wonka-craze” has done to the rest of the world in only 43 days. “We are beginning to see signs of anxiety,” he says, “every hour on the hour new shipments are being sent to different points across the globe but they just aren’t moving fast enough and as time passes, the men who seek them become more and more desperate.” The key word here is “desperate,” a word that could fittingly describe the actions of several men and women throughout the rest of the film. Mothers push through crowds with a shopping cart full of Wonka bars to bring home to their children. Boxes of Wonka bars are auctioned off to high bidders. All across the world this madness persists. A man dares to forge a fake golden ticket. A woman even hesitates to decide whether to choose her own husband’s life or her case of Wonka bars when kidnappers offer their ransom. Their love for chocolate makes them think irrationally and value a chance at a Wonka golden ticket and lifetime supply of chocolate more than their own family or livelihood. The scene flips from shot to shot of SOLD OUT Wonka bar signs all across the world and in a range of different languages. The scene really drives home the fact that this is that is happening everywhere. It then shows men in uniform carrying boxes off a plane, a repetitive sequence to show the large number of these boxes. The world’s mood shifts as the race draws to its conclusion. People begin to give up and return to their former lives. Another news anchor, one Stanley Kail, struggles to maintain his composure when trying to reassure his viewers that the contest isn’t everything. “We must remember that there are many more important things, many more important things…offhand I can’t think of what they are but I’m sure there must be something,” he laments. The scene and ultimately the entire film exhibit that everyone has a sweet tooth. As many differences as these cultures have, they have one thing in common: a love for candy. Willy Wonka is just taking advantage of that commonality among people across the world and making candy better than anyone has before. Candy is special to everyone. Work Cited Stuart, Mel, director. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Paramount Pictures, 1971.

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