Reel Food & World Cinema

One main similarity between the food films "Big Night" and "Dinner Rush" is the presence of Italian culture and Italian food being cooked in each film. For example, in "Dinner Rush", despite the head chef's disdain for Italian food, sausages, peppers, and pasta are shown to be an essential part of the restaurant's cuisine. The sous-chef, Duncan, enjoys and specializes in cooking these Italian dishes for the restaurant's customers, and despite the head chef's plan to NOT cook Italian food, this helps to bring the Italian culture into the restaurant through the food. Similarly, in "Big Night", Italian food, as well as Italian culture overall, are an integral part of the restaurant owned by Primo and Secondo. Since the two are Italian brothers (like Mario & Luigi), their speciality of cooking is Americanized versions of traditional Italian foods, which is the main type of food that the two brothers cook in their restaurant, s...

In the Italian-American film, Big Night, the movie tells the story of two Italian brothers who own and operate their own restaurant where Americanized versions of Italian foods are cooked and served to their customers. However, the business, as well as the personal relationship between the two brothers, are thrown into limbo after a large argument begins, and the restaurant is in danger of being closed forever. In the last scene of Big Night,  one of the two brothers, Secondo, begins to cook an omelette in the kitchen of the restaurant for himself and the third main character of the film, Cristiano, one of the restaurant's waiters. Shortly after Secondo and Cristiano begin eating, the second brother, Primo, enters the kitchen and is given a plate as well. This is scene is very powerful because it shows how strong the familial connection between Primo and Secondo is. After all they have been through (i.e. the restaurant's failing business, the personal quarreling between the t...

In the films Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored and  Soul Food , the food that is presented and eaten by each family helps to constitute the cultural and ethnical identities of the African-American families of each film. For example, both films depict the African-American families eating what many would call a "traditional Southern Feast" (Balthrope, 103) consisting of fried chicken, ham, corn, mashed potatoes, and sweet potato pie. While many believe the foods listed above to be foods that are typically eaten by African-American people, the foods that are eaten in each film actually help to show the cultural identity of the characters as being Southerners as well.  In addition to the food that is cooked by the African-American families in each film, the collective name that is given to the food and that the food is referred to as, "soul food", also helps establish cultural boundaries and ethnical identities in these films, especially considering the fact th...

The film "Tortilla Soup" and the original "Eat Drink Man Woman" share many similar elements with each other. First of all, the overall plot of each film is about a male cook who have lost their senses of taste yet cook incredible meals for their families. In both of these films, the family members consists of three daughters, all of whom are beginning their own adult lives and have started to break away from their family traditions. In addition, the three different paths each daughter takes are similar in both films. For example, the oldest daughter of each family converts to Christianity and also works as a school teacher, while the middle daughter in each film enjoys cooking and shares the same passions as her father, but never pursues that career choice. Finally, the youngest daughter in each film does not have any set career path in her life, and is slightly more rebellious and defiant than the other two. However, one main difference between these two films,...

In Mayan culture, chocolate (specifically cocoa) was a major source of consumption. Originally, the Mayans picked beans (also called "seeds") from cocoa trees to eat them, but over time, cocoa beans and chocolate became an element of art and, as time went on, the Mayans began to include chocolate in their artifacts; this included depicting people eating, picking, or preparing chocolate in paintings, drawings, and sketches. In addition, cocoa beans and seeds were used in religious rituals to honor the Mayan Gods and were often called "Food of the Gods"; the chocolate used in these rituals was meant to represent the blood of the gods, similar to how, in Christianity, the bread and wine served at Communion represents the body and blood of Jesus Christ respectively. Due to this, it is clear that chocolate and cocoa beans are a very important element of Mayan culture and have played a large role in the religious practices of the Mayan people. The Mayans also develo...

In the film  What's Cooking?, multiple cultures and ethnic backgrounds are not just represented, but play a more central role in the film's plot. What's Cooking is not just focusing on one specific family or group of people, but rather jumps back and forth between four  different families, all of which are of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds: African-American, Vietnamese, Jewish, and Latino-American. Despite the fact that all four of these families are celebrating Thanksgiving in the traditional way (i.e. cooking a turkey & big meal, eating and getting together with family), each family adds their own cultural taste to the food prepared. For example, the Vietnamese family covers one half of the turkey with spices and leaves the other half normal, thereby adding their own cultural flavors and traditional tastes into the food (despite burning it shortly afterwards and having to order KFC instead). Also, each family combines holiday and personal traditions in this...