Blog #9


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 that one of these films is titled Soul Food. According to Robin Balthrope, the words "soul food" have been around since the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement, and "soul" was used to encourage African-Americans to be proud of their heritage and try to blend their cultural identities into everyday life whether that included through African-American music, clothing, style, and even through their food (hence the term "soul food"). This sense of cultural heritage and traditions carries into the Sunday dinners that are eaten by the family in Soul Food as Big Mama (and eventually, at the end of the film, Ahmad) gets the entire family together for Sunday dinner every single week at her house. This demonstrates how the cultural tradition of getting together for Sunday dinner every week still resonates within the family and emphasizes the importance of cultural traditions that the family has in Soul Food. This strong sense of tradition is slightly minimized in the other film, Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored, through the main character, Cliff, who, despite his poor background, decide to move up North when he becomes an adult and continue his education. This shows the character of Cliff changing and slightly breaking away from his culture in order to better himself and make a positive change towards his future. Therefore, while Soul Food emphasizes the importance of culture and family traditions, Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored depicts a slight easing away from one's ethnical background and deciding to make a better change for themselves in the future.
Amazon.com: Soul Food 27 x 40 Movie Poster - Style A: Lithographic ...
The theatrical poster to Soul Food 

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