Reel Food and World Cinema Blog Posts

  "Big Rush" Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott’s Big Night and Bob Giraldi’s Dinner Rush are films that, according to Keller, “create a similar conceptual parallel between the progressive integration of ethnic Italians into the American mainstream and the evolution of their native cuisine. (Keller 125)” Both films depict culinary and social change of Italian restaurant life. There’s a want to transition from traditional Italian cuisine to more Americanized, trendy, and mainstream cuisine. Both films incorporate the opposing views of family members, in similar but still different ways. In Big Night, we the story of two brothers and restaurant owners, Primo and Secondo. Primo is the older brother who wants to keep the Italian tradition of food alive, while Secondo is ready for “Paradise” to transition to, serving Italian American food. While in Dinner Rush the opposing views are created by father and son. We are seeing generational conflict. We have Udo (th

Reconciliation Over A Frittata  The food film Big Night ends with a five-minute scene that takes viewers on an emotional roller coaster. This final scene is such a memorable part of the film, that captures the audience's full attention. This long-shot scene consists of very little dialogue, where the camera does not move at all, yet it is so powerful. During the scene we see the entire process of Secondo cooking breakfast the morning after the big feast. As he cooks the frittata, we see the simplicity of this dish. To cook the dish, all it took was some olive oil, three eggs, a pinch of salt, and a heated pan. The eggs are then just beaten lightly by Secondo with a fork, mixed lightly in the pan, and then flipped perfectly one time, completing the dish. The dish is then split into threes. Secondo serves one part to Cristiano, one part to himself, and the rest of the frittata is left in the pan. After breakfast is served, we then get into the meaning and significance

  Once Upon A  ... Soul Food Once Upon A Time...When We Were Colored,  and  Soul Food  are  both  films that  use food to  represent ethnicity and culture  with in African Americans  families .   The films celebrate the power of these two Black  families as  they navigate through the ups and downs  of their lives, using food to help them  through their different emotional experiences.    Soul food   is cooked and eaten in both film s on different occasions. In  Once Upon A Time ,  we see this when Punk cooks for her son  Melvin when he visits home. In  Soul Food,  we see this  all throughout the film for each of the Sunday dinners.  Soul food represents African American  cuisine and  holds historical significance when it comes to the African  American experience.  It consists of dishes and foods that survive d   sl a v e r y   and  became compatible with  poor Blacks . As Ahmad said in Soul Food , during slavery Black people did not have a lot to celebrate. Cooking b