Soul Food explore the hardships and trials of black family life, and through the characters, setting, and theme of both the story and the film, the issue of class and the search for community is discussed. Big Mama wanted her family to come closer. The more she tried, the farther apart they became. During her struggle, she encountered many obstacles including her own son 's beliefs, but she did not let them curve her appetite to gain higher status in society. Soul Food tells the story of a big African-American family from Chicago with warm hearted good cheer; in the way it cuts between stories of romance and trouble, how black families stay in constant communication down three or four generations and out to third cousins how when a matriarch like the movie 's Big Mama (Irma P. Hall) hosts a holiday dinner, there are going to be a lot of people in the house, and a lot of stories to catch up with. The story is told through the eyes of Big Mama 's grandson Ahmad (Brandon Hammond), who introduces us to the key players, especially his mother and her two sisters. His mom and dad are Maxine (Vivica A. Fox) and Kenny (Jeffrey D. Sams). The oldest sister is Teri (Vanessa L. Williams), a successful attorney, married to …show more content…
She has an uncanny gift for seeing right to the heart of her family 's strengths and weaknesses, and dishing out firm advice, spiritual sometimes and practical always. That 's until she has a stroke, falls into a coma and is hospitalized. Young Ahmad goes to visit her, and in a low-key, emphasized way, seems to communicate telepathically. (He agrees with her about plans for the garden, even though she of course cannot speak.) Later in the movie, it is Ahmad who understands Big Mama 's desires for the family, and brings them about through some sneaky planning of his
Mama only spent $3,500 out of the $10,000 from the insurance check, she decides to give Walter the leftover money, so he could “be the head of this family from now on” (107). Walter takes this matter upon himself and decides to “make a transaction” (108) that will “change our lives” (108). Walter then, takes all the money he is given by Mama and “never went to the bank at all” (129), he then gives all of the $6,500 to Willy Harris, who was trusted by both men, left with all of Walter and Bobo’s money. Mama, who is very upset by this, hits Walter for giving all the money away. Mama then turns to God for “strength” (130). Mama is a Christian woman and, despite her struggles, remains faithful.
“You know, nobody can ever cook as good as your mama.” These words were spoken by one of the most iconic Southern chefs of all time, Paula Deen. Not only has she formed a legacy with her countless cookbooks, magazines, and television programs, Deen also helps out by donating her wealth and continuing to fight poverty with foundations such as The Bag Lady Foundation. With Paula’s doll-blue eyes, down-to-earth cooking styles, strong love for her close-knit family, and recent controversies, Ms. Deen has undoubtedly become one of the best known chefs in this current generation.
The portrayal of African American families has changed drastically since the 1950s. The media’s wide representation of African American families has varied from television and literature. The families differ in economic classes, generational differences and their sense of cultural heritage. Literary works such as Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and Alice Walker’s Everyday Use depiction of families differs from television’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Blackish. Although they are all African American families, they each face different problems with society. They also face different stereotypes and family structures. The period in time that each piece of work was made had a considerable impact on them.
Throughout the story the narrator, Mama, shows us her frame of mind in the course of her detailing the events and interactions with Dee; the derogatory and skewed descriptions, cry out for justice.
While soul food is associated with the American South, you can trace its roots straight back to African-American culture. The term, in fact, comes directly from Malcolm X, who claimed that the word "soul" in "soul food" represents not only Southern culture, but also the shared experience of enjoying a
There dream was to finally move up in the world and be more successful as a certain group of people. After trying relentlessly to accomplish this they found out that to reach the dream they were aspiring for they must work as a family not as individuals. Mama arguably the main protagonist in this story is bring home a ten thousand dollar check for life insurance from her husband. This money drives the family crazy and with their mind set still individualized people start getting selfish. Walter, Mama’s son has the idea of investing the money into a liquor store and looses a lot of money. Mama eventually buys Travis a house for the family to live in, Travis being Mama’s grandson, this sparked the family to start thinking less of themselves but for the family as a whole. After a few days a man from the communities welcoming center came to offer them a deal to sell the house and make a profit. This symbolizes their dream trying to be bought with money. The family now had the choice whether to follow their dreams or abandon them. Obviously they had not given up on their dreams and thanks to Mama the family started looking out for each other which was the most important thing for the
The value of keeping family members together as one is a struggle. There are many families today that are still doing traditional events to celebrate one another's accomplishments. In the movie Soul Food, it tells the story of a big African-American family from Chicago. Although each family member displayed love for one another, trust was broken when a family member slept around with another family member's spouse. Soul Food displayed how black families stay in constant communication over large family dinners.
Geeta Kothari’s “If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?” shares a personal story of a young woman’s efforts to find her identity as she grows up in a culture different than her parents. Kothari retells memories from her childhood in India, as well as her experiences as an American student. Kothari uses food as a representation of culture, and she struggles to appreciate her parent’s culture, often wishing that she was like the American children. Kothari’s tone changes as she comes to realize the importance of maintaining connections to her Indian culture. Originally published in a Kenyon College magazine, Kothari’s main audience was originally student based, and she aimed to give her young readers a new perspective to diversity. Through the
She is the focus of the family, whereas she takes control of the situations that goes on in the Younger family. Mama in the play looks out for Beneatha, Beneatha is having a bad time with her boyfriend, George Murchison. Mama gives her advice, “I guess you better not waste your time with no fools.” Mama is corrupted and old, but she knows what’s best for her family She made a decision that was good for them all. The idea of buying a house, came from the thought of thinking of Travis, “Now when you say your prayers tonight, you thank God and your grandfather-‘cause it was him who give you the house-in a way.”
Mama, unlike other typical grandmothers, does not spend her days baking cookies or spoiling her grandchildren. She is the kind of Grandma that is willing to look her children and grandchildren straight in the eyes and say the honest truth because she wants what is best for them. She is a wholesome woman that constantly looks out for the best of her family using her faith as guidance.
To begin, Mama is a large, big-boned women with rough, man-working hands. She was raised with no education and wears overalls during the day. Mama has two daughters named Maggie and Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo (Dee). Mama is a dynamic character due to her changing in the story.
Sometimes the lies are not even lies; they are just seen to be that. Big Daddy thinks that Big Momma is scheming to take over the place, when in fact she really does love him. He only sees this as a lie because of his feelings toward her. Brick seems to feel them same way about Maggie, and is surprised in the end when Maggie declares her love for him.
Each chapter tells a different story, that in the end goes back to proving the claim. In the documentary Food Inc, it uses the emotional appeal to show the cruelty of what food industry has done such as cutting off the beaks of baby chickens. Shown in the film, just by using newborn chickens and cutting off their beaks, this appeals to the audience that innocent young chickens were being tossed around through the belt while the worker takes it out of the beak. Another emotional appeal was the story of three year old Kevin dying from E-coli. He passed away twelve days after he was diagnosed and during those twelve days, was also not allowed to drink water. This appeals to the viewers because you saw what Kevin’s mom went through when watching her son beg for water and was not able to give him any. This film maintains a strong emotional appeal through harsh images and personal stories. Emotion is definitely one thing the director uses to convey the message in Food Inc.Showing the entire process was a very effective way to get the viewers to feel emotionally involved in the film and most of the messages it was
As the eldest person in the Younger household, Mama is the authoritative figure and has the most traditional views. Being a part of the GI Generation, she shares the
In Everyday Use, Mama, the main character, is an educated but caring mother. She has two children, Maggie, the oldest, and Dee, the youngest. She has two different relationships with her two kids. She cannot relate to Dee because Dee is more educated, and she makes sure she shows it to her mother and sister. Dee is sophisticated, neat-looking and overdressed. Mama is longing for a connection with Dee. As she narrates, “Sometimes I dream a dream in which Dee and I are suddenly brought together on a TV program of this sort. Out of a dark ...