Soul Food Movie Analysis

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The movie Soul Food is a tells a story about an African American family from Chicago that stays united in a multitude of ways, including a family tradition of Sunday dinner. The story examines a family from the low to middle class; the eldest mother “Big Mama” has three daughters; Teri, Maxine, and Bird. The movie introductory scene takes place at the Bird’s wedding with the narrator of the movie being Big Mama’s eldest grandchild Ahmad. Soul Food highlights a African American family that deals with the secrets, lies, love and betrayal. To the public the family unit is stronger than ever, but behind the scenes tells a different story. The story shows how love, betrayal, and tragic illness can take a long standing toll on a family. The three …show more content…

Some of the most important traditions portrayed in the film are; Soul Food dinners on sundays and any major holiday, marriage, and other forms of family unity. The movie opens up at the youngest sister’s wedding; the entire family was present celebrating her and her husband’s new life together. Weddings has been one of the one of a long traditions for African Americans, dating back to the slave era. Marriage symbolized a stronger unit creating a foundation for others to follow and build upon. A historic tradition within ceremonies is jumping the broom; symbolizing both individuals jumping into the next phase of their lives as one. Next, the title of the film Soul Food indicates another tradition. The food that African Americans have cooked fro centuries was called Soul Food. The film explains what Soul Food was all about. During slavery, blacks did not have a lot of things to celebrate, so cooking became the way we expressed our love for one another. The family took that long standing tradition and added substance to it. Those dinners the family shared together were a time to share the joy, pain, sorrows,and laughter. The film touches on how these type of emotions and experiences are missing from today’s …show more content…

Love conflicts, inter-generational conflicts, trust in the healthcare system, and family succession. The love conflicts were associated with the family. Stealing of boyfriends, and a husband having a one night stand with one of the cousins. Learning of this recent affair Teri, handled the conflict in a poor manner.. Resorting to violence to get revenge on whoever was in her path. During this time, the family had a hard time trusting the healthcare system with Big Mama’s life. Her stubborn mentality was one for concern. Historically, African Americans have had limited access to healthcare. African Americans of Big Mama’s age believed that anything could be resolved with a home remedy. No need for a doctor’s fancy medical assistance. With her health declining, the family unit started to erode; which leds to the inter-generational conflict. As the siblings became feeling the significance of their mother’s illness, their family values were altered. This negatively impacted the tradition of the weekly Sunday dinners. Affecting the generations that came after them because the tradition had been stopped. The succession of the family was at a standstill because of the rift between the

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