Food: The Universal Language

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As defined by Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, food is “material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy.” However, can food not provide something more than simply nourishment? For ages, scientists all over have been noticing patterns in the ways various cultures think of food and make it parts of their everyday lives. These patterns teach us more about these cultures, as well as the many ways that food affects them. Food influences many parts of these cultures, such as religion, relationships, gender, and finally communication. Communication is a vital part of one’s everyday life and Anthropologist E.N. Anderson describes food as “second only to language as a social communication system” (Anderson 124). Thai director Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman and Latin American director María Ripoll’s Tortilla Soup, a Latino re-make of Lee’s film, reveal the similarities of two seemingly different cultures and their use of food as a means of communication.

Anderson claims, “One main message of food, everywhere, is solidarity. Eating together means sharing and participating” (Anderson 125). In both films, Sunday dinner gives the families a break from everyone’s busy lives where they can enjoy a meal as a family. For both Master Chu and Martin, this Sunday tradition is a necessary way to get the family together for at least a little while. However, to the girls it is the “Sunday dinner torture ritual” (Eat Drink Man Woman). Although the girls feel this way, the only family bonding seen is the sharing of this exquisite food. Therefore, food provides the means by which families can come together.

In both films, ...

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...nest with each other and not worry about harsh judgment.

Tortilla Soup and Eat Drink Man Woman feature cultures from complete opposite sides of the world; however, there are numerous similarities in the way the families use food as a means of communication. Food helps these families express feelings they would normally not be able to express without this connection. While food does provide nourishment, it also is a major aspect of many cultures and their daily lives.

Works Cited

Anderson, E.N.. Everyone Eats: Understanding Food and Culture. New York: New York

University Press, 2005.

Eat Drink Man Woman. Dir. Ang Lee. Ang Lee Productions, 1994. DVD.

“Food” . Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Encyclopedia Britannica. 21 March 2011.

< http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/food>.

Tortilla Soup. Dir. María Ripoll. Samuel Goldwyn Films, 2001. DVD.

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