Key Aims & Messages

The hand of the African in the pot, transformed the taste of the pot. (10:21)

“Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them”(Steve Maraboli, 2013), if you look at the history of racial minorities in the United States, especially the African-American community, the persistence should show how much respect they should get from others. In every single difficult situation they got thrown in, they fought their way out, and created their own happiness. For example, not getting the right food supplies during the times of slavery resulted in the foundation of soul food. Soul food originally came from slaves in the South as a food source of survival. This shows that you can, “Give people the sense that they have the capacity to actually do something to change it” (Soul Food Junkies, 2012), by fighting as a group, a society, as a culture. This describes one of the primary aims of the documentary. It shows the important role soul food played in history and how hard it is to change your dietary habits and culture when so much emotional importance is connected to it. ”Fighting against oppressive wars became part of our popular culture, fighting against police brutality and racism became of our popular culture” (Soul Food Junkies, 2012). It is used as a way to bring everyone together through good food that is good for the soul. It is not good for you, but it is good to you.

Ideologies

Soul, you should call it death food cause it’ll kill you! (21:51)

This film presents soul food is one of the major factors causing American obesity today. Every dish is either fried, baked, and full of grease. Eating soul food is seen as the moments families and communities really connect. You are sharing food with each other and establishing family and group traditions. Food deserts are becoming the blame for health issues ranging from diabetes to high blood pressure. Not enough access to healthy food markets causes people to rely on corner stores for vegetation.

Key Storylines

One storyline is the director’s father, Jackie Hurt, who ate soul food every day. Fried, baked, sweet or spicy he loved eating it. He grew to be twice his size and ended up getting pancreatic cancer due to poor diet decisions.

Another storyline was Ms. Peaches restaurant. She opened her restaurant in 1961 to bring a homecooked meal to civil rights marchers who were mistreated and sat out in the sun for hours on end.

Linkages to Class

Links to foodways with the patterns established for eating soul food. “The power is with us in the people, we have the power to change our communities” (Soul Food Junkies, 2012), the documentary used both structuralism and social constructionism to explain how soul food was created by culture and how society uses it. They looked at it in the structuralist way by looking how soul food endured social patterns and it has shaped human behavior. In the social constructionist way by showing how much the individual control can influence behavioral decisions in the world in which they live, for example; in a part of the documentary they showed a school were kids were taught from a young age on how healthy food is so much better than processed products. The children literally said: “Vegetables are soul food” (Soul Food Junkies, 2012). Soul food went from a means for survival to something that has a special place in everyone’s heart, and we what we must do is to make healthy soul food part of our culture. People eat it because it makes them feel good and makes them forget about the troubles in their lives. It also links to social constructionism with the personal attachment to soul food being the root of who they are. So, “We have to go that distance to change, and the power is with us in our society” (Soul Food Junkies, 2012), “We can change our unhealthy habits as long as we want to” (Byron Hurt, 2012).

Opinion

Overall the film was very compelling and engaging. The background of where soul food originated and how it was able to stick around amazes me. I did not believe how personal food can be to someone until I watched this film. A strong point this film had was trying to connect with the audience and relating to personal experience.

Personally, I learned a lot from this documentary. I never knew what soul food was, and what the connections were between the history of African-Americans, slavery and their food habits. It’s interesting how your personal and cultural history can influence your food perception so much, and how difficult it is to change that. Unhealthy habits are something so normal nowadays, and realizing how important it is to treat your body well, not just physically but also mentally, is something that this documentary really emphasizes.

References

Hurt, B. (Director) (Producer). (2013). Soul Food Junkies [Motion Picture]. United States: PBS

Maraboli, S. (2013). Unapologetically you: Reflections on life and the human experience. Port Washington, NY: A Better Today.