Blog Entry #9

How does One Upon a Time When We Were Colored, and Soul Food transmits culture and constitutes ethnic identity? In both films, they are both African American films and the narration was the two young boys telling the whole story by their own experiences. In Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored and Soul Food, the narration was Cliff. The very same as in Soul Food, the narration was Ahmad. In Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored and Soul Food, relates the story of a community called “Colored Town” the people are dependent on each in a world where racism and oppression. Soul Food is a more modern period were in 1990 in a street in Chicago. The problem was “Big Mama” had diabetes that caused the whole family to stop cooking every Sunday dinner.

Cliff and Ahmad are both different characters who have a passion for learning and family is a huge important both of them. Both movies show how they express their feelings throughout the film. In Cliff who spent his childhood in a period of civil war and had a lack of education. The experiences of being a young boy in a small town in Mississippi. He gained love and community with everyone and his family surrounded in “Color Town” When Cliff grew up as an adult, he left his hometown to go to the North. In Ahmad who is still a child though the film in Soul Food. Ahmad and Big Mama have a great relationship with each other because they know family is important for them. So, After Big Mama died, Ahmad lied to the whole family to gather together at Big Momma's house again to eat a Sunday dinner. By doing so, they resolve the problem by taking the fire away in the kitchen. They found the money that Uncle Pete comes inside of the kitchen with the money.

The difference is both movies: One Upon a Time When We Were Colored and Soul Food the year and time that both movies are made. In Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored the Different period is in Civil War that all African Americans are slaves during the period. In Soul Food the Different periods is the most modern time in the 1990s where African Americans had more freedom. The difference is when the beginning of both movies. In Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored the first clip of the movie shows the landscape of trees and cotton in Mississippi. In Soul Food the first clip of the movie shows a black and white street of Chicago. Also, the music in One Upon a Time When We Were Colored is classical piano music and In Soul Food, the music is more R&B music. So, you can see the difference between both movies. Yet, how does food apply in both movies with culture and constitutes ethnic identity?

Food can apply by the African American culture to fried chicken, sweet potato and corn and other southern food. African American culture is mostly made up of fried food that transmits to their own ethnic identity because of how they are cooking their food than other cultures like Spanish food. Food needs a group of people to share different tastes and delicious meals on the table with people who you love with. Food can be prepared differently by who is the chef in the household like Big Mama and Ma Pearl. The food is very important in both films because they have similar purposes that family is important for them. In conclusion, both movies did transmit cultural and constitutes ethic Identity because without culture or family they will have no meaning of African American in the films. The two families had two opposite narrations with the youth Cliff and Ahmad that changed the conflict of the storyline. However, both films intend that family is the main objective through the movies.