Alien American Culture

Food brings community members together, builds on the existing bond between neighbors and family, and presents a understanding of a person's own heritage. In each area of the world, one will see food change into exoctic and diverse dishes of admiration, however, is the normal to the people of the foods origin. In “Ethnic Hash”, by Patricia J. Williams, she details how food can be changed ever so slightly through the use of seasonings, preparation style, and become a essential part of a culture. She comments, “Throw in as many spices and mysterious roots as you can lay your hands on” (Williams 12). Having a valid understanding of the origins of different aspects of culture allows for altering and imputing personal characteristics for generations to

Food is a highly unique commodity, for though it is essential to every single person on earth, there is no other commodity which is acquired and consumed in such diverse ways. It is a multifaceted social instrument, serving to connect people across cultural boundaries while simultaneously drawing lines through society, dividing people across race and class. Though we have discussed the connections between certain alternative food movements and the creation of a ‘white’ identity, I contend that the social mechanisms of food extend beyond the production of ‘whiteness’, and are intricately bound up in the creation and perpetuation of other racial and class identities in Western society. As the ways in which we consume and engage with food

1. How can an understanding of the complexities of culture help us make sense of the day-to-day world which we live? Give an example from your life to illustrate your answer.

Food can partially shape a person's cultural identity. Geeta Kothari explores the cultural nuances between American and Indian food in the essay, “If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?” She expresses this through the symbolism of food, growing up and living between two different cultures. Kothari begins her story as a nine-year-old child curiously wanting to eat the same foods as American children: tuna salad sandwiches and hot dogs. She does not have the guidance from her mother regarding American food and culture. Kothari’s mom curbs the curiosity by reluctantly letting her daughter indulge in a can of tuna fish. Kothari describes the open can of tuna fish as “pink and shiny, like an internal organ” and she wondered if it was botulism (947). The way

In Jessica Harris’s “The Culinary Season of my Childhood” she peels away at the layers of how food and a food based atmosphere affected her life in a positive way. Food to her represented an extension of culture along with gatherings of family which built the basis for her cultural identity throughout her life. Harris shares various anecdotes that exemplify how certain memories regarding food as well as the varied characteristics of her cultures’ cuisine left a lasting imprint on how she began to view food and continued to proceeding forward. she stats “My family, like many others long separated from the south, raised me in ways that continued their eating traditions, so now I can head south and sop biscuits in gravy, suck chewy bits of fat from a pigs foot spattered with hot sauce, and yes’m and no’m with the best of ‘em,.” (Pg. 109 Para). Similarly, since I am Jamaican, food remains something that holds high importance in my life due to how my family prepared, flavored, and built a food-based atmosphere. They extended the same traditions from their country of origin within the new society they were thrusted into. The impact of food and how it has factors to comfort, heal, and bring people together holds high relevance in how my self-identity was shaped regarding food.

Paula J. Johnson, a curator at the National Museum of American History, says that foods such as wasabi, Sriracha, and hummus would have been considered “foreign foods” 50 years ago, but today they are common, everyday staples for many people across America. Ramanathan briefly states before this that the only constant in American foods is global influence and then goes on to say that it’s not uncommon in modern times for people to eat, for example, Thai food for lunch and then Italian for dinner. She writes that America has people from all backgrounds, cultures, and countries and their influences are present everywhere, especially the food. In America today, there are so many influences on our foods that using the term ethnic to describe them makes it sound foreign when the food is something people eat every

Indeed, Pollan’s views appear to be convincing since the different cultures in America offering a large variety of traditional food dishes causes a problem in food choices. As a consequence, Pollan mentioned, the mindset of American’s about, “what should we eat for dinner?” is caused by the food options in America being very diverse and not limited.

For many people, culture and identity are closely tied to identity-- sometimes so closely that the things they do, eat, or say may not even feel like a conscious decision. However, from an outsider’s point of view, it is easy to note the differences between cultures in many different ways. One of the most tangible examples of this is, of course, food. When speaking to many people from older generations, it is easy to see how much food is entwined in their stories from the past, whether they come from far away or are still living where they were born. Throughout Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, food is heavily used in many different ways to represent multiple races.

In The Culinary Seasons of my Childhood, Jessica B. Harris- the author- attempts to help readers understand the relationship between food and identity. Harris gave a detailed, but relevant, description of how how food portrayed different cultures in her life and how it taught her many lessons about her family history and who she is; she also described how food brings people together as one and creates a connection that nothing else can. The author helps readers initially understand her ideas by showing examples of how food, even in the same culture, can reflect different social classes.“ Even though chitterlings might be on the menu, they could equally likely be accompanied by a mason jar of corn liquor or a crystal goblet of champagne”( Harris

Firstly, the author states her personal narrative to support her point. Tam, who has a Chinese background used to enjoy spending her time to cook ngau lam, a Cantonese braised brisket stew, as well as other dishes even though they smelled until one of her friends called her family dishes "Chinese grossness" (2015, para. 5). In according to Tam, her friend's words "clung to her". She recalls she was so embarrassed that she tried to be distanced herself from family food (2015, para. 6). Tam's personal narrative is effective because it is reflective of her real life, which gives credence to her article.

White American women viewed Thai food as a quick getaway for viewing the Thai culture as they made variations labeled as Siamese (Padoongpatt 21). This relates to the argument because Thai cuisine was able to create a false sense of cultural knowledge; much like how people will claim orange chicken is their favorite Chinese dish, they are both things that White Americans claim makes them more multicultural. This leads into Padoongpatt’s next major point of changing geography. During the 1960 and 70’s, an influx of Thais decided to come into the United States, legally and illegally, with it came the uprising of both domestic access to Thai ingredients and Thai restaurants. This brought forth the fanfare of White Americans falling in love with the Thai people through their culinary treasures presented in their aesthetically traditional restaurants (Padoongpatt). This phenomenon can be attributed to the liberal multiculturalism found in the Los Angeles area because only through Thai cuisine was Thai America able to gain

As people migrate to a foreign country, they often look for ways to connect culturally with their new home country. Unfortunately, sometimes immigrants have trouble dealing with an identity crisis, either identifying with their old culture or with their new culture. One way of coping with this cultural change is through food. Food can help give people a sense of belonging and identity. What Was Served by Douglas Bauer, “We Are What We Now Eat” by Ivan Darias Alfonso and Black Dog of Fate by Peter Balakian’s shows a correlation between food and identity. Alfonso, Bauer and Balakian show how food allows people reconnect with their native culture meanwhile, Alfonso and Balakain also show how food can help immigrants adapt to a new one.

This paper will discuss the multifaceted relationships among food, and culture. I will be looking at the relationships people have with food, and explore how this relationship reveals information about them. Their food choices of individuals and groups, can reveal their ideals, likes and dislikes. Food choices tell the stories of where people have travelled and who they have met along the way.

Food etiquette highlights respectful and mannerly behavior within culture, further revealing one’s cultural identity. Through one’s food etiquette, components of their cultural identity are apparent to those around them. Behaviors that are thought of as

Food is very much a part of pop culture, and the beliefs, practices, and trends in a culture affect its eating practices. Pop culture includes the ideas and objects generated by a society, including foods, and other systems, as well as the impact of these ideas and objects on society. For example, Mcdonald's is another of the thousands of fast food chains that populate our cities though they often use the term “popular culture” only to refer to media forms. Their popularity has also increased internationally. Although all humans need food to survive, people's food habits and how they obtain, prepare, and consume food, are the result of learned behaviors. Mcdonald’s, like other food chains, has made an effort to ‘localize’ its products so that they will be more successful in each different cultural context. These collective behaviors, as well as the values and attitudes they reflect, come to represent a group’s pop culture.