Theory Reading 2 Discussion: IAR 102

For this discussion the class was shown the film Babette's Feast.  A Danish film about elderly sisters, one who wins a lottery of 10,000 francs.  Instead of spending the money on herself, she decides to give back and use the money to create a delicious dinner for her sister and their congregation for the pastors hundredth birthday. The cuisine was supposed to be a very authentic french dinner.  Since such an exotic dinner is full of precious and rich ingredients, the sisters and the congregation feel guilty about indulging in such a feast.  So as an agreement they decide to eat the meal, but not take any pleasure in it, or speak of the meal during the dinner.  The only guest that wasn't there for the agreement and was present for the dinner was the general.  So he became the only one who could comment on the dinner.  He described how great the food was and how it reminded him of Cafe Anglaise in Paris.  Turns out Babette was the old chef of Cafe Anglaise. One quote that stayed in my mind from the film would have to be by the general who commented that the food "was a love affair that made no distinction between bodily appetite and spiritual appetite."  Which makes sense to me because food can be very pleasing not just nutritionally and taste-wise.  It also can be spiritually uplifting and make us feel good, bring back memories of good times, etc.  Relationship to design and culture can definitely be important.  Different cultures have different cuisines, different ways of eating, etc.  All of these factors have to go into thought when planning a dinner, the guests have to be taken into consideration as well as the meal and what utensils will be used with the type of food chosen.  All of these things I have thought about so far for this project, it has proven to be challenging, but also a fun process that has expanded my imagination further in understand the dining experience.