Describe Feminist Interpretation of Fried Green Tomatoes (Movie Review Sample)

Feminist interpretation of Fried Green Tomatoes
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Feminist Interpretation of Fried Green Tomatoes
It never ceases to be amazing on how conflicting experiences and feelings in relation to eating and food. Individually, from personal view of the film, it signifies relation in the glamorous pleasures of culinary that delight in food, just to realize that people still contemplate over the same issue for years. This creates residual feelings of guilt. Moreover, it is pragmatic to state that, at times the feelings go beyond residual context, and in fact become more prominent. It is always imaginable that people should handle such like cycle in a better manner. This implies that food consumption should become non-problematic, guilt free, simple and pleasurable. Although it is believed that feminist is associated with food handling, it puzzles individuals over difficulties encountered when coming into terms with eating and food. After all, studies on feminist literature indicate closer association between bodies, women and food (Bordo, 1993).
However, to better understand more about exhibited ridiculous method of self-torture, the film envisioned pleasure and guilt. Moreover, in the narrative world of mainstreaming, the film is a showcase of pleasure, empowerment and feelings of trouble and wrong (Frankenberg, 1993). Regarding the guilt, consumption of the film enhances close echoes of sentiments around food, although in myriad situation people like and really enjoys it. In addition, scholarly perception in efforts to dissect media production in a way that shapes hegemonic understandings about self and others, it is challenging indeed. When watching films that showcase eating, it could be perceived differently, but personally, it is laden with various issues, which are not limited to creating awareness about what lies behind the product being consumed. For instance, film, food, furniture or clothing. It is in most cases habitual that people likes to consume specific products of their pleasure in their quest to struggle for awareness. In this regard, the film Fried Green Tomatoes is personally a pose of great puzzle since it depicts progressive treatment of gender, race, food, power and sexuality. Yet, attempts to consume the film often create a guilty pleasure of eating the “wrong” food (Bordo, 1993).
The film showcase “Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance,” which bell hooks explores otherness as the commodification in mass culture. This is with much emphasis on how often “ethnicity becomes spice within commodity culture that acts as seasoning that can live up the dull dish in mainstreaming the white culture”. Much concern is expressed on the basis through which the contemporary media handles the issues of otherness and race. The film indicates that at times something radical happened to the black literature.
Fried Green Tomatoes is an indication of critical analysis of pleasure and discomfort exhibited by women in relationship to food. In addition, it hints a take back by one hand what is given by the other hand; this is showcased through de-emphasizing and negative reincription of respective subversive tendencies exhibited, especially regarding treatment of race. Through the subversive utopia offered about the film, it indicates how the women are, as far as eating and identity are concerned. In closer reading of the film “Fried Green Tomatoes”, it conceptualizes and conversely identifies how desire dictates a peoples’ political affiliation and choices. From personal observation, the film maps the hetero-sexual white woman. It simultaneously addresses critical voices, a fact that creates an understanding of interconnection between consumption, pleasure, and guilt (Bordo, 1993). According to the film, analyzing the cycle of pleasure and guilt further creates an understanding of “how desire disrupts, makes resistance possible and also subverts”.
Moreover, in analyzing the film, it is realistic to state that Fried Green Tomatoes undermines the possibility of change that is offered by the film, although, different people perceive different things in distinct ways, based on relationship with the film through means of personal empowerment. Interpretation of feminist in the film focuses on representation of food and eating in Fried Green Tomatoes. This subverts perceived standardized notion on gender and sexuality. It also questions patriarchal political structure and exhibited inequitable food distribution.
According to the film, and in the view of the flip-side of the coin, it depicts moments of pleasure and empowerment. In addition, according to the book by Fanny Flagg, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, there is fair amount of critical attention (Frankenberg, 1993). It could be sometimes regarded as a cult among classic U.S lesbians which focus on feminism, gender, race and sexuality.
However, in realizing the balancing act of Fried Green Tomatoes, it is questionable how such a film that deals with such controversial issue like cannibalized husband managed to make successful leap from novel to film, it is surprising how a quiet female buddy movie managed to attract a wide audience.
Personally, it is important to understand that the film managed to effectively attract wide audience through balance of extremes and as well touching on serious issue of modern day alienation, race, and sexuality without losing large sentiments from the audience. It implies that most of the people were eager to derive the understanding of feminism in the film “Fried Green Tomatoes” (Bordo, 1993). More concern that contributed to the increased audience was based on humor and laughter, loss and transformation as transgressive power in the film. In furtherance, the popularity of the film could be viewed as an intrinsic link to the challenges in cultural norms, which according to Raymond Williams could be referred to as “emergent Culture”.
In spite of the numerous challenges facing mainstreaming, Fried Green Tomatoes is not subversive, fringe text as it may be viewed to some extent. It has also showcased comfort and empowerment as far as eating and food are concerned; personally, it is believed that the film ascertains the need and means for incorporating change, and ultimately usurped by mainstream culture. In addition, it becomes more regressive especially with regard to personal view, due to the much undoing of the “feminist” work exhibited. This is the main source of problematic issues around gender, race and sexuality, which henceforth undermines progressive narration of food and eating. The film to some extent has somewhat managed to convince and prevents personal alteration of reflection on gender, race and sexuality (Frankenberg, 1993).
The film “Fried Green Tomatoes” attempts in numerous ways to challenge heterosexism, stereotypical, and traditional gender roles, in a way that food and women have been represented in mainstreaming. However, it is realistic that mainstreaming media has created laughter around women who are believed to be “larger” than what hegemonic culture holds to be acceptable (Bordo, 1993). According to personal interpretation of the film, women who take up space through enjoying food could be equated with animals, and conversely be positioned as proverbial butt of jokes. Slender actresses are not excluded in this, only a few examples are allowed to partake of culinary delights as displayed on the screen. This is without being either sexualized or demoralized; these options are lean at best.
However, the only option that is left would be to choose between stylized or realistically sculpted bodies or images of the ridiculed marginalized fat woman is the number allowed to take up positive roles in mainstreaming films, and conversely enjoying food is incredibly small. This implies that when women eat in mainstream cinema, situations that allow for this could be argued to be narrowly defined. In somewhat cases, there are lovely, thin goddesses whose eating habits serves to correspond to, and enhance their erotic attractiveness towards the opposite sex “men”.
Research on literature indicates that ‘the heroines’ unrestrained delight in eating …as sexual foreplay; this is a way of figuring out the abandon that would thereafter but, shortly be expressed in bed’ (Bordo, 1993).
The film “Fried Green Tomatoes” is a clear indication that female bodies should conform to the ideals of contemporary female body norms. Moreover, it creates a perception that eating is not bad, but only if the indulgence precedes heterosexual intercourse or if an individual does not get fat. Other circumstances that are permitted to showcase that women lust for food and indeed they need it is the period when they are pregnant, other that situations that clearly shows that a woman has been near starvation. But the possibility of such extreme cases according to the film appears bleak. According to the film, mainstream representation of women eating food are quite problematic, comparatively to the situation exhibited in “Fried Green Tomatoes” are presumed to not only be guilty, but also perpetuates judgmental and stereotypical images (Frankenberg, 1993).
The film seemingly sidelined men in offering narratives of empowerment within the face of culture. This is a fact that brings about bombarding views, which are; unhealthy, unrealistic and dangerous as far as body and food are concerned, with simultaneous contradiction of the tendency. Honey signifies food, but in the film, it is a means through which women express their sexual lust for each other, this subtly underlines lesbians’ relationship that exists between two (Bor...