Extra Blog: Food, Inc.

          Yesterday, Saturday November 27, 2010, I watched the film Food, Inc. Before I watched the film, I had not really thought about everything that happens before the food goes into my mouth. I usually would just pay attention to the dietary or nutrition elements in food. However, after watching this film, I think that I may have to start paying more attention to the other elements or processes that the food goes through before I eat it. I do have to say that I am glad I watched this film after Thanksgiving.
          This film talked about the processes of food. This film could be related to Globalization. The United States likes cheap labor and cheaper products. Food that contains mechanized chemicals is cheaper than organic food; however, it is not necessarily better for the consumer than organic food. When a person eats a food containing chemicals or pesticides, it can have negative side effects. The consumer may become ill or suffer from food poisoning. Unfortunately, money seems to be of greater importance than better health. I do understand that money is something that does not need to be spent recklessly. In this economy today, every money saver that the consumer can take part in seems to be more worth it than spending just that extra bit of money to buy food that may not cause some type of food poisoning. Another part of the film that really intrigued me was the factor of obesity. The United States is one of the most obese countries in the world today, and Alabama is either number two or three in the rating for obese states. I think that we, as a country, need to try to provide healthier meals for students and teach them more about obesity to make them better understand the consequences of food choice.
          This film really opened my eyes to the reality of what is going on in our country. After watching this film, I know that I will be more careful about what I eat and educate others that I know about food. I hope that in the future this country can become aware of what is happening around us and help start making a change.

Global Connections: Sojourns

Saturday, November 12, 2010, I went to Sojourn’s World Trade Store in downtown Birmingham, AL. I have wanted to go visit this store when I found out about it to see all of the different items created around the world. I have always been interested in traveling. I like seeing all of the different architecture and items from different cities and countries.

When I went into the store, it was completely different than what I thought it was going to be. I walked into the store, and it was so trendy. One thing that really stood out to me was the music that was being played. The music had a kind of jazzy African feel, but what I liked most was all of the different kind of nativity scenes that were created. One nativity scene was built inside a baby bird’s egg, and the design and technique was absolutely stunning and so precise.

When I was in Sojourns, I was able to talk with the owner and ask her about the different items in the store. She was showing me some carved wood that was from Bethlehem, and she also showed me clay molds from Africa. This store is a great example of globalization which is free market trading economies between different nations. Here in America, we get a lot of our stuff imported because of cheap labor. Cheap labor is faster and better in getting goods. However, the down side that we tend to not think about is that the labor is unregulated and comes from poor populations. Also, a lot of the corporations do not have the consumer or worker in their best interest. However, nations continue to be involved in outsourcing because of the less money it takes to be involved in globalization.

Anyways, I still enjoyed walking through the store. I even bought an ornament that has a nativity scene inside of a star. I am thinking that this store would be a great place to get Christmas gifts for family and friends, and this event has been one of my favorite experiences.

Food-Ethnic Restaurants

                 On Sunday, November 07, 2010, I went to the Irondale Café, known as The Original Whistle Stop. I had never been to a Southern meat and three restaurant before or eaten true southern food. So, my parents told me about the Irondale Café. Yes, this is the restaurant from the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes, as it says on the restaurant’s menu. I remember watching the movie a few years ago, and I was excited to get to experience this historical place in Irondale, Alabama.

                When I first got to the place, I wasn’t sure what it was going to look like on the inside. However, outside the restaurant, there were train tracks and trains passing through the town. It was a rather small town; whereas, I live in a larger city. So, I had to shed my feeling of superiority of my usual culture, also known as ethnocentricism. I walked inside, and all I could focus on was how good the food smelt. So, I tried sweet potatoes, fried chicken, and fried green tomatoes. I must admit that all of the food was very good, especially the fried green tomatoes.

                To learn about a culture, one of the best ways is through its food. I think it’s a way of expressing one’s own culture. Food, in a way, has a social form. It brings people together through a common, shared experience. Almost everyone loves to eat, so food is a way of bringing people together to do something they love the most.

I think that food could also be argued as a visual art. People tend to eat certain foods by the way the food looks or appeals to them. The food at the Irondale Café, to me, looked very appealing. To describe something as art, there are certain criteria that must be met. The food at the café may not necessarily be practical, and it definitely created a response. Ingredients must be used in the making of food, therefore the food is transformational. The food was symbolic because it represents the south, and it also represents the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes. Talent is also needed for the people that are making the food. So, I believe that food is a representation of art.

I enjoyed my cultural experience at this restaurant, and I do believe that I may have to go back to eat whatever I didn’t get a chance to eat Sunday.

Art and Leisure: Art Exhibit

            On Monday, October 25^th, I went to the Turkish-Ottoman Empire Art Exhibition in the Great Hall at UAB. When I walked into the Great Hall, there were not many people there, so I was able to walk around and look at everything that I was on display. I picked up a brochure that describes the artist of the paintings. Her name is Pamir Thompson, and she grew up in Izmir, Turkey. She now lives in Lilburn, Georgia with her husband and daughter Leyla.

There were paintings, jewelry, and traditional clothing that were put on view at the exhibit. The clothing and jewelry are representations of decorative art. These items were a symbol of the Empire’s history and way of living. Next to the items were different history books that would describe the meaning behind the piece of jewelry or item of clothing. The paintings were symbols of visual arts. They were decorative because of the different colors and art strokes, and each painting was some kind of graphic design of flowers, Turkish people, or cities located in Turkey.

In class, we discussed the different aspects of art. Art is defined as an alteration of physical materials, sounds, and movement in attempt to evoke the senses. There are also five common elements of art which compares art cross-culturally. One is that there is an artistic process which does not have to be necessarily practical. Second, the piece of art must be able to create a response either negative or positive. Another element is that the art has to be transformational. Art also must be able to make a symbolic statement, and it has to be able to display the talent that created the art.

For example, the paintings by Pamir Thompson represent these five elements that compose art. The paintings are not necessarily practical, and, when I stood and looked at each art piece, I was able to feel a response. I thought that the paintings were beautiful. The colors were made of different warm and cool tones with the color blue making up the majority of the art work. The art was also transformational because it was able to take a location and put it onto an art board using paint. The art was also symbolic because each painting described a different element of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire. Lastly, there was definitely talent used in making these paintings.

I enjoyed being able to see the different pieces of art, jewelry, and clothing. I am not usually the person that will go through an art exhibit, but I enjoyed this experience. I am beginning to think that maybe I might go to a different art exhibit some day in the future.

Diversity and Cultural Events: 38th Annual Greek Food Festival

                This past Saturday I went to the 38^th Annual Greek Food Festival at the Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral located in downtown Birmingham, AL. Before I went to the festival, I did not even know that there was a Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Birmingham, AL. Also, I had no idea what the festival was going to be like before I went to it. The only thing I knew about the Greek Orthodox Religion was from television, movies, or school teaching. For example, my ideas of Greek Orthodox families were that they were loud and would be dancing in big groups of people. On the other hand, I do know that this cultural heritage was going to be something different than anything that I have ever been involved with or visited.

                The morning of the festival I realized that I was going to need to shed any type of negative feelings I had about the festival. I needed to also shed my feeling of superiority about my cultural prescription and look at the festival through a Greek individual’s perspective meaning that instead of looking at the festival from the outsider’s perspective, also known as the etic perspective, and enjoy the festival through an emic perspective. I believe that to know about the Greek culture or the festival I need to first know about the Greek’s history. Through some researching on a website (www.goarch.org) and from the program at the festival, I learned that the Christian religion was a major influence in the Byzantine Empire. However, the Great Schism in the fifth and sixth centuries led to a division from the Greek Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church, which is the religion that I am. From then on, the Greeks developed separate from the Western Christianity. Today, the Greek Orthodox Church is a communion of self-governing churches, but they are all united by a common faith and spirituality. After learning more about their history, I discovered that there is not much difference between the Orthodox and Catholic religions.

                When I got to the festival, I realized that I needed to continue to understand this culture on its own terms, also known as cultural relativism. I went inside the area next to the church, and there was music playing and groups of people lined up outside in line to get food. The lines were so long that I decided to pass on the food and just take a look around the festival. However, I did get some peaks at the food being served, and the food did look delicious even though I had no idea how to pronounce most of it. So, I went to watch the band play some music. While I was watching the band, a couple of little girls dressed in traditional Greek attire started doing a traditional Greek line dance. I was so surprised that these very young girls had already learned about the traditions of their culture. After watching them dance, I started feeling a little bit of culture shock. I found myself missing the surroundings of my Catholic Church and the congregation I am so used to seeing every weekend. So, I took a couple of deep breaths and decided to take a tour of the church thinking maybe it was the heat that was making me feel funny. When I walked into the church, I was overwhelmed. The paintings and the sculptures inside were so beautiful and well-designed. The atmosphere reminded me so much of the St. Paul’s Catholic Cathedral downtown. There were different stations inside the church. For example, they had a section dedicated to the different items used at weddings and baptisms.

                In the end, I had more fun than I thought that I was going to have at the festival.  Going to this festival helped me to realize that even though people may look or act differently from me that we all may be more similar to each other than we previously thought before experiencing each others' different cultures.  

My Cultural Prescription

          Hello, my name is Breann Murphy. I speak English, and I am a female. I have always lived in Birmingham, Alabama. I am from a middle class family. My race is white Caucasian, and I am 20 years old. I am a Roman Catholic and have grown up in a Catholic family since I was born. My sexual orientation is straight also known as heterosexual. 

          Growing up, my family has always supported and cared for me. One negative experience would have to be living through middle school and high school. Although high school can be hard for some students, middle school was the hardest for me socially. I feel that because of this experience I have become a stronger individual and more confident with myself.  

          Since I was five years old, I have been a part of several dance teams. However, I decided to take a break from dancing this year ending my 17 year dance career. Growing up, dancing was a way of helping me to break out of my shell. Also, I am a History major, and I am planning on attending law school. Finally, one dream of mine is that I hope to travel to many different places in the world throughout my lifetime.