The Black Family and Ritual

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The Black Family and Ritual

(1) Identify and briefly describe the film you watched from the approved list of black films.

Soul Food (1997) is an incredible movie produced by Kenneth “baby face” Edmonds. The plot is narrated through the eyes of Ahmad on the trials, ups and downs that the Joseph’s family goes through. This is mainly after their mother sadly passes on. The family observes a strict ritual of Sunday dinner each week where they get to catch up on each other. The family consists of three daughters with different successes in life. The eldest daughter is a highflying lawyer but sadly, enough does not have a stable relationship.

(2) Describe how the black family is represented and portrayed.

The black family is portrayed as a very closely-knit community where each member is dependent on the other. Independence is highly discouraged within the family set up. The family takes up any of the problem of their family member as their own and joins in solving it.

(3) Identify the rituals they participate in (such as Sunday dinner, family reunion, wedding, wedding anniversary, or etc.).

The Joseph’s family has an extremely close relationship and engages in several rituals most of which were initiated by their deceased mother. One of the rituals that the Joseph’s family engages in is the Sunday dinner. This ritual is highly observed among the family whereby they meet in their mother’s house cook and enjoy the meal. Another ritual that the family engages in is the recognition of birthdays. Whenever any of their family members has a birthday, they all celebrate together and buy gifts for the person. Another special ritual is the celebration of Christmas.

(4) Explain the purpose of this ritual(s) within the family in the film you selected.

The main purpose of these family rituals is enhancing the family bond and knowing how each family member is fairing on. The family usually discusses what each of the members has been up to and in the process attempt to solve any of the issues any one is going through. There are times when there is a fall out between some of the family members. During this time, the family rituals are also used as an opportunity to mend the broken relationships.

Response to (Student #1, Jade McCray):

The views highlighted by Jade McCray are very much on point. From the analysis of the film, one finds that the family is not very affluent and yet not extremely poor but from the upper-middle class. This is after considering the estate in which the families dwell in, the cars they drive and their mode of dressing. The film is remarkably realistic because they seem to struggle with real normal issues such as infidelity, finances and boundaries; which are characteristic of any normal family. The family also engages in the ritual of celebrating Christmas together by gathering, making a cookout and presenting gifts to each other.

Response to (Student #2, Jasmine Spratling):

Jasmine Spratling is right in her analysis of Johnson’s family vacation. The Johnson family engages in the ritual of having a family reunion in Missouri. The motive behind the family reunion is to enhance the relationship between the various family members that comprise the Johnson’s family. The family members get to be introduced to their distant cousins, aunties and uncles, catch up on each other and enjoy the family gathering. The movie is remarkably realistic because it depicts the normal competition issues evidenced between siblings. The two brothers constantly engage in competition with one being on the talent show competition the two engage in.