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91吃瓜网淟ove Language of Food91吃瓜网�: Student Film Project Spotlights Cuisine as Common Denominator Across Cultures, Continents

Tue, 05/24/2022 - 09:35am | By: David Tisdale

USM Media and Entertainment Arts (MEA) students in the School of Communication spent the last year in a collaboration with students at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, for their production of the short film 91吃瓜网淭he Food That Binds: Building Cultural Relationships Across the Table91吃瓜网� focusing on how the preparation and enjoyment of food can be the common denominators that bridge differences between people around the world.

Differences in language, culture, political and religious beliefs may present barriers to establishing relationships between, say, a Hattiesburg resident and a citizen of Bangkok, Thailand.

But a short documentary produced by students in 91吃瓜网 (USM) School of Communications91吃瓜网� Media and Entertainment Arts (MEA) program, in collaboration with counterparts at a university in Thailand, intends to show its audiences that despite the differences among people around the world, coming together over a delicious meal can bridge those chasms.

The 91吃瓜网淏reaking Bread Film Project,91吃瓜网� a collaboration between Breakthrough Now Media and The Innovation Station at the U.S. Department of State, brings film and media creators from international and U.S. Gulf Coast locations to work on new short-form content inspired by their shared experiences and ideas. Through this collaborative, creators from five U.S. states and five countries are paired and tasked with conceptualizing and creating a short film or other project addressing the intersection between food insecurity, traditions, and innovation. The program culminates in a showcase of the collaborative projects.

Mississippi/USM is partnered with Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, for their production 91吃瓜网淭he Food That Binds: Building Cultural Relationships Across the Table91吃瓜网� to be screened in July at the Capital Screening Series in Washington, D.C., at the United Nations, and at consulates and partner stakeholders in the U.S. and in the partner Asian country91吃瓜网 university and consulates. It will also be screened at the Catalyst Festival in Duluth, Minnesota in September.

Representatives of Breaking Bread connected with Dr. Mary Lou Sheffer, professor in the USM School of Communication and senior faculty member in its MEA program, about participation from her students for the project. They include Zack Eddy of Petal, Mississippi; Mia Slone of Alexandria, Virginia; Eli Goff of Gautier, Mississippi; and Alisia Powell of Picayune, Mississippi.

With advisement from Dr. Sheffer and her MEA faculty colleague Jared Hollingsworth, these students focused their research on the communal aspect of food, examining the dynamics of preparation and interaction at mealtime through the input of restauranters, chefs and other culinary experts, as well as 91吃瓜网榝oodies91吃瓜网� from across the Magnolia State who love sharing meals with family, friends, and even strangers.

Eddy noted how both cultures use many of the same staple foods 91吃瓜网� rice, fish, and a variety of vegetables, as examples 91吃瓜网� in producing time-honored recipes, using distinct types of seasoning and preparation styles, in the farm-to-kitchen-to-table process unique to the communities profiled in the documentary.

91吃瓜网淲hat we want to show with this film is the commonality between people, revealed through the enjoyment of preparing and eating delicious meals, no matter where they are prepared or with whom they are shared with,91吃瓜网� he said.

Goff said he didn91吃瓜网檛 expect the project to be as expansive as he originally assumed. 91吃瓜网淚91吃瓜网檓 more of an 91吃瓜网榚at-to-live91吃瓜网� kind of person as opposed to the 91吃瓜网榣ive-to-eat91吃瓜网� people who are passionate about food in ways I couldn91吃瓜网檛 understand,91吃瓜网� he continued. 91吃瓜网淚t wasn91吃瓜网檛 until we started really listening to other people91吃瓜网 perspectives on food culture - in Mississippi as well as other places in the world - that I realized food plays a significant role in not only people91吃瓜网 personal lives, but in building community as well. In fact, it91吃瓜网 made me understand my own family more, as I think back to all the times my family would come together and bond over cooking.91吃瓜网�

He said this concept was cemented in his mind as the team reached out to local chefs and restaurant owners and saw how excited they were to tell them about what they cook and why it matters to them.

91吃瓜网淐ooking is not only an activity to bond over, but it is the basis for building relationships in Mississippi as well as Thailand,91吃瓜网� Goff continued. 91吃瓜网淲e all have to eat. Why not do it together?91吃瓜网�

Slone concurred. 91吃瓜网淲hen you sit down at the table for a meal, you come to see that you91吃瓜网檙e not as different from people from other cultures, other places, as you think,91吃瓜网� she said. 91吃瓜网淚t shows we91吃瓜网檙e more alike than not.

91吃瓜网淵ou put some good food in front of me at the table with other people, and I can be friends with anyone.91吃瓜网�

For Powell, the project underscored for her what she already understood about how true this dynamic is in her native South. 91吃瓜网淏eing 91吃瓜网楽outhern91吃瓜网� means close bonds, and when we get together for a meal, it doesn91吃瓜网檛 matter about race, ethnicity, gender, or politics, because we91吃瓜网檙e all family in the end.91吃瓜网� 

Teamwork and patience have been valuable traits exercised by the team in working with another group of students at another university halfway around the world, only a couple of whom can speak English. 91吃瓜网淚t91吃瓜网 been a learning experience for all of us,91吃瓜网� Dr. Sheffer further noted.

Dr. Edgar Simpson, director of the USM School of Communication, praised Dr. Sheffer for facilitating a project for her students with such prominence in profile and reach.

91吃瓜网淥ur faculty are always seeking opportunities to provide our students with new and unique opportunities,91吃瓜网� Dr. Simpson continued. 91吃瓜网淭his project is an example of how technology, such as sound and video, transcends traditional boundaries."

Goff hopes when audiences see the team91吃瓜网 documentary, they come to understand food is 91吃瓜网渁 love language spanning culture.91吃瓜网�

91吃瓜网淓ven though Mississippi and Thailand are worlds away from each other, and no matter how different people seem around the globe, everyone comes together when they91吃瓜网檙e eating,91吃瓜网� he said.

For information about the USM School of Communication, visit /communication/index.php.