Film “Soul Food Junkies” Examines African American Cuisine and Culture
Mac and cheese oozing buttery-goodness, thickly-crusted golden fried chicken, greens swimming in pork fat, chunky ribs slathered in smoky sauce, red velvet cake sporting an inch of icing. Are these a cherished part of African American culture or a recipe for an early death? The answer is both, as last Thursday’s West Coast premiere of Byron Hurt’s movie Soul Food Junkies vividly demonstrated. The screening at the Oakland School for the Arts was co-sponsored by KQED and the HUB. The event closed the The Oakland Innovation Film Lab and was followed by a panel discussion with local food activists and a spread of treats from Souley Vegan Restaurant in Oakland. All three aspects of the evening were enthusiastically received by the young, artistic-looking, urban, mostly African American crowd.
In this documentary film, selected by KQED’s Independent Lens Series to air in the upcoming 2012-13 season, Hurt uses his own family’s story as a through-line, centering on his father’s unflagging devotion to the artery-clogging classic dishes in the soul food repertoire. Hurt recalls that growing up he wanted to be just like his “Pops” and copied his Sunday breakfast ritual of grits and eggs, smothered with cheese, salt pork and bacon. After college, Hurt, (as well as his sister and mother) altered their diets. But, his father continued to gain weight, refusing to change his eating habits, even in the face of the pancreatic cancer that ultimately took his life at an early age.
Hurt's personal story is flanked throughout the film by commentary from a range of historians, scholars, soul food chefs, doctors, and everyday folk who illuminate the cultural complexities in the African American relationship to food. “Soul food is a repository for our history,” says one.
http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2012/06/25/film-soul-food-junkies-examines-african-american-cuisine-and-culture/
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