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Comparison Of Food In Tampopo And Eat Drink Man Woman

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According to a famous Chinese proverb, “Foods are the most important to the people (民以食为天)”. Specifically, food is an important element in Tampopo by Juzo Itami and Eat Drink Man Woman by Ang Lee because it can be related to work and pleasure. With regard to food as work or pleasure, there are three essential levels. In the first level, food is primarily work. Cooking food as an occupation is shown in both films, where the characters obtain no pleasure from the food itself directly. For the second level, food is presented as a tool to enhance sensual pleasure, which includes gustatory enjoyment, personal indulgences, sexual pleasure, and mental relaxation. In the third level, food can be seen as both work and pleasure at the same time; it is a balance between the two extremes. Reflected in the movie Tampopo and Eat Drink Man Woman, food can be seen as work and also a tool to enhance sensual pleasure, depending on different characters’ individual interpretation of food’s function. In the following paper, specific examples from the movie Tampopo and Eat Drink Man Woman will be discussed. In the film Tampopo, the concept of food as work is depicted in the story of Tampopo attempting to create the best ramen noodle restaurant and in the story of a group of older businessmen attempting to negotiate a business deal through dining in an upscale French restaurant. Food as both work and pleasure is depicted in the story of the young man accompanying the older businessmen as he orders the fanciest French dishes despite being the lowest level worker in the group. Contrastingly, the concept of food as pleasure is discussed in the story of a group of women learning to eat spaghetti properly, the story of a man suffering from a severe toothache because of excessive enjoyment of food, and the story of the man in white suit who uses food as a method to stimulate sexual pleasure. In the movie Eat Drink Man Woman, food for Old Chu is work since he is a chef for his entire life. Differently, food for the second daughter, Jia-Chien, is pleasure as she revels in the process of cooking. These examples display how food can be regarded as work, pleasure, or both in multiple ways.
In the main narrative story of Tampopo, developing

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