Hello CineAmerican Dream listeners. Do you like food? Do you like Japan? How about avant-garde films exploring food in Japan? In this week’s episode, hosts Sophia Cetina and Peter Alfonsi will talk about the 1985 film Tampopo. Its main plot centers around two quasi-cowboy characters who come to help Tampopo, a ramen shop owner in dire need of a new recipe. There is also a variety of vignette scenes, unconnected to the main plotline, all of which relate to food in some way. Even though this movie was made by a Japanese director and is entirely set in Japan, we will discuss the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which it is also about America and the West. As Japan’s economy reached new heights in the 1980s, cultural exchange with the West suddenly became very important in both directions. The film explores this cultural shift in a variety of ways, all shown through the medium of food.
