Deborah Gerish, associate professor of social science, discusses food issues with students during the Food Film Festival on Monday in Science Hall room 72. “Super Size Me” was the first film shown. Yiqing Fu/The Bulletin
What gives you the fuel you need to carry out bodily functions? Unless you have learned how to photosynthesize, it’s food.
In honor of food, The General Education Council and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is hosting the first ever Food Film Festival.
“The reason we are doing the Food Film Festival is to try to get students to look at the different aspects of reality from the food perspective,” said Jon Leach, graduate teaching assistant. “It helps students understand that even though we have these separations of academic disciplines, it is all the same base of human knowledge that is interconnected.”
The festival started Monday with a showing of the documentary “Super Size Me,” which follows filmmaker Morgan Spurlock’s attempt to eat a diet consisting only of McDonalds for one month. At the end of his 30-day experiment, Spurlock had packed on almost 25 pounds and had a cholesterol level of 230.
“I thought (the film) was interesting,” said Lesha Bacon, sophomore communications major. “It wasn’t as gross as everybody made it out to be. I don’t really eat out to begin with, so I don’t see this changing my eating habits, but it is something I would tell people about.”
Several other films on food, each sponsored by a different student organization, will be shown throughout the month of November. “Super Size Me” was sponsored by the Quidditch League and the Gamers’ Guild. They provided “Harry Potter” themed snacks like Mrs. Weasley’s rock cake and warm butterbeer.
The Environmental club, The Department of International Education and The Black Student Union will also sponsor films.
“The general education curriculum as a whole has been trying to find way to show students that classes such as history, biology and physics, everything in the general education, curriculum is connected,” said sponsor Deborah Gerish, associate professor of social sciences. “There have been several of us putting together this pilot program this semester to modify what is needed next semester.”
Leach, who is co-founder of the Quidditch League, said they not only provided warm butterbeer to fight off the cold but also explained how food is common among populations.
“Students can take what they have learned in their various general education classes under that food theme,” Leach said. “We are trying to recreate what the goals of the general education program are through films showing how food is common to all people.”
Photo illustration by Yiqing Fu
After the movie, Gerish held a discussion with the group over what they had seen in the film.
“Food is such a crucial part of our lives that we often pay no attention to it,” Gerish said. “Thinking about what goes into food before the fork ever goes into your mouth can raise all kinds of wonderful possibilities. The films we have chosen range from films that gross people out to educational films like ‘Food, Inc.,’ and even feature films.”
“Food, Inc.” was the last film shown this week.
“We chose ‘Food, Inc.’ and ‘Super Size Me’ because they are more health conscious,” Leach said. “We like the gonzo journalism perspective in ‘Super Size Me,’ and ‘Food, Inc.’ is more about the geopolitical ramifications of food.”
The Food Film Festival will continue through next week with “The God of Cookery” showing at 7 p.m. on Monday in Science Hall room 72. The film is a Hong Kong comedy, sponsored by the Department of International Education to go along with International Education Week.
The festival will wrap up Wednesday with What’s Cooking sponsored by the Black Student Union. The film will also be held in the Science Hall room 72 at 7:00 p.m.
Rocky Robinson