Reading Response 2

For this post we are to speak on the interrrelationships between design and culture. In class, we watched a movie known as "Babette's Feast." This movie included sisters whom wanted to create a wonderful meal for the pastors birthday. One in which came over from France won the lottery and received 10,000 francs. She spoke with the other sisters and begged them to allow her to make an authentic French meal for the pastor and all attending. As the sisters agreed, they were also a little scared of what to expect as when they saw the preperations they felt as though they must meet with everyone and pray and agree they will not "taste" the food but yet only eat it. As we see the meal being prepared we notice that there are different sections in which people are found. There was the kitchen in which the food was made, a waiting area for the boy to bring in and bring out different servings, a section for the extra beverages to be arranged, a dining area to be seated and to eat, and a separate room for gathering and interaction before and after the meal. As Hall speaks about in "The Anthropology of Space" in different cultures there are different meanings for the way the spaces are set up. This is shown in this Danish home. Each room represents something different. It is also shown that different cultures are influenced differently with rituals when it comes to eating a meal. As shown in the movie, the guests were not sure of how to eat each dish that was served to them. Since General Lowenhielms had experience in French dining everyone slowly began to mimic the way he was eating. Design and cultural ways as you can see are influenced strongly by the dependency of where one is at. Here it seems as though the chef should not be seen until the meal is completely over. This is shown with the boy going back and forth and the kitchen and dining room being completely separated. Once the meal was over everyone moved to another room which also shows that the dining room is used for the sole purpose of dining and some socializing, but when the food is not being served everyone is to be in the other room where everyone mingles.