For the research paper, I chose the 1992 film adaptation of “Como Agua Para Chocolate” (“Like Water for Chocolate”) as my art piece. The artwork is a Mexican magical realism movie taking place in the early 1900s, directed by Alfonso Arau and written by Laura Esquivel. The protagonist, Tita, is the youngest of three sisters who, by family tradition, is not allowed to marry as she is to take care of her mother until she dies. When Tita falls in love with Pedro, who asks for her hand, her mother rejects the proposal because of the family tradition. Therefore, Pedro marries Tita’s sister in order to be near her. As Tita struggles with her family relationships and romantic relationship with Pedro, her emotions are translated into the food she cooks. Those who eat it feel and act on the intense emotions that Tita feels at the time of making them, such as grief or lust. This aspect of the food is the main example of magical realism within the film.
The film focuses on many themes and ideas, especially as it leans into the time period. As it is set for the most part during the Mexican Revolution, the film touches on social and political values, such as rebellion against tradition, violence from wartime, and gender roles.
I chose this film as I wanted to particularly focus on how gender roles, specifically female gender roles, and feminism have evolved in Mexican history, as depicted by the three sisters. Gertrudis would symbolize the independence of women and feminism during the Mexican revolution; Rosaura embodies the dangers of trying to uphold gender roles for the sake of tradition; Tita symbolizes the strength of maternal caretakers. A potential thesis could be that Esquivel and Arau’s “Como Agua Para Chocolate” depicts the various faces of Mexican feminism through the three de la Garza sisters, Gertrudis, Rosaura, and Tita.
Great Choice! I have come across this film once and at first I didn’t understand it as much. However, Great thesis and I like how you have all the themes mentioned for this film as well!
I feel like gender roles are a great topic you can expand on. You can also mention some of the gender roles our society continues to have today. But you have a great start with your thesis statement.
I really like the topic you’ve chosen, and also the the title of the movie is really interesting to the audiences or also can make audiences to think what will happened on the inside of the movie. I cannot wait to see you talk about the topic!
Your idea is really interesting! I read this book and watched the movie during my senior year of high school, and I agree that there is a lot you can explore about gender roles. The story is really interesting and although unrealistic events occur (after all it’s magical realism) it deals with women facing very real struggles in terms of gender roles. I also really like your thesis statement with each sister embodying a certain issue, and I look forward to your paper!
This is going to be fabulous! Could you find a way to spend time investigating the genre of magical realism as a cultural medium in response to the political and social conditions in Latin America? There might be a lot there.
The source you chose seems very interesting because in hispanic households traditions are very important and it has been like that for so many generations. It seems like there is a lot to speak about for this topic.