I'm a Disney nut! I love Disney movies and I LOVE Disneyland. One of my favorite Disney animated features is 101 Dalmations. This is the story of 2 dogs, Perdita and Pongo, their children (puppies) and their struggle against the evil Cruella DeVil. When the puppies are born the runt of the litter is thought to be dead, but with a little massage--and luck--the puppy survives and is named Lucky. Well. Lucky has a lot of catching up to do so he eats constantly and all through the movie repeats the line "I'm hungry mother, really I am."
Whenever I reread Rappoport’s introduction about the impact that food has on our lives I’m particularly struck by his images of starvation and the Holocaust. He writes that “[w]ithout an adequate diet, a person’s behavior deteriorates to a primal level, and basic dimensions of human dignity may be lost” (16). I’m not sure that I agree with him. I’ve read innumerable stories of people behaving nobly and even heroically in dire circumstances; stories of people who didn’t lose their dignity in the face of an absence of food. And I wonder “how would I react if I were starving, or if my children or grandchildren were starving? I really can’t say. I’ve never even been remotely hungry. I sometimes think that I’m hungry (especially about 5:00 p.m. on fast Sunday) but I’ve never known what it is like to be truly starved and to have no idea where my next meal is coming from.
There is such an abundance of food all around me. Today in class we talked about our favorite foods, and our favorite restaurants. I walk into the grocery store and find myself surrounded by so much food that I have a hard time deciding what to buy. I can’t even stop to fuel my car without being inundated by culinary choices. My refrigerator is full, my cupboards stocked. When I’m on top of things--and listening to the advice of my church leaders--my storage shelves are packed (I’d better go downstairs and check on that, I’d hate to be unprepared). Can I even understand what it means to be hungry? How would (or--Heaven forbid—will) I act when that day comes? Will I retain my dignity? Or will I deteriorate to a primal level? Will I?
7 comments:
What you wrote really made me remember when I returned from my mission. Paraguay is an extremely poverty stricken country and not many people have enough food. Even as a missionary, our fridge was only full right after shopping on Pday. When I came home, I was flabbergasted by the volume of food we had in our house. I might even venture to say that we have more than average (we are a food loving family) and I was dumbfounded when my mom and dad asked if there was anything I wanted from the store. "No, thanks." I would politely say, thinking that there really was enough food in the house to last til the Second Coming.
Dante's Inferno makes a point that hunger can be the most maddening state a person may find themselves in. And yet I agree that undoubtedly many noble people have maintained their humanity despite suffering from extreme hunger. Perhaps it has to do with how much we have learned to control our temporal appetities; someone inclined to disobey the law of chastity may be similarly inclined to let hunger overwhelm and destroy them faster than someone who possesses more restraint.
My comments actually echo that or "el termos". It is a blessing I took or granted. i always have food available when I need it. I was amazed to see how families in Mexico could stretch what little food they had to last an entire week. I was amazed to see how some of the poorest people would be the most generous with such little food that they had. They would always insist that we take and eat while their skinny and malnourished children looked on. It was heartbreaking for me, but I think it argues that yes you can retain your dignity.
101 Dalmations is a good one along with Aladdin. I swear I watched that movie 101 times. Your blog reminded me of a coworker from my summer job. He's about 65 and was in the Vietnam War. This guy is the kind of guy that once you get them talking there never going to stop. So he would tell me all these interesting stories here and there. I asked him what was the longest he has been without food. He told me seven days. I was shocked. I thought that after seven days you were supposed to die, but I guess I was wrong. I found it interesting how he told me that when you are in a life and death situation you don't even think about eating. So much adrenaline is pumping through you that food doesn't even matter. I know that I couldn't comprehend that. He told me that after about the third day your body starts breaking down and really isn't hungry for food anymore. I hope I never have to go through an experience like that. He said the best meal he has ever had, and ever will have is a bowl of rice. That is what saved his life. I'll never forget that.
I am crazy about Disney! When I lived back home my family and I would go to Disneyland at least once a week. It was awesome! There is nothing like Disneyland paired up with that fresh Anaheim air. I am not sure that Rappoport is right either in his idea that when a person gets so hungry their behavior deteriorates to a primal level. Of course I cannot be sure because I have never been without food for more than a day, but I have heard stories of the exact opposite. I heard one story where a young mother and her baby were trapped in some ruins, and had no access to food. The mother let her baby, (now this is gross so be prepared), drink her blood. She would cut her hands with a sharp rock. Luckily the baby and her mother were both alive when they were found.
So 101 Dalmatians is actually one of my favorite movies. I remember in first grade we were going to watch it and I told the teacher we couldn't because they said the word "gizzard." In my mind that was a bad word and it wasn't allowed. When you talked about the Holocaust I thought about my birthday. Normally I go to DC for my birthday and we always end up in that museum. It's an awful and needed experience.
I think its interesting that we as Americans often use the phrases "I'm starving to death" or "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" when one look at your typical American would clearly illuminate the fact that that is not the case. For me starvation means that I missed two meals because I was late to class and needed to catch up on some reading, or fasting but I can't even imagine what it must be like to go days or even weeks without food. Truly makes me grateful for what I have.
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