1. A simple thing as food is something that not many people are aware of in the world. Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio are able to display the differences of this simplistic idea of food around the world through photographs and descriptions. Each photograph differs from the other. Showing more urban families from upper to middle-lower class and to the rural areas of Africa in a refugee camp. Seeing these photographs really opens your eyes to not only the world, but yourself. You really take a step back and look at what you have and begin to appreciate all the little things you have that make up your life. Yes, some of these things are known, but people still do not acknowledge these different situations around the world and begin to appreciate––it's a luxury we take for granted almost everyday.
When I first look at Menzel's photographs, the first thing I notice is the background. Noticing where they are tells a lot about their culture and how they might live. The Mendoza family in Guatemala is outside, maybe in their backyard where their garden is where most of their food comes from. Then you have the modern American family with pre-packaged meat, frozen food, canned food and more––all this pre-prepared food shows the almost easy, but always on-the-go lifestyle that American's have. The same could also be said about the Ukita family in Japan, but not for the Aboubakar family of Chad. The Aboubakar family has a lot of starchy food that is easily to get a hold of and very little of fruits, vegetables, condiments etc... Even their water isn't used for just drinking, but for all purposes (washing hands and bathing for example). The way Menzel positions each family and many other aspects of the picture (background, food placement, facial expressions, and more) all come together to form this huge message. It's not just an image, but it tells a story of how they live every day of their life.
The Aboubakar family really stands out the most to me because it's really a polar opposite of the life we have in the U.S. All the other families have their pictures inside or outside of their well-built house and provides them with shelter and a place where they can live together. Whereas the Aboubakar family is outside, surrounded by probably thousands of other people around them in the same living conditions (as seen in the photograph) and are sitting behind their rations of food that they stand in line for hours to gather and bring back to their home for the week. The amount of food the American family has, and even the Guatemalan and Japanese families, does not even compare to the amount that the Aboubakar family has to share with six different people for the entire week. You can see in their faces, their body language, weight and see how the food affects them in their everyday life. Surviving in that lifestyle seems so difficult when you have everything handed to you on a silver platter.
2. I think comparing the Aboubakar family to the Fernandez family is the best comparison because it is the lifestyle I feel I live, and the other people that will read this blog. You see multiple items that the Fernandez family owns: water, frozen pizza, pre-packaged meat, yogurt, and canned food to name a few, and then the Aboubakar family which only has a lot of water used for all purposes besides drinking. If you think about it, a lot of the things the Fernandez family has is not even necessary, but that is the difference in lifestyle. In America, we are able to get more than we need, whereas in Africa in a refugee camp, you have to ration out the food to millions of people and expect those people to survive on those rations for the week. It seems unfair in the quality and quantity of food that resides in each country because it does affect the way you live.
This idea of a 'full plate' though is where the difference between the Fernandez family and the Aboubakar family becomes apparent. With the Fernandez family, a full plate can be anything from some sort of starch, meat, some vegetables and maybe some desert for the end (considering this is dinner). Then in comparison, a full plate for the Aboubakar family could be the equivalent of maybe one or two plates of the Fernandez family with a lot less quality and variety in food, as well as splitting that food between six people. Even though the Fernandez family has five people, the quantity of food between each person is equally the same and much greater in comparison to the amount of food each person in the Aboubakar family would have. This is all due to the economical differences that both families come from, with the Aboubakar family being refugees from Darfur and the Fernandez family having working parent(s) that probably come home to a home-cooked meal by Alejandrina Cepeda. With each photograph, you can see the differences in lifestyle through the simplistic idea of food and how food can play such a critical role in how one lives in everyday life.
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