Tag Archives: unit4

12/5/23

Temporal Awareness in Laia Jufresa’s Umami

After finishing Umami, I was not sure if I should examine it through a primarily spacial or temporal view, as both are incredibly important to understanding the ideas that Laia Jufresa incorporates within her work. Ultimately I took a cue from the way that Jufresa herself organizes the novel, with the chapters and sections of the book representing phases and years, so I believe that there is a greater empahsise on time and temporality within the novel, but I also believe that physical space plays an important role within the work as well. Even within individual pages, it is shown how the lives of the characters are shaped by events, no matter how small, with no exact date given, other than an approximate idea of what year that they take place in. Events such as small conversations about life, and meanial tasks such as chores, doctor’s visits or cigarette breaks, are treated with the same immense respect that is shown for the more important events that shape the characters lives. Other events, which in other novels would be treated with greater importance, such as heart illness, cancer, hepatitis etc. are merely small footnotes for describing the lives of the family members, who recall small gatherings, birthdays and graduations with more importance.

There is also a distinct correlation that is shown with Jufresa’s novel, between the passing of the years/seasons, death, life milestones, with the growing of the milpa and the coming of the Emperor Umami. Luz is shown as having a significant impact on the remaining character, even years after her passing, because of the memories and recollections that each character associate with her, such as the construction and growing of the corn, beans and squash within the milpa. Luz and Emperor Umami, could be seen as existing outside the perception of linear time, and I believe that the format of the book clearly demonstrates this understanding of non-linear time.

12/5/23

Family of origin

I’m not sure if  “family of origin”  has been discussed broadly in Canada, or in Western World. It is one of the most hotly discussed topics in recent years in China. It focuses on Generation Z’s childhood experiences and their family components, usually relating to the shadows and sufferings of childhood. The most common sufferings are inequality in genders like boy preferences, alcoholic fathers, left behind children, and the strong desire to control their children.

Though Umami is not a book that mainly focuses on the family, I would like to say the family of origin impacted on characters a lot. In Ana’s section, we all know the tipping point in her family is Luz’s death. How the family treats the death is important for the formation of a world view, to another child. Ana is the other child. Unfortunately, her mother never seems to be able to get over the death of her little daughter. The “almost six” mentioned many times in the article states the pain of the whole family. In the third year of the “anniversary”, Anna’s mother still refused to step out of the house and still did not accept this fact. In opposite, her father cares for Ana more. On the way to the cemetery, he let out a low whimper. Clearly, all members of the family are lamentable, but how to express their feelings is more important because life needs to be continued. The difference in personality between Ana’s dad and mom invisibly formed her personality, an irritable, emotionally unstable little girl.

“But the name has an electric effect on her” A Sensitive person may fall into sadness again by a sentence, or a single word. Our family hasn’t experienced this in Ana’s family, but the feelings of a person can go up and down immediately like a rollercoaster. My mom is not a good driver, she had car accidents once or twice a year back in 2015-2018. Every time she was so mad at herself, but she still needed to show a good face to her director during work time. That’s why she was overwhelmed after work and tended to express her unpleasant feelings to her family members. Sometimes “careful” would be a forbidden word because it could be interpreted as “scold the locust while pointing at the mulberry”, it is Chinese slang (that says scolding another person but actually those words are said to you), though I was just warning her to be aware of hot plates in cooking, no other meanings. Later on, my mom found out my problem when speaking with my grandparents, sometimes I speak with them impatiently. And my mom knows that’s a “family problem”, we are used to showing a more polite attitude with strangers but lost courtesy at home. That is the influence of the family, a power you cannot ignore, a power that shapes your personality and ways of handling tasks.

Last week my mom called me and said she had her first car accident after 2021, but I could feel she’s more calm this time. Perhaps it is because this time she just hit the railing, not other cars. I said, “It is a great improvement, and you don’t need to quarrel with other people and insurance”. She replied to me happily and said “It sounds way much better than what your aunt said, she told me it is still my fault, cannot blame anyone else.” Well it is true, but we all like to hear more soft words. She was no longer as sensitive as before, and I was able to talk to her politely and comfort her properly, even though it was midnight on a Saturday in Vancouver and I was in a noisy restaurant with my friends.

Time will witness and heal everything.

 

11/16/23

My Colonized Mind: Reflections on El Maíz en Tiempos de Guerra

Hello everyone,

I hope you all had a restful reading break!

I wanted to share my reflections after watching El Maíz en Tiempos de Guerra (Maize in Times of War). At the beginning of this term, I had a conversation with Tamara about my fear that Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, would one day decide that the world no longer gets access to their seeds. This worry has loomed over me ever since I learned, in a previous Environmental Politics class, about how Monsanto owns the “patents” for so many of the seeds and grains we rely on. Tamara replied something along the lines of “Well, that would be good for Indigenous people who don’t want those seeds because the Monsanto ones threaten their ancestral seeds.” I had never thought about this before: my colonized mind and Western, Americanized education never taught me about ancestral seeds and the plight of Indigenous people to protect them. 11 weeks into this term, with a better understanding of foodways and food sovereignty, and having watched Maíz in Times of War, I can say that while I still fear that Bayer-Monsanto–who own & control 60% of the world’s seeds (Futures Centre, 2023)–will one day decide that they no longer want to provide us their patented seeds, I now find hope and comfort in the leadership of Indigenous communities like those we learned from in the documentary.

In our neoliberal societies, we have become so reliant and used to industrialized farming and diets that rely on processed, triple-packaged, highly marketed food items. I have never thought of my food or the seeds my diet relies on as “mother, daughter, guardian.” (Maíz en Tiempos de Guerra) Going forward, I will be more mindful of the spiritual connection between my foods, the seeds and grains I eat. This documentary was once again an impactful reminder of the need for Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, and for Indigenous pedagogies to be introduced into our Western, Eurocentric education systems.

Side note: Reading the EZLN Declaration was so fascinating, especially the connections between the Zapatista and Indigenous struggle in Mexico leading up to 1993, and the current plight of the Palestinian people. This sounded way too familiar: “They don’t care that we have nothing, absolutely nothing, not even a roof over our heads, no land, no work, no health care, no food nor education. Nor are we able to freely and democratically elect our political representatives, nor is there independence from foreigners, nor is there peace nor justice for ourselves and our children.” (1) Once again, a reminder of how intersectional and interconnected the struggles of the oppressed are.

 

Thanks for reading!

-Y

 

Posted: Nov 16, 9:34 AM.