The teacher drinking his ramen soup
While Goro and Gun are driving through the rain in the first scene of the movie, Gun reads a book where a young man is learning how to eat a ramen from a ramen enthusiast. In this picture, we can see the elder teacher drinking the soup of the ramen. However, he can’t just drink the soup. He must drink it exactly three times for him to correctly enjoy the ramen. The young man first asks whether he should eat the noodles first or go for the soup first. However, the teacher tells him that he must first enjoy the scent and the aesthetics of the ramen first before he even touches it. In this picture, we can see the elder teacher drinking the soup of the ramen. However, he can’t just drink the soup. He must drink it exactly three times for him to correctly enjoy the ramen. This scene shows that to the people in Japan, food is not just something you eat, but is a form of art. With Japanese food, the taste is not the only thing you enjoy. There is also its smell, appearance, and the many textures that one could enjoy with Japanese food.
I found this scene to bethe most important in the movie because I felt that this scene provided a background for the Japanese food culture and the feelings and attitudes the Japanese people have for food. To them, food is not just a necessity in life but it is a delicacy and something to enjoy. The scene provides a basic platform for the rest of the movie since not everyone watching the movie may know about Japanese food culture. Although the scene somewhat exaggerates the food culture, it helps the viewer ease into the setting of the story.
When the time finally comes to start eating, the teacher tells the young man to move the pork to the side of the bowl and to leave it for later.Not only do you have to enjoy the aesthetics of the ramen, you also have a specific order in which to eat the toppings of the ramen. The old teacher also starts talking to the pork and caressing it with his chopsticks. While a person who sees this in real life may break out in laughter from such silly actions, the scene is very serious and the young man listens to his teacher’s words with care. This action utilizes hyperbole, going far beyond what a normal person would do when eating a ramen. However, the scene captures the general idea of Japanese food culture.
The movie as a whole tends to use hyperbole quite often when conveying the Japanese food culture and Japan’s other aspects. In the scene with the businessman, hyperbole is used once again to delineate the social hierarchy of Japan. While the higher-ups all order the same exact thing from the menu and even have mismatching orders, the young, scrawny business man knows exactly what to order and what food goes with what. He even orders wine at the end while everyone else ordered a Heineken beer at an expensive French restaurant.
All in all, this opening scene to the movie serves to transition the viewers into the setting of the movie. It teaches the viewers how the Japanese people appreciate their food culture and also adds humor into the scene when conveying it.
food and foodies in japan 