Blog Entry 6

In Gurinder Chadha's 2001 film What's Cooking holiday traditions, multiculturalism, and ethnic identity are all presented through the 4 families and the various struggles faced by each member of said families. Holiday traditions are shown through the film as something the older generation wants to keep but the younger generation wishes to change. This is most evident in the Williams family, especially between Grace and Audrey. Grace, the grandmother of the family, wishes to keep Thanksgiving the way it was when she was still raising Ronald. She mentions how she always cooked 2 turkeys, and the house was always filled with families, not friends. Audrey changes this tradition by changing the stuffing in the turkey and inviting friends to spend the holidays with them. Multiculturalism applies to the films ability to show various cultures in LA, but can be specifically applied to the Avila family and the Nguyen family. When Gina brings Jimmy Nguyen home, the Avila family is aware of the sudden addition of culture in their household. They, especially the men, don't really know how to respectfully act around Jimmy. They make stereotypical remarks about Jackie Chan and Kung-fu movies. The Nguyen family struggles with  multiculturalism, which is evident in their attempt to cook the turkey half-and-half, which leads to it burning. They don't accept their daughter Jenny's boyfriend, and Jimmy hides Gina from them out of fear of how they'll react. I think ethnic identity is best presented through the Nguyen family as well. Trinh, the matriarch of the family, is so scared concerned with her kids being shaped by American culture, which causes a huge gap between her and them. 
I think a good argument could be made that the turkey and how each family prepares it best represents multiculturalism in What's Cooking.