Simmering Roots Culture in America is delicately connected by a singular piece of twine. Twine woven from silky strings produced from the elements of divine cultural traditions.
Director and Writer: Jessica Thompson Photographer: Logan Howell Models: Kaytlyn Nguyen, Jessica Thompson, Snigdha Malladi, Joyce Zhou Clothing: ASOS
What do Sinigang, Marsala, Egg Flower Soup, and Phốởall have in common? An intermarriage of ethnic food that assists people in experiencing foreign cultures. Food and culture are so intimately connected, as ingredients elucidate a shared identity, breaking bread with the national metaphor we conceptualize as the American melting pot. How did these dishes reach our community table? Chinese immigrants introduced bok choy to North America in the 19th century. The taro root has origins in Malaysia but is currently cultivated in Hawaii, tropical Africa, and China. And the light green, feathery, coriander has been used as an herb for over 5,000 years. Many of these ingredients are shared across the food of many cultures. Culture in the U.S is spread so thin we don’t even know where to look for it anymore. We pick it out of the cracks of the yellow pages when we are too lazy to cook for dinner. Race in America, according to the U.S Census Bureau can be categorized into six categories: white, black, Asian, Amerindian/Alaska native, native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and mixed ethnicity. That’s it. Some like to say America and its institutions is a cauldron filled with 40
Kaytlyn Nguyen
