Within the first moments of starting to read, “Hating My Soul” by Twitty I felt guilt. I never really thought about the reason I liked the movies and celebrities that I did as a kid. Twitty states, “Blame it on a world that taught me early on that the only people who actually mattered were pretty white people getting laid and living large, and their cute children living without want” (twitty, 26). I watched movies and thought “I want to be like her” not “I could never be like her”, because of the color of my skin. The impact of this never truly occurred to me.
I also found it interesting and sad that the way Twitty saw (or didn’t see for that matter) black culture in popular culture is the reason he didn’t have the appreciation for “soul food” that his family did. Chain and fast food restaurant take over is something that is damaging to all cultural foods and appetites. “I remember all these soul food horror stories and shudder. They came from a cultural disconnect… a grandson who lived in a world taken over by Pizza Hut and McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken, and this could have been the end of my soul” (Twitty, 35). While it is impressive to me that Twitty was able to re gain an appreciation for the food of his culture, it is sad to think that this was probably not the case for many people/families, and is the reason that there is a die out in culture. To many, food is a key part in culture, tradition, and heritage, and the “white washing” of food is something that is ruining this for many. I can see this causing some sort of internal conflict in people, especially children, when part of them wants to embrace their culture, but the other part of them wants to fit in and go with what is popular, which is sad.
I agree I found it particularly upsetting when Twitty explained how important food was in his family, but also talked about how much he disliked it. As time passed and he began cooking with his family and connecting to an area he once either didn’t understand/ attempted to repress, I was still upset with the way he felt about soul food in relation to the expectations he felt in the world. The word soul food after this reading seems so purposeful as you can really see how each generation is connected to the other through the creation of food.
I agree with what you said about how Twitty did not appreciate black culture because he never saw it. I too found it so sad and disheartening that he never saw someone like him, thus he did not appreciate himself. I also agree that food has a way larger importance in our culture and upbringing than we may think. The idea that fast food is “white-washing” this culture is very interesting to me, because its something I never considered. I agree with you that as more of these fast food joints appear, culture disappears.
I agree with your sense of feeling guilt from the beginning statements of Twitty. I had never thought about how every movie or show I watched I could always find someone like me, or someone I wanted to be like, not the other way around. I also found it upsetting that people now may feel the same way he did and can’t enjoy the food from their culture, because of this disconnect and the need to fit in with the culture they are in now, even if it is not their heritage.
I totally agree with the point of guilt that you made in the first paragraph. Reading what Twitty had to say about “who actually mattered” made me feel guilty that I had the pleasure of seeing myself in celebrities. Like you, I never saw how I was lucky to feel this connection to them.
I completely agree with what you said regarding Twiddy not liking his culture due to the fact that there was no representation of it. I like how you emotionally connected to the author and realized your own privileges. It is upsetting indeed seeing how the media portrays “whiteness” as the default, and how people see themselves represented without thinking about the ones who are not. I also agree that many kids nowadays are chasing after what is popular instead of embracing their culture and heritage.