“A Vanishing History: Gullah Geechee Nation” – This is a 15 minute clip from VICE news about the Gullah people. VICE is not a particularly authoritative company and so you should treat this clip carefully and critically. Perhaps its an example of the foolish type of scholarship produced by folks like “Reema’s boy,” who believes the Gullah people may not be knowledgeable of their own culture.
Category: Resources
[Resource]: Latina Literature & Like Water for Chocolate (letter)
“Letter to the Editor: Response to Suzanne Ruta’s review of Like Water for Chocolate” – A short Letter to the Editor in which a reader responds to a negative review of Like Water for Chocolate, arguing that it participates in a feminist literary tradition.
[Resource]: Sor Juana- Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun
“Sor Juana: Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun” – Accessibly written Daily Beast article about the well-known Mexican woman writer and Esquivel forebear. As the subtitle of the article declares: “She was a woman who’d be extraordinary in any century.”
[Resource]: In-Depth Analysis of Like Water for Chocolate (chapter)
“Laura Esquivel (1950-)” – This chapter from a scholarly encyclopedia has eight pages analyzing Esquivel’s first novel from multiple angles and viewpoints. This is a good place to check if you’re looking for jumping off points, perhaps.
[Resource]: “Unsavoury Representations” of women in Like Water for Chocolate (chapter)
“Unsavoury Representations in Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate” – This short book chapter condenses the (mostly negative) criticism of Like Water for Chocolate‘s representations of women, race, class, and even the revolution. It is a devastating critique.
[Resource]: Historical sources for Like Water’s structure (journal article)
“Verbal and Visual Representation of Women: Como agua para chocolate/Like Water for Chocolate” – Scholarly article offering some interesting background and sources for the monthly form of the novel. This information occurs in the first two pages. The thesis of the article isn’t developed until page 3, at which point the article is likely too complicated to be of much use for your essay.
[Resource]: What it’s like to stand in hurricane-force winds (clip)
“What it’s like to stand in hurricane-force winds” – Short clip from a CNN reporter from Anderson Cooper’s show AC 360. Probably filmed to warn people about the danger of upcoming Hurricane Irma, the clip shows the reporter entering a wind tunnel to experience up to category 4 winds.
[Resource]: Before, During, and After the Eye of the Storm (clip)
“Hurricane Irma Hits Virgin Islands: Before, During, and After the Eye of the Storm” – Brief YouTube footage of what it looks like in a hurricane of the type that would knock out the bridge. Because hurricanes are big spirals, winds blow in one direction initially, are calm in the very center (the “eye”) and then blow in the opposite direction as the back half passes over. You see all three stages in this clip.
[Resource]: Gullah Storyteller Carolyn White (clip)
“Gullah Story Teller Carolyn White” [sic] – The clip we watched in class about the “big boar hog” and its unfortunate run-in with an gator.
[Resource]: Caroline speaking Gullah and English (clip)
“WIKITONGUES: Caroline speaking Gullah and English” – A longer clip with Caroline Whyte speaking in English and Gullah. Of particular interest is when she describes going to an elite school “over the bridge” in Charleston (beginning about 00:03:30) and being punished for “not speaking right.” She continues with how she became a Gullah storyteller in Charleston and how the public assessment of her knowledge has changed considerably.
