Planning Issues in Julie and Julia - Movie Review Example

s the assignment was due Planning Issues in Julie and Julia Julie and Julia is an American film, written anddirected by Nora Ephron, featuring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in the lead roles. Set separately in Paris and New York at different time-periods, the story revolves around the lives of two young women finding purpose in the drag of life through their common passion of cooking. As the film stretches over two different planning cultures, it deals with the people’s attitudes, aspirations, and relationships that normally exist in the dense urban neighborhoods. The major planning issue taken for analysis in this film is how the interpersonal relationship and neighborhood in an urban setting influences people’s life. The evolution of city lives, as the film interchangeably shows Paris of 1950s and New York of early 2000s, brings forth many social and cultural differences in the society. Moreover, the interpersonal relationship and neighborhood in urban setting influences the lives of the individuals, acting as a comfort provider, even though it might get complicated at times. So, the focus will be on how the planning issues such as differing cultures, evolution of cities, neighborhood, and interpersonal relationships in the urban setting play a considerable part in shaping the lives of the protagonists as they pursue their passion of cooking. “Real cities are developed by social representations, including affluence and technology, ethnicity, and civility. Real cities are macro-level struggles between major sources of change – global and local cultures” (Zukin 142). Since 1950s, there have been different indications of planning cultures, differing based on the aspects of social representations, diversity, and cultural changes. In that direction, planning culture or style is often shaped by distinct social and cultural settings and practices which in a way influences the lives of individuals, who are living in that environment, in different ways. The multi-cultural neighborhood in Queens of New York and the post-war backdrop of Paris in 1950s, as presented in the film, helps in understanding how the society and planning cultures influences individuals’ lives, particularly that of Julie and Julia. This planning culture evolves with the socio-economic changes influencing the individuals and their responses to social differences and opportunities. As evident from the film, there is a constant relation between these planning issues of neighborhood, interpersonal relationships, and cultural differences, resulting in complex process of social change. This social change has ensured sustainable development for the cities and its people, particularly for women in gaining adequate opportunities. The film Julie & Julia traces the lives of two real-life women named Julia Child and Julie Powell, belonging to different generations, as they follow their culinary passion to achieve success in their respective lives. Although, the film is set in two different time-periods, there is a clear and strong connection as Julie tries to cook the recipes from the book written by Julia. So, the story alternates between the restless Paris culture of the 1950s and the adventurous New York society of the early 2000s. From the film’s portrayal of these two cultures, it is evident how women in nineteen-fifties and the twenty-first century are visualized by the society differently when pursuing their aspirations. The contrast can be observed from Julia’s challenges as a woman in pre-feminist era with that of the Julie’s experiences during the post-feminist period. Julia Child is less encouraged and recognized by the society in her attempt to write a cookbook on French recipes. On the other hand, Julie Powell gets considerable attention and support when she replicates Julia’s recipes and writes about her experiences surrounding that “replication” through a blogging platform. As far as the cultural setting of Julia’s period is concerned, she had to break the existing conventions in order to pursue her dreams. However, Julie belonged to a culture where success was equated with fame, and importantly she pursued it in a nurturing urban environment that facilitates equal opportunities for everyone. The differing aspirations and even the success of individuals, particularly women, are often shaped by the cultural setting, which is mostly a reflection of the changing times. In that direction, the achievements of the individuals or women were valued based on the influence it creates in the society. In the case of Julia, although she truly revolutionized American cuisine through her cookbook, she was recognized in a belated manner because of the social and cultural setting in which she belonged. As presented in the film, Julia faced both positive and negative responses for her project from her community neighborhood. Even her mother disapproved of her project and her friend’s inadequate support impacted her satisfaction levels as she pursued her work. However, Julie gained immediate popularity taking her to the mainstream media because during her time, the society was actively supporting women in achieving their passions and aspirations. Apart from the society, interpersonal relationships play a prominent role in comforting and supporting individuals in an urban setting. For instance, Paul Child was attentive to his wife Julia’s needs even when the society did not consider a woman’s aspiration as a necessity. Similarly, Eric Powell took his wife’s passion for cooking seriously rather than considering it as an oppressive housework, as the society of today does. This commitment and support from the society as well as interpersonal relationships for the individuals clearly contributed to their success in various ways. So, it is evident that the social and interpersonal relationships have a positive long-term impact on the person’s happiness, life satisfaction, and success. Specifically, interpersonal and familial relationships serve as a basis for social, emotional, and cognitive experiences and purposefully accentuate the quality for all other relationships. Manners and sociability are two aspects that the director uses to contrast both the cultures. The changing cultures in the society bring a prominent difference to the way couples interact with one another, as it even influences their intimacy and emotional attachment. A happy middle-aged couple of the past times would be much happier, experiencing better intimacy and love than the young couple of today’s time-period. This can be understood from the relationship between Julia and her husband Paul Child, which seem to be very formal and serene when compared to the young couple of twenty-first century. This is mainly because of the differences in social stereotypes, economic equality, and family responsibility between the generations as well as genders. Even though both of the storylines were characterized by supportive relationship, commitment, trust, and emotional and physical intimacy, Julie’s husband Eric Powell experiences lack of life satisfaction as well as distress when compared to Paul Child’s satisfying supportive marital relationship with Julia. This is evident in the film as it shows Paul Child’s relationship with Julia as a contented and engaging relationship, while Powell hardly gains intimacy in his relationship with Julie because of lack of communication and understanding, brought on by the changing or modernizing culture. The evolution of two cities due to the passage of time has a considerable influence on the lives of its people and their pursuit of dreams. The fast-paced urbanization of New York in 2000 and the post-World War II Paris city in 1950s depicted in the film provide a different social setting for the character to prosper within the community environment. Pursuit of passion is not uncommon for women in today’s culture but for women in 1950s, it was considered different. Happiness and achievement for women in those times was most often tied to family needs and expectations, instead of their personal ambitions. So, Julia’s accomplishment of her personal goal through the publication of her cookbook represents a contrast to the social and cultural environment prevailing during her time period. On the other hand, Julie’s accomplishment of goal was not deterred by external social and cultural environment, but she has to overcome her personal issues. Since the film presents two different women from two different eras, it clearly illustrates their social and cultural differences, which tends to affect their success. “The two lives hang together and the experiences of their heroines placed alongside each other offer revelations about social and cultural change over the past 60 years” (French). Individuals, particularly women, are often trapped within the cultural and social norms, challenging them to disregard their passionate journey of success. However, when a woman or women escapes the norm and acts differently, it is sure to make a difference in their lives. This could only be achieved when there is a supportive community, including family, friends, and neighborhood. For instance, the film shows how Julie and Julia are supported by their friends and well-wishers, and how it helps them to turn their experimental project into a life-changing experience. “Through the remarkable support and unfailing love of their husbands, both women strike out in search of purpose, fulfillment, and a need to find happiness within themselves” (Tanks 27). From the above analysis, it is evident that the film explores the social stereotyping in the Julia’s period as well as the fast-paced urbanization of Julie’s times thereby showing the reality of the planning cultures and its contributions in shaping the individuals’ lives. Even though the people of two different time-periods have major differences in their cultural settings and social interactions, support from interpersonal relationships and community neighborhood can contribute adequately to their success or failure in life. Works Cited French, Philip. “Julie & Julia.” The Guardian, 13 Sep 2009. Web. 26 Mar 2015. Tanks, Ashley L. Mastering the Art of Happiness. Diss. University of Georgia, 2011. Zukin, Sharon. “Whose Cultures? Whose City?” In The Cultures of Cities. Wiley, 1995. Read More