OFFICIAL SELECTION - DC Shorts International Film Festival | OFFICIAL SELECTION - Bushwick Film Festival | OFFICIAL SELECTION - Ceres Food Film Festival
Food Studies • Culinary Arts • AAPI Hate • Food History • Misinformation • Consumer Activism • Monosodium Glutamate • Culture Through FoodDate of Completion: 2023 | Run Time: 12 minutes | Language: English | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript | Director: Kyle Finnegan | Producers: Susann Shin & Yi Chen | Editor: Irem Dogancali | Cinematographer: Roberto De Cecco
In 1968, the forces of racism and consumer activism collided to give monosodium glutamate (MSG) its unsavory reputation. Today, chef Tim Ma is on a mission to change that perception and use MSG as a way to share his culture through food. Through interviews with Ma and two MSG experts, the documentary explores the origin of MSG's stigma and how the ways we talk about food can be just as pervasive today. To set the historical record straight, archival footage and visuals from Ma's restaurant weave together to illustrate the full timeline of MSG's place in American cuisine.