Way Back When

Growing up as a kid in the 90’s Full House was an essential part of my childhood. I can remember staying up till the crack of dawn at my grandparents house just to catch the hour long special of Full House that came on Nick at Night. As I grew older, Full House became part of my cousins adolescence as well. The more people that I talk to, the more I come to discover that Full House was a part of people's raising. Children from the 90’s grew up with the characters from Full House and still hold on to them today.

Mid 2015 there had been talk of Netflix creating a spin off from the beloved show Full House, and on February 26, 2016 Netflix released the debut of Fuller House. Same house, same family, just 30 years later. I have no recollection of ever watching a full episode of either show: Full House or Fuller House until today. When watching episode 1 of Fuller House I noticed the adaptation to the modern decade that the producers made.

Although there are many more differences than there are similarities between the two shows, Fuller House still holds on to the same values Full House did back in the 90's. After speaking with my peers and reading reviews online, I feel confident in saying that Fuller House also tried to keep the same principles and family values that Full House did. Fuller House shows the viewers life lessons through each episode. Some of these lessons include: never lying or going behind someone's back because there will always be consequences for your actions. Family is also a huge aspect that both Full House and Fuller House are based on. Families come in all different shapes and sizes, and through these two shows the viewers are taught to be grateful for their own families that they were gifted.

In season 1 episode 1 of Fuller House, the viewers are already shown the continuation of the importance of family. The viewers are briefly reunited with every character from Full House minus the Olsen twins. DJ, Danny’s daughter is left to raise her three children on her own after her husband passed away on a call as a firefighter. It appears that Joey, Jesse, Danny, and Becky all have other priorities that they must accomplish, so therefore they will not be on many more episodes. After eveyons is about to embark on their new journey in life, they overhear DJ talking about how she is scared to raise three boys all on her own (Jackson, Max, and Tommy).

This is when family plays a huge role in the show again. The viewers are shown what family really means to the Tanner family, and what it means to be a helping hand in the roughest of times. After overhearing DJ express her concerns, everyone says that they will ditch their priorities and stay with her because family comes first. Stephanie (DJ’s sister) then steps in and says that it is her turn to help out in the family. Kimmy (DJ’s childhood best friend who lived next door) also decides to stay and help DJ in the everyday struggles of being a mom. Even though Fuller House shares the same values that Full House once did, the show focuses more on the lives of the adults, rather than the struggles of raising a family. I hope that Fuller House instills the same values in children today that Full  House instilled in me.

Cooking and its importance to society

Fire draws us together in many ways and that is when cooking is originated from. I never knew that cooking could be such an art. After completing the first episode of Cooked a Netflix Original, I was astonished at how much food impacted me without even knowing it. The act of eating is something that we nonchalantly go through each day. Do you ever think about what your eating? What about where the process of cooking originated from? The act of cooking is based off of the basic 4 elements of life: fire, water, air, and earth. In each episode, Cooked shows us the importance of each of the basic elements and how it has impacted the way we eat and cook today.

Fire is a very powerful thing. In a way it is a sign that you are going to eat. The disappearance of fire from our lives has had a huge impact on the way we as a society view cooking as a whole. Civilization really began around the cook fire. Cooked takes us through the journey of Michael Pollan a foodie/ author, and the life of some aboriginal hunters. These hunters live in very nice villages with modern homes, but on the weekends they take a trip to their homeland to continue spreading the awareness to their younger generations about the importance of fire. Humans evolved from cooking food over fire and the aboriginal hunters would like those traditions to stand on.

There are elements of traditional ways of eating that we have lost and/or given up on. Hunting serves as a perfect example for this. Hunting is a safe haven for people in general, but especially those who have certain illnesses that a treated through medications. Some of the citizens that have to take daily medicines will go out to the country and be able to throw away that days dosage. There is something about being out in the wilderness that gives these people a sane feeling. It is a therapy for them. Hunting stays of important to these families because when one hunts their own food, their going to treat their food with more respect, than just having it served on a platter to you and not being a part of the process before consumption.

Humans are unlike any other animal in the aspect of food. We are biologically adapted to eating our food cooked. In other words, cooking is basically baked into our biology (no pun intended). Cooking relieves us from the work of chewing, and any other animal species spends about half their lifetime chewing up their food to get nutrients. We are drawn to certain foods through coevolution and we are hardwired to like specific foods such as fruits. This is because of the sweet natural flavors it gives off.

The last yet most important aspect of cooking is to cook your food after the hunting is completed. Barbecuing is the most popular way for the hunters to cook their food, and they turn it into a ritual. The definition of barbecuing is to smoke the meat over a fire for a long period of time and the flavor comes from the wood. It is thrilling to hear that three- four thousand new compounds are created when you cook meat over a fire. The pleasure around food is something to live for, and how one can make beautiful meals from one simple thing being fire is astonishing.