In conjunction with the “Chocolate” exhibit at the Field Museum, Ken Hao, an associate research scholar at Columbia University, will give a lecture on “Life is Like a Box of Chocolates: Food Goes to the Movies.” Hao will focus on more than 50 classic and contemporary movies from around the world to illustrate how the powerful combination of film and food can convey both strong and subtle emotions.
He will compare, for example, the scene in “Public Enemy” in which an angry James Cagney degrades his girlfriend by smashing a cut grapefruit into her face with one in “When Harry Met Sally,” where Meg Ryan’s character simulates an orgasm in a restaurant.
Also on the menu: a discussion of the significance of the steak, peas and potatoes meal in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence” and of Big Macs in “Pulp Fiction.”
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He will also examine how both films and food have been influenced by the effects of globalization.
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“Life is Like a Box of Chocolates: Food Goes to the Movies,” 2 p.m. Sat., Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, $12; 312-665-7400.