Themes of Cultural Adjustment in the Movie, Chocolat

The movie Chocolat, screenplay by Robert Nelson Jacobs and directed by Lasse Hallstrom, shows several great examples of how one must adjust in a cultural context. This movie takes place in the early 1900's. A woman, Caroline, believes it is her calling in life to travel around with her daughter Anouk, and set up chocolate shops in order to make people happy. She arrives in a small French town during Lent and isn't greeted warmly since chocolate is considered temptation, which you are to avoid during Lent.

The mayor tells the citizens that they need to avoid Caroline's shop or else they will be condemned to hell. Many listen but not all, there are some people of the society who feel like they need something more besides their religion to make a good life. Anouk also has a hard time adjusting because when she goes to school, the children tell her she's the child of the devil. There is also a group of River Rats, similar to pirates, that show up in town, who are also despised by most towns members, and predictably, Caroline and the River Rats click and become friends, a romantic interest arises.

In the beginning Caroline tries to set up a social support network with other women in the community who feel they don't quite belong. By doing so, Caroline had some friends who she could talk to about her problems and realize she isn't the only one experiencing those feelings, just the only one brave enough to voice them in such a gregarious way. She practices a coping method known as active behavioral coping, she didn't just plan out what she could do, she actively sought out the support network.

The majority of the community members were very religious and believed that everyone else should practice their religion just as often and seriously as they do. Everyone encouraged Caroline to attend church and to close her chocolate shop to comply with their religious beliefs but she decided to resist social influence and do what she felt was right. I think Caroline shows the great person theory, she had traits that were so abnormal for that time period that some people looked up to her and felt she was a great leader. She wasn't afraid to step up and be herself and with some time, made other people see and understand her views.

There are different types of selves - open, hidden, and blind selves, all of which can be seen in Caroline's character. Caroline's open self is the person she allows the community to see, the lady who just moves in to a new town and doesn't care how people see her. She is who she is and takes pride in being able to stand up for herself even when she faces rejection from the members of society. Her hidden self, is her inner thoughts that the viewers may get to see but the towns people in the movie don't. This self includes Caroline's desire to settle down in one place and stop moving around because of the rejection see receives, as well as the side of her that wants to find a man, fall in love, and have someone there to support her. Caroline's blind self is a little harder to see by watching the movie, this is the side of her which she isn't aware of but the members of the community are. I would say that the only characteristic of her blind self is the fact that she is, according to some members of the community, primarily the mayor, degrading their religious beliefs. Caroline wanted to stand up for herself and let her values be known, but I don't think she was trying to tell the community that they were wrong for their beliefs, but many people felt as though that's what she was doing.

As soon as I finished watching this movie I automatically realized that this plot related to psych of adjustment because Caroline found herself in a new surrounding with new people who didn't accept her. She had to do something to change that and in turn, adjusted to her new setting.