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Egg Cream

The Big Apple • 15m

Directed by Nora Claire Miller, Peter Miller & Amy Linton • Documentary • 2020 • 15 minutes

EGG CREAM is a short film about the enduring meaning of a beloved chocolate soda drink born on the Jewish Lower East Side. The egg cream contained neither eggs nor cream – it was a product of necessity and hardship, but a source of joy and sweetness. Through a tour of egg cream establishments led by a filmmaker and his young daughter, exhaustively researched archival imagery, and even a song by Lou Reed, the film examines the Jewish experience in America and the mythology of a simpler time.

“A warm-hearted plunge into the alchemical swirl of chocolate syrup, milk, and seltzer that is the egg cream. It's a remarkable family saga that includes a daughter's dozen-year egg cream quest from child to adult; and it is a broad cultural story as well, suggesting that the enduring charisma of the iconic corner-store beverage says a lot about the history of Jews in America. Who knew that such a simple drink has such a fantastic personality?” —Michael Stern, Roadfood

Tags
agriculture and food, american (u.s.) studies, americas, anthropology and archaeology, area studies, communication and media studies, cultural and ethnic studies, cultural anthropology, diaspora, egg cream, expository, film and video studies, filmmaking, food, icarus films, immigration and refugees, jewish, jewish studies, judaism, lower east side, mid-atlantic, new york, new york city, north american studies, ovid, religion and spirituality, s_0065, s_0109, s_0112, s_0153, s_0160, s_0162, s_0546, s_0642, social issues, the, title_e, united states, world regions

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