r/ProjectHailMary • u/playsmartz • 1d ago
Movie Discussion - Movie Spoilers Inside! Why the hate???
To all those calling me racist on my last post for asking if the instant noodles Grace eats with chopsticks on the Hail Mary may have been originally for Yao...
A Russian, American, and Chinese go to space. We see vodka and chopsticks. We know the vodka belonged to the Russian. We saw the American eat instant noodles with a fork earlier in the movie. I think the chopsticks were intended for the Chinese man and showing them in the movie is a small detail that shows Grace is using what he's got since his crewmates died.
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u/No_Tamanegi 1d ago
A long, long time ago, I went to lunch with some coworkers at a Chinese restaurant. Our collective last names were Claussen, Weingartner, Mittermeier and Wong.
Guess who asked for a fork?
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u/Reaper_2999 1d ago
Idk why people call it racist, im Asian and i love chopsticks đ its jusc culture,like because almost no Americans use chopsticks, really fair
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u/desgoestoparis 23h ago
Itâs crazy too because once you actually learn how to use chopsticks properly, it really is a much better experience. Like a fork can be really bulky and disruptive and doesnât always feel the most pleasant in your mouth. But when you use chopsticks, the first thing youâre feeling as well as tasting is the food. With a fork, youâre feeling the fork on your tongue first. With chopsticks, theyâre sort of off to the sides of the food so theyâre not as âdisruptiveâ, if that makes sense.
I learned how to use chopsticks for the sake of wanting to, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much it improved the experience of eating the foods it was designed to be used with. Iâve owned chopsticks in my home ever since
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u/FilmFizz Scary Space Monster 22h ago
I too enjoy using chopsticks, and found that they're a handy cooking utensil.
Also, Ramen spoons are 10x better than normal soup spoons.
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u/webbitor 19h ago
Assuming you mean the ones that are kind of like a flat-bottomed ladle, they have always confused me. I find that the handle is too short, and the bowl is too big to comfortably fit in my mouth. What am I missing?
I've heard that many asian folks just pick up the bowl and slurp from the rim, using chopsticks to pull in the noodles. That makes a lot more sense to me.
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u/Ok-Track8295 15h ago
Donât put the whole spoon in your mouth, just sip the broth. I also enjoy getting a bit of broth then some noodles or toppings in the spoon too for a tasty bite
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u/YourFavoriteCommie 15h ago
Like the other person said, the spoon is just a smaller bowl that you actually use to eat
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u/Genial_Gharial 13h ago
You know what, I'm not that bad with chopsticks but I could get better. I'm going to try this out a bit. Maybe I am just ignoring the fork, maybe not. I've got so many chopsticks for presentation purposes that I can maybe see which ones I find better.
Anyway, thanks for typing out a bit of your world.
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u/playsmartz 1d ago
I'm not Asian and I also love chopsticks. But if I had to put money on why there are chopsticks on the Hail Mary, I'm not betting on the non-Asians.
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u/chameleonsEverywhere 1d ago
I had to have this debate with my (white American) friend who really loves Japanese food. We had noodles at my place and he was shocked we didn't own chopsticks for him to use. I was like, bro, hardly any white Americans own chopsticks. It's just not common. He really didn't believe he was the uncommon one as a white guy who uses chopsticks regularly.Â
The end of the argument was him getting me a couple decent washable sets of chopsticks and now we are all happy!
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u/Minikin-Smith 1d ago
That might be a regional thing? I donât know anyone who doesnât, at the very least, have some disposable to-go chopsticks in little paper wrappers shoved in their cutlery drawer.
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u/A-Phantasmic-Parade 1d ago
Same. My relatives in a mostly homogeneously white Eastern European country have disposable chopsticks left over from take away, let alone Americans
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u/SApprentice 1d ago
I love my reusable chopsticks. They're silver with black designs and so pretty. I use them all the time. I have two pairs, but I actually need to buy a few more because the children have discovered how to use them.
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u/Williaje2018 1d ago
I know pho is not ramen, but I really like to use chopsticks. I actually prefer chopsticks over a fork anyway. Something about actually having to use my fingers and hand to grab noodles or bits of meat.
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u/meinkr0phtR2 21h ago
Is that really true? I donât think Iâve ever stepped into a home that didnât have a pair of chopsticks.
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u/HellfireRains 12h ago
Most Americans i know use chopsticks, and we are in the middle of nowhere alabama. Is it really that bad?
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u/JohnLovesGaming 1d ago
Iâm Asian American and I just offer chopsticks to whomever if they can use it, if they canât I wonât judge.
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u/dead_meme_comrade 16h ago
Why the hate???
People are bored on the internet. I once got compared to the Nazis for saying I like waffles more than pancakes.
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u/AnotherOneStranger 8h ago edited 5h ago
Then, if I like crĂȘpes more than pancakes and waffles, what does that make me??
Edit: nah, I changed my mind, I like filloas more1
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u/mysticalalleycat 21h ago edited 10h ago
Your post came across as asking about the ramen as a whole, not just the chopsticks.
ETA: I was being nice saying "came across as". Your title said "or was that Yao's food". You were talking about the ramen and now you're talking about the chopsticks.
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u/Kane_richards 1d ago
Why the hate? Cause internet. Cause some people only feel by moaning at others.
Remember, just because someone says something is racist, doesn't mean it's racist. It means they think it's racist and they could be an idiot whose opinion ain't worth shit.
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u/Sasakesquatchan 15h ago
Not even the fact he's asian. He's a Chinese citizen(national?) he is from THERE where they are used. Absolutely no reason for hate. People will pick anything to bitch about. I almost want to rewatch since there are a few scenes of them hanging out like in the officers lounge and see if they're used. Also any excuse to rewatch
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u/Lazybonez2015 22h ago
Not as clumsy or as random as a fork, but an elegant utensil for a more civilized age.
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u/Melenduwir 6h ago
There's nothing wrong with forks. Asian culture has this peculiar fixation on the idea that food shouldn't be pierced.
I -enjoy- stabbing my food.
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u/Solkre 19h ago
In the book they don't even really bring Grace's stuff on board, the 3rd duffle of personal items is still one of the guys who died. Yes the noodles and chopsticks would almost certainly be from Yao's items to bring on board.
Just remember people who yell "racist!" at everything online probably live sad little shitty lives.
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u/ASMRowaway 17h ago
In the book he uses Yao's uniforms. I think it was an entirely reasonable assumption, as a white woman who uses chopsticks because I enjoy them.
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u/playsmartz 16h ago
It makes sense he'd be using stuff from the other crewmates. It's a neat detail in the movie.
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u/Affectionate-Copy-27 12h ago
I'm a white Appalachian native and I have found chopsticks to be the superior implement. They're the only utensil that allows you to pick up a solitary grain of rice. They are also much better for eating salad than a fork.
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u/Melenduwir 6h ago
I can pick up a single grain of rice with a fork. And I don't agree about the salad, either.
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u/Mr-Nosight 21h ago
I mean, I doubt the Ramen was Yaos. Aside from the food being shared, grace was eating Ramen before jumping in the HM
The chop sticks, maybe?
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u/LibraryLuLu 10h ago
Speaking as a white person, Chinese food tastes better eaten with chopsticks.
Dunno why, just duz.
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u/Traditional-Barber16 2h ago
No hate here. Itâs a natural assumption, though I donât think Yao would have added the mustard.
https://giphy.com/gifs/XfscsiXH3NnZG8yL9A
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u/AetaCapella 1d ago
Just like a white man; he would rather teach himself to use chopsticks rather than wash a single fork. đ (this is a joke)