No fast food in the diner, yet chocolate cake and aerosol cream is fine?

He decided to honor Noam Chomsky day so made an exception. I thought that was fairly obviously explained.

Here's what he's thinking:

- if he buys each of them a meal at the diner, that's about 7 hotdogs/burgers or other processed, microwaved, re-heated-from-frozen food (lots of variations of things he's opposed to). That's too many types of unhealthy food, plus he didnt feel right to eat like that just after their mum had died- given that they had both made so many sacrifices to stick to their way of life. To eat at that diner would have been disrespectful to the memory of their mum.

- instead he opts to give them mostly fresh food (I saw salad leaves and other veggies in their loot) and then add only two items that go against his usual stance of food
:a freshly-baked cake (not a boxed, factory-issued cake) and
:a aerosol cream
Less number of poisons and a good way to keep the whole 'going off their beaten path' under control.

As someone else has already mentioned, an occasional splurge on contrabands is a good way to make sure they dont become "forbidden fruit" in the eyes of children and they can exercise self-discipline with those things later on in life. So, that cake and whipped cream served that purpose. What appeared like a contradiction was actually a good parenting decision.

I agree about the aerosol cream. I got the theme, of course, but as the Father, the right, and consistent, way to do that would have been to whip some fresh cream, make some real hamburgers and fries, and teach the kids how to cook, as well as how to eat.

It was a preachy film, so why not get it right? But the problem with junk food is that it's junk, not that it's sweet, or fried. Done properly, all of those things can be part of a healthy diet.

Seen another way, the antidote to too much Chomsky might be Bugs Bunny, not Danielle Steel. Although, given the state of things I can't imagine too much Chomsky.

Agree, but I think a theme of the movie is his new inconsistency and freshly wavering "faith." Plus, all Dads can be dictators at times, in the vein of "Why? Because I said so is why."

Free food is the best food, always.

The entire thing is deliberately 'over the top' and far fetched. The movies is a Dark Comedy. The inconsistency is deliberate as the movie is making fun of itself - eg. walk out of the diner because there is 'no real food on the menu' then next scene they are eating chocolate cake and Ben is squirting artificial cream directly into his mouth! Hilarious!

So he is being a hypocrite, just like all the cult founders who have ever lived.

Agree.

Coke BAD.
Alcohol GOOD.


Although the character wants to be an anti-estabilishment guy, that seems like a brainwashed alcohol lover adult for me. Picking buzz in the supermarket also.

I was more confused by where the cake came from?? He didn't walk out of the store with a cake.