Saturday, December 31, 2016

Was Julia Child really left handed?

My wife and I were watching a very old Julia Child cooking episode on YouTube when we noticed something interesting.  OK, I noticed -- she was oblivious.

This was an episode where Julia was extolling the uses of eggs in things like chocolate mousse.  The video alternated between face-on views and top-down, showing the whisking action when Julia was beating egg yolks and stuff like that on the stove.  I noticed the top views showed Julia using her left hand beating the eggs and whisking stuff etc.  But the face-on views showed her using her right hand.  Finally, I saw a top down view that showed several pots on the stove, and the arrangement was reversed between the top-down view and face-on view.

So, here's an interesting observation.  Maybe it's been noted before, but a quick internet search did not reveal any confusion about Julia's handed-ness.  I think the top-down views were done using a mirror, so the viewpoint was reversed.  Perhaps today's directors are more concerned about consistency from shot to shot so that doesn't happen now....maybe.

I would be interested to know if anyone else has noticed this in the old Julia Child episodes.

9 comments:

  1. I just noticed this on the episode The Hollandaise Family... They're doing a marathon on PBS Boston

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  2. I came here to see if she was left or right handed
    You didn't tell me and the thing I pressed said was julia child really left handed so tell me!

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  3. I noticed she wears her watch on her right wrist, leading me to believe she's left handed!

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    1. I am left-handed and wear my watch on the left.

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  4. She was right handed. Looking at her original pictures it’s clear.

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  5. I was just wondering b/c of the new series (hbo?) if Julia really was or if it’s just the actress portraying her (so so well!)? couldn’t imagine having to find the right actress who is talented enough, tall enough and left handed!

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    1. I just started watching the series on HBO Max and wondered the same bc I am L handed and always notice others

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    2. On CNN, Memorial Day, May 30th

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