If you want to see an example of the intersection between Judaism and movies, Adam Ash has posted an impassioned defense of Mel Gibson on blogcritics. He claims that we should ignore Mel's "supposed" anti-semitism when we judge his work, just as we do for three other famous anti-semites, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Joseph Campbell.
I'm not sure how to preface this, so I'll just go for it: JumpinJewess of Jew York City posts a craigslist ad that calls for Jews to participate in a gross porn movie. I usually try to be non-judgemental, but ew.
And last, but not least, to leave a better "taste" in your mouth (wait for the pun), Danny Miller of Jew Eat Yet (see? I am so funny) posts about his love for Rita Hayworth. And apparently how she return(ed) that affection, across the boundaries of time, space, and death. I totally support that crush, as I also have a bit of a thing for redheads. Sorry CJ, blonde is good too!
And it would be unseemly for me to end this post without at least paying some tribute to the idea that Jews run the media and Hollywood, so, for your reading pleasure, Ben Stein's* article Do Jews Run Hollywood?
*Ben Stein, former Republican speechwriter, and most recently of the show "Win Ben Stein's Money." I have a friend whose dad looks and sounds exactly like Ben Stein. To the point that he is stopped in the airport and asked for his autograph. Of course he signs his own name (which is not 'Ben Stein'), much to the amusement of the autograph seeker, who assumes that he is joking. We live in a strange world.
4 comments:
hey annie, thanks for the shoutout and link. not to quibble, but the site is "yesterday's salad"; dailysalad is my wordpress account name. i don't want to short change any of the other authors at the salad.
i enjoyed the link to stein's article. the subject of jews and hollywood is a great one, but its actually only a small part of the connections between jews and the film industry. i recommend the book "Juden und Film: Vienna, Prague, Hollywood," for anyone interested in learning about jews and film in other parts of the world. don't fret about the german title; it's got a parallel english translation.
i also hear good things about Buhle's "From the Lower East Side to Hollywood: Jews in American Popular Culture." it's not exactly about the jewish monopoly over hollywood, but images of the jews in popular media is a pregnant topic nonetheless.
lastly, anyone wanting to check out a "good" yiddish movie should try and find a copy of "a brivele der maman." finer research libraries should have it in their collections. it's a fairly good melodrama with some snappy musical numbers thrown in.
Two things on Ben Stein.
1) My high school friend Nat's brother was named Ben Stein. It was awesome.
2) My dad bears a VERY passing resemblance to Senator John Kerry. Before the 2004 election, he would often be mistaken for Kerry (my dad is a lawyer in Worcester, so he is often found in circles where Kerry could potentially be). He used to be asked for his autograph all the time.
When he visited me my senior year of college, he was in a bizarre mood (just having met my boyfriend?), and, as we were walking across the quad, said, loudly, something to the effect of "wow, I'm so exhausted from being in Iowa." People stared. I blushed. An instant bond was formed between father and boyfriend.
He doens't get asked much about being Kerry any more, probably due to all the media exposure (as I said, it's only a passing resemblance).
Okay, that was one thing about Ben Stein and one thing about my dad.
I also second dash's comments about Brivele. I'm more of a Yidl mitn Fidl fan (mostly for the dancing, and because Molly Picon is my idol), but Brivele is actually the better film.
Man, do I miss Win Ben Stein's Money .. he's the only conservative I can say I respect a great deal, and that article is as insightful as it is funny .. thanks for posting the link
My dad looks like a shorter version of Kevin Smith (a.k.a. Silent Bob) and you're all jealous that you don't have those genes.
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