The New Jew in Film: Exploring Jewishness and Judaism in Contemporary Cinema

271 Pages·2012·1.81 MB·English

by  Dr. Nathan Abrams

The New Jew in Film

The New Jew in Film
Exploring Jewishness and Judaism
in Contemporary Cinema
Nathan Abrams
Rutgers University Press
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Abrams, Nathan.
The new Jew in film : exploring Jewishness and Judaism in contemporary
cinema / Nathan Abrams.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Includes filmography.
ISBN 978-0-8135-5340-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8135-5341-2
(pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8135-5343-6 (e-book)
1. Jews in motion pictures. I. Title.
PN1995.9.J46A24 2012
791.43’652924—dc23
2011037586
A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the
British Library.
First published in the United States 2012
by Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey
First published by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd in the United Kingdom
Copyright © 2012 by Nathan Abrams
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University
Press, 100 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8099. The only exception
to this prohibition is “fair use” as defined by U.S. copyright law.
Visit our Web site: http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu
Manufactured in Great Britain
Contents
List of illustrations vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1. The Jew 19
2. The Jewess 43
3. Sex 68
4. Passivity 91
5. Agency 109
6. Religion 134
7. Food 160
8. Bathrooms 183
Conclusion 207
Notes 215
Bibliography 219
Filmography 237
Index 247

List of illustrations
Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski 27
Vinz in La Haine 30
David and Julius Levinson in Independence Day 35
Beth Salinger in Hostel II 57
Rosina da Silva in The Governess 60
Shoshanna Dreyfus in Inglourious Basterds 64
Rachel Stein in Black Book 78
Nina Hartley in Boogie Nights 80
Avner and Daphna in Munich 83
Bernie Bernbaum in Miller’s Crossing 101
Yitzchok the Fairy in Lucky Number Slevin 106
Zohan Dvir in You Don’t Mess with the Zohan 113
Magneto in X-Men 116
Mrs Jane Smith in Mr & Mrs Smith 127
vii
viii THE NEW JEW IN FILM
Mordechai Jefferson Carver in The Hebrew Hammer 145
Rabbi Tuckman in Robin Hood: Men in Tights 146
Judaism in Independence Day 156
Jim in American Pie 170
Munich dining sequence 175
The Seder meal in When Do We Eat? 177
Reuben Feffer in Along Came Polly 191
Ted in There’s Something about Mary 193
Victor Ziegler in Eyes Wide Shut 202
Acknowledgements
Writing this book has been a pleasure. Rarely can one say that I have work
to do, and that work involves watching a film a night. My gratitude for this
must go to the School of English at what was then the University of Wales,
Bangor which, in 2005, took a chance and hired me as a Lecturer in Film
Studies, despite having had a background primarily in American History
hitherto. It is not often that one gets the luxury of translating a hobby into
a full-time job. My transfer (but alas with no attendant ‘fee’) to the National
Institute for Excellence in the Creative Industries in January 2007, today
known as the School of Creative Studies and Media, provided an extremely
genial context in which to work, and I am particularly grateful to Professor
Graeme Harper for his backing, support, and for providing the sort of
working conditions in which I can thrive.
I would also like to thank my various friends and my partners for
their respective patience and tolerance in not only watching these films
with me but also for putting up with me when I stopped and rewound
the DVD player ad nauseum, as well as my students and colleagues at
Bangor University, the London School of Jewish Studies, the Spiro Ark
and Limmud conferences for the useful discussions and comments, and
also for sharing their DVDs with me.
Several individuals deserve singling out for their advice, insights and
support. In alphabetical order they are: Michael Abrams, Becky Aizen,
Caryn Aviv, Amy Chambers, Sarah Cramsey, Simon Dando, Howard Davis,
Vinciane Duperthuy, Marc Michael Epstein, Santiago Fouz-Hernández,
Martin Fradley, Norm Gutharz, Dyfrig Jones, Bruce Kaplan, Daniel Lichman,
Dominique Moloney, Jacqueline Nicholls, Chris Pallant, Nick Poots, Steve
Price, Goran Stanivukovic, Stephen Stern, Sonja Stojanovic, Kate Taylor,
Renée Taylor, Lindsey Taylor-Gutharz, Naomi Wood and Raphael Zarum.
ix