Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Jewish Film?
Today in class, we viewed a film that was called "The Tribe." It had the type of feel of a documentary, but I feel that it was more of an expose' on how people understand Jewish identity from within and without the particular "tribe" of people. At the end of class we were all asked whether or not we would classify the film as Jewish or not. I believe I was the only person in the class that would not consider this movie to be Jewish. But why was it that I took this stance? Since taking this F359 class, I have been finding myself questioning if there really can be any genres of anything. In looking at Jewish film, I do not think that it exists for a few reasons. The film we watched today was about Jewish identity as well as directed by a Jewish director, Tiffany Shlain. But does the fact that a film is about a certain topic such as Jewish identity or focus mainly on Jewish characters make a film Jewish? Does the fact that a Jew directed or produced a film make it Jewish? I argue that it doesn't. If we wanted to be politically correct, I feel that the best way to classify these types of films would be to say that these are films which address certain cultural, religious, or value aspects of Judaism, or are films which have been produced or directed by a Jewish person. Can cultures classify as a genre? What about this case... would one look for a movie like Schindler's List in a Drama section or a Jewish section? Would you do the same with the Passion of the Christ, except that you would find it in a Christian section? In the case of Schindler's List, the fact that the film was made about a predominantly Jewish event and produced by a Jewish director does not, I feel make it a Jewish film.
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5 comments:
I was debating this same question during our discussion over Theater on Monday in that what exactly makes a production Jewish or not-Jewish? While it's interesting that the film was titled "The Tribe" and not "The Jewish Tribe," this short film seemed to be directly looking at the Jewish aspect and makeup of our society through stereotypes and our "norms." Consequently, while it may not be a film of a "Jewish" genre, I would definitely say that its content makes Judaism a focal point.
I agree with you here,as we continue to try and break different aspects of mainstream culture into the "sub-category" of Jewish I am beginning to realize you really cant do that. While the Tribe is definitely made for Jews, by Jews, you would think it would fit the label of Jewish film, but even though i feel it comes closer then the other movie "when do we eat?", something doesnt feel right about it.,
its like trying to define what makes a person Jewish. it seems simple, but here we are half way through the semester, and no one has a clear definition yet- and we most likely wont.
Shane, I agree with you. I had a hard time deciding what makes something, such as a movie or book, Jewish. I think it is important to think about how we view things. For instance, when I read books, I look at them from a Jewish perspective. When I view movies, I look at them through what I have been taught in Sunday School and by my parents. I don't know that the movies could be found in a particular "section" based on genre related to Jewish, Christian, etc, but I do think it is important for each individual to understand why they interpret materials in a certain way. I know how I look at a joke will not be the same as some of my friends, simply because we come from different backgrounds with different struggles. Therefore, I think it is important to remember how the past affects our perceptions.
I think that films, books, TV, etc can be viewed many different ways. If you watch something with the intent of looking for the Judaism in it, you are going to give it a jewish reading. Because we were watching the tribe for class, i automatically assumed it to be a jewish film. so, good job shane for having an open mind and not taking the easy reading of the film.
When you approach it from that perspective it makes sense. I mean if we are going just by who the movie is produced or written by then there are PLENTY of movies that involve zero content about Judaism that are produced or written by Jews, however we would never consider them to be "Jewish" movies. Although Judaism is part of the subject matter, this film goes beyond looking at Judaism and looks at how "tribes" are formed and how they are made up in general which is the real focus of this film.
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