Judaism's Effect on Entertainment

By Shira Novack
KOC Editor
Binghamton University

Jews are very involved in the entertainment industry. In the Broadway show Spamalot, Sir Robin tells King Arthur, "We won't succeed on Broadway, if you don't have any Jews." While the song is clearly a joke, there must be some reason or grain of truth behind it. Out of curiosity I googled "Jews on Broadway" and wound up with 5,870,000 search results. That is a lot of results!! Truthfully, it's not just Broadway. Jews are very involved in numerous different aspects of the entertainment industry. In Hollywood there are Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Natalie Portman and B. J. Novak, just to name a few.

Whenever we read books, watch movies or interact with any other form of media, we are always looking for a way to relate to what we are viewing. In literary theory, which is also highly applicable to shows and movies, this is referred to as suturing. For suturing to work, we have to first feel some sort of lack. The lack the viewer or reader feels causes desire to develop and so the viewer or reader is drawn into the story in an effort to fill this lack. We are drawn in because we want some character in what we are watching or viewing to represent ourselves. The concept of suturing is successful when the viewer recognizes that they see themselves in the character they are watching.

There are many different ways for us to relate to characters. It could be the situation the character is in, something about the way the character reacts to situations reminds us of ourselves, even the way the character looks, and these are just some examples. One way we can relate to a character and see ourselves through them is religion or culture.

This is true in the comedy, Mrs. Doubtfire in the scene where Robin William's character goes to his brother (Frank) to be made into a woman. Frank's speech, the Barbara Streisand impersonation, as well as the "Matchmaker" song (originally from Fiddler on the Roof ) both bring to mind Jews and Jewish culture. It is a small scene but it can be a way for the Jewish audience to suture themselves into the move, more than they already have done so, though the cultural references that they can relate to.

Another example is the book The Queen's Fool, by Philippa Gregory. The book is a work of historical fiction which takes place in England in the mid-1500s during the reigns of King Henry VIII's three children, Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth I. There is a character named Hannah Green who serves as a holy fool for all of the three siblings. Hannah is a Jew who is forced to flee Spain with her father because of the inquisition. She is a secret Jew and outwardly presents herself as Christian to protect herself. Entwined with the story of the intrigue at the royal court is Hannah's own story and her struggle to balance her Jewish identity and the identity she presents to the rest of the world. Hannah's struggle between assimilation and following her religion is one that modern Jews know only too well. Jews' own experiences with assimilation impacts how they relate to and think of Hannah's struggle. We may understand it more than other people because we have experienced it for ourselves, or it may be a way for a Jewish reader to relate to a time so different from our own.

Mrs. Doubtfire and The Queen's Fool are two examples of how being Jewish can affect the entertainment we choose to partake in and/or how we relate to the art we are reading and watching. It does not mean that these are the only ways we relate to the story or that Jewishness is the only reason we read or watch something, but it is a very interesting point to think about. Next time you read or watch something that has an element of Judaism in it, I encourage you to stop and think how it does or does not affect you and your viewing of the piece.

[Posted 8/1/11]