Identity, Place, and Subversion in Contemporary Mizrahi Cinema in Israel

Contents

Contents Introduction 1 Mizrahi Cinema: Definition and Parameters Notes on Methodology and Theoretical Frameworks The Structure of the Study One Mizrahi Ethnicity and Israeli Cinema 18 The Mizrahi Dilemma: A Critical Overview The Mizrahi on the Israeli Screen: Historical Context Critiquing Mizrahi Representation in Israeli Films Two The Cinematic Construction of Mizrahi Identity 49 Culture and Identity: Beyond the Essentialist/Constructionist Dyad The Reconstruction of the Past The Dual Valence of Arab-Jewish Identity Salvage Cinema The Utility of Rootedness The Ethnic as a Symptom The Cultural Past and the Political Present Mediated Constructions of Mizrahi Identity: Ambivalence and Performance Conclusion Three The Mizrahi Space 92 Brushing with the Postmodern The Collapse of Postmodern Playfulness: The Redrawing of Ethnic Boundaries Cinematic Topos: The Inscription of Marginality viii • Contents Marginality as a Normative Space The Mizrahi Niche Film Funds Television Four The Absence of Power and the Power of Absence: Victimhood, Struggle, and Agency 147 The Dialectics of Power: Casting Subaltern Agency Protest in Mizrahi Cinema Modalities of Mizrahi Protest in Cinema Attenuated Protest Corrective Histories The Coupling of Victimhood and Agency in Mizrahi Protest Cinema Protest Films Sderot Cinematheque The Remaking of Identities Five Intersectionality and Alliances 195 The Mizrahi Woman The Ethnoclass Dilemma The Ethnoreligious Juncture Alliances and Inspirations Afterword:What Is Mizrahi in Mizrahi Cinema? 251 Appendix 1. Israeli Films Cited 257 Appendix 2. Interviews 263 Works Cited 265 Index 283 ...