The New Jew in Film: Exploring Jewishness and Judaism in Contemporary Cinema by Nathan Abrams (review)

Nathan Abram's important book surveys the depiction of Jews and Judaism in 300 feature films produced since 1990 to update and globalize the findings of Lester Friedman's Hollywood's Image of the Jew (1982) and Patricia Eren's The Jew in American Cinema (1984). He discerns a substantial increase in the number of films tackling Jewish themes and including Jewish characters, as well as a greater diversity in the portrayal of such subject matter.

Abrams attributes these trends to a variety of factors: 1) American Jewry's integration in a multicultural society; 2) the rise of a post-immigration generation of Jewish American actors, directors, and screenwriters who feel no obligation to promote assimilation; 3) the normalization of Jewish life elsewhere in the Diaspora and Israel over the past two decades; 4) the arrival of non-Christian and non-white immigrant groups in Europe and the implementation of policies to foster public tolerance of ethnic, racial, and religious differences; 5) the institutionalization of Holocaust education which has reduced anti-Semitism and heightened Jewish self-awareness; 6) the collapse of communism which has permitted filmmakers in the former Soviet Bloc to explore Jewish topics; and 7) multinational funding and film competitions in Europe that have facilitated the production of Jewish films there. I would add that the proliferation of Jewish film festivals, cable movie networks like Shalom TV, and subscription services like the Jewish Film Club have enhanced the distribution prospects of films targeted at Jewish audiences.

The book begins with two chapters about the changing images of Jewish female and male characters in movies released over the past two decades. Whereas Jewish men previously were pictured as cerebral, deceptive, effeminate, greedy, neurotic, passive, or weak, their recent screen personas run a broader gamut. They might be invincible fighters of crime and terrorism like Adam Goldberg's Mordechai Jefferson Carver and Adam Sandler's Zohan Dvir, or geek heroes like Jeff Goldblum's David Levinson, who saves the earth from an alien invasion as the sidekick of Will Smith's ace pilot Steven Hiller. In The Big Lebowski, Walter Sobchak, a Vietnam veteran and convert to Judaism, alternates between expletive-filled outbursts of violence and strict observance of Halacha, refusing to "roll" in a bowling tournament scheduled on "Shabbos." Rather than being cast only as high-powered professionals, recognizable Jewish actors play the role of unmotivated slackers like Seth Rogen and his Jew Tang Clan buddies in Judd Apatow's "bromance" movies. The machismo of Jewish skinheads like Vinz in Hate and Danny Balint in The Believer or the Mossad assassins in Steven Spielberg's Munich and Eytan Fox's Walk on Water yields to qualms about the moral consequences of their actions. Abrams contends that many contemporary Jewish filmmakers no longer worry that unflattering representations of Jews might inadvertently reinforce anti-Semitic stereotypes.

Similarly, the "Jewess" has emerged as a more variegated figure than her prior incarnations as a domineering Jewish mother, materialistic JAP, or homely nice girl. Younger Jewish women get portrayed by attractive actresses and possess lovable personalities like Alicia Silverstone's Cher Horowitz in Clueless or Jennifer Westfeldt's title character in Kissing Jessica Stein. While both exhibit some "JAP" traits, their sympathetic qualities belie such clichés. "JAPs with attitude" (54) dominate men through their cunning, physical strength, or sexuality as evidenced by Judith Fessbeggler in Saving Silverman and Karen Hill in Goodfellas. In The Governess, Rosina di Silva adds color, intelligence, and sensuality to the drab, shallow, and staid Cavendish household where she literally usurps the camera's gaze and photographic experimentation from her lover who introduced her to both. Jewish heroines like Rachel in Black Book and Shoshanna in Inglourious Basterds avenge the persecution and slaughter of their co-religionists during the Holocaust. Some recent depictions of the Jewish mother endow her with hipness and understanding as exemplified by Barbra Stresiand's sexually liberated and...