Here we go again. Every few years, some big media-saturated event lights up the internet with right-wing anti-Semitism, and the always-fragile level of tolerance the right grants Jewish people due to Israel and Jewish-American wealth and success begins to fade. Because no matter how much money Jews make, at the end of the day they still refuse to completely assimilate (read: vote Republican)
It's always strange to see the disparity between the right's support of the right wing of Israeli politics and their hatred and contempt for actual Jewish people. Evangelist Billy Graham is a right-wing Zionist, but he counseled Nixon about Hollywood Jews who subvert morality and promote liberalism. The Catholic League's Bill Donahue supports the Israeli right, and he also thinks "Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who only care about anal sex." Ann Coulter can fellate the Likud party all she wants, but she revealed her true feelings about Jews to Danny Deutche last year, saying they need to be "perfected" like her. (I guess that means become crazy bigots with horse-faces.) It's easy to see why she and her buddies are mad at us. The old saying that Jews earn like Episcopalians but vote like Puerto Ricans is true and must be baffling to anyone who wonders why someone wouldn't vote with her pocketbook. Usually these Jew-baiting events involve Mel Gibson, but this time it comes from a surprising source: John McCain's camp.
McCain has made a Herculean effort to court Jewish voters. Whereas most Republicans in the past have written off Jews because they vote mostly Democratic, McCain has directly appealed to them. And some of his supporters have tried to capitalize on the anti-Muslim sentiments of some (especially older) Jewish people with aggressive, false propaganda about how Senator Barack Obama is secretly a militant Muslim.
That's why the turnaround is so shocking. Here's what happened: First, McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. She is a nut-job who believes dinosaurs and humans once coexisted. She can't be bothered to read newspapers. She is against gay rights. She is against reproductive choice. We get it. Loves guns, hates gays. Really into hunting, but not so much into reading, learning, or science. So we (Jews) don't like her, naturally. That's the second stage of the turnaround. We reject this weirdo and make fun of her mercilessly in our fancy, city-folk jobs as reporters and Daily Show writers. That is all really predictable. If McCain thought Jews would warm up to a crazy Alaskan governor who hangs out with Jews For Jesus leaders, he must be as insane as she is.
But now the internet is awash with racists claiming Jews hate Palin because she is a Christian, and that this is further proof that Jews are anti-Christian bigots. Some are saying Jews are repeating the racism that was dealt to them by Christians in the past. This Jew-baiting claim is even making its way (in a nicer tone, of course) to mainstream sites like Beliefnet. Let's get three things clear:
1. Christianity is not a race, so it's impossible to be racist against Christians. Christianity is a CHOICE, like Scientology or Reform Judaism. Because we live in a civilized society, we should be civil towards each other and refrain from ridiculing someone's religion for no reason, but criticizing a religion is not racism. Anti-Semitism is racism because it is hatred against someone because of her ethnicity. Hating someone because her last name is Cohen is racism. However, criticizing Conservative Judaism is not racist because that's a religion. Therefore, criticizing Christianity is not racism.
2. Uh, we don't hate Christians. Most of us don't, anyway. According to Ha'aretz, Jewish voters favor Obama, and he is a Christian. Jews voted overwhelmingly for Bill Clinton and John Kerry, and they are both Christians. I'm pretty sure most Jews think Oskar Schindler was a good guy, and he was a Christian. We dislike Palin because she is crazy!!
3. If you want to strike a chord with Jewish voters, support legislation we can get behind. Most Jews want gay-straight equality, reproductive rights, socialized health care, and support for education and the arts. And a balanced approach to the Israeli-Palistinian conflict that respects the humanity of both peoples will make Israel more secure than just giving its right wing unchecked support.
Well, I hope that clears things up for you anti-Semites. I've got to get back to the cabal now. We've got some world-domination plans to draw up.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Best and Most Disappointing Summer Movies, 2008
Now that the (Jewish) year is coming to an end, and autumn has officially begun, what better time to reflect on this year's summer movies and make an arbitrary, completely pointless list of the best and worst?
1. vicky christina barcelona Is anyone else sick of critics calling every amazing Woody Allen film his comeback? First, I thought they would stop saying that after the funny/sad/experimental Melinda/Melinda. I was wrong. When Match Point opened to glowing reviews, critics called it his comeback, as if Melinda/Melinda didn't count. Then when Vicky Christina Barcelona was seen to be another classic film from the Woodster, they called it a return to form, forgetting all about Match Point!! Anyway, see Vicky. It's another of Woody Allen's bright, funny clashes of society's bourgeois sensibilities and Allen's desire to do his own thing. Scarlet Johannson atones for her Tom Waits cover album (just in time for Yom Kippur!!) and Penelope Cruz turns in her best work since Volver. The real draw, though, is Javiar Bardem, speaking Allen's witty dialogue and probable views on relationships. If Johannson is Allen's muse, Bardem is the writer-director's sexy avatar.
2. the dark knight Christopher Nolan's sequel to his own Batman Begins isn't just an improvement. It's a spectacular improvement. More emotionally and thematically complex, this box office champion sees Nolan eschewing the German Expressionism-lite of Tim Burton's versions and instead summoning his inner Scorsese to create a visceral crime saga with as much psychological impact as summer thrills. And Heath Ledger's Joker is the most terrifyingly unpredictable villian since Ralph Fienne's Amon Goethe in Schindler's List.
3. standard operating procedure This dispassionate but no less scathing look the Abu Ghraib scandal is not the classic that is his Fog of War, but it's still enthralling with its examination of the soldiers who committed these heinous acts as well as the politicians who allowed them.
4. paranoid park Experimenting once again with focus in/focus out shots, slow-motion, and Dogme 95, queer director Gus Van Sant pricks his characters until they bleed. A disaffected young boy who is involved in a security guard's accidental death is at the center of this emotionally exhausting film, the helmer's best since Elephant. All his usual elements are here: the plot is thin, the texture is rich, the boys are gorgeously photogrpahed (by cinematographer Christopher Doyle,) and relatable characters, the girls (like the cheerleader girlfriend) are not.
5. tropic thunder Big-money studios usually don't release inflammatory, wildly offensive movies. That's why it came us such a happy suprise that this DreamWorks release even got made.* Ben Stiller should write, direct, and star in more dark, edgy films like this than glossy corporate trash like Night at the Museum. From the hilarious fake trailers for the characters' other movies (the gay monk drama Satan's Alley winning MTV Movie Award's Best Kiss is the highlight) to the action-and-big-laughs climax, Tropic Thunder is one of the best mainstream comedies in a very long time.
*Not that any minority is actually ridiculed or even slightly made fun of in this film. The fact that Special Olympics chairman Timothy Shriver doesn't understand that Tropic Thunder is satirizing arrogant, incredibly stupid actors who are so hypocritical they would use the "r" work after winning Oscars for their "sensitive" portrayals of developmentally delayed people is a deperssing statement on the fact that so many people don't understand satire. It reminds me of those older Jewish people in my synagogue (and even young Jews on Facebook) who actually think Borat is anti-Semitic.
BEST
1. vicky christina barcelona Is anyone else sick of critics calling every amazing Woody Allen film his comeback? First, I thought they would stop saying that after the funny/sad/experimental Melinda/Melinda. I was wrong. When Match Point opened to glowing reviews, critics called it his comeback, as if Melinda/Melinda didn't count. Then when Vicky Christina Barcelona was seen to be another classic film from the Woodster, they called it a return to form, forgetting all about Match Point!! Anyway, see Vicky. It's another of Woody Allen's bright, funny clashes of society's bourgeois sensibilities and Allen's desire to do his own thing. Scarlet Johannson atones for her Tom Waits cover album (just in time for Yom Kippur!!) and Penelope Cruz turns in her best work since Volver. The real draw, though, is Javiar Bardem, speaking Allen's witty dialogue and probable views on relationships. If Johannson is Allen's muse, Bardem is the writer-director's sexy avatar.
2. the dark knight Christopher Nolan's sequel to his own Batman Begins isn't just an improvement. It's a spectacular improvement. More emotionally and thematically complex, this box office champion sees Nolan eschewing the German Expressionism-lite of Tim Burton's versions and instead summoning his inner Scorsese to create a visceral crime saga with as much psychological impact as summer thrills. And Heath Ledger's Joker is the most terrifyingly unpredictable villian since Ralph Fienne's Amon Goethe in Schindler's List.
3. standard operating procedure This dispassionate but no less scathing look the Abu Ghraib scandal is not the classic that is his Fog of War, but it's still enthralling with its examination of the soldiers who committed these heinous acts as well as the politicians who allowed them.
4. paranoid park Experimenting once again with focus in/focus out shots, slow-motion, and Dogme 95, queer director Gus Van Sant pricks his characters until they bleed. A disaffected young boy who is involved in a security guard's accidental death is at the center of this emotionally exhausting film, the helmer's best since Elephant. All his usual elements are here: the plot is thin, the texture is rich, the boys are gorgeously photogrpahed (by cinematographer Christopher Doyle,) and relatable characters, the girls (like the cheerleader girlfriend) are not.
5. tropic thunder Big-money studios usually don't release inflammatory, wildly offensive movies. That's why it came us such a happy suprise that this DreamWorks release even got made.* Ben Stiller should write, direct, and star in more dark, edgy films like this than glossy corporate trash like Night at the Museum. From the hilarious fake trailers for the characters' other movies (the gay monk drama Satan's Alley winning MTV Movie Award's Best Kiss is the highlight) to the action-and-big-laughs climax, Tropic Thunder is one of the best mainstream comedies in a very long time.
MOST DISAPPOINTING
indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull The thing about Indiana Jones films is that they are entertaining AND well-made. Lots of trashy movies are entertaining and provide escapist entertainment, but they suck. And lots of movies (like Remains of the Day or Ghandi) are well-made but incredibly boring. But Steven Spielberg poured craftsmanship into Raiders of the Lost Ark, creating an action-movie masterpiece of well-paced plotting, swift-but-great characterizations, eye-popping camera-work, and lavish mise-en-scene. And those action scenes!! They were so intricately choreographed they actually involved physics and mathemtical problem-solving. (That's not an exaggeration.)
Indy IV looks, sounds, and feels like it was made by people who know or care nothing about filmmaking. I expect that from George Lucas, who hasn't been involved with a good film since the first Bush was president (and that was Indy III, directed by Spielberg.) But for Spielberg to have been the captain of this sinking ship is just depressing. It's time to cut ties with his first mate.
*Not that any minority is actually ridiculed or even slightly made fun of in this film. The fact that Special Olympics chairman Timothy Shriver doesn't understand that Tropic Thunder is satirizing arrogant, incredibly stupid actors who are so hypocritical they would use the "r" work after winning Oscars for their "sensitive" portrayals of developmentally delayed people is a deperssing statement on the fact that so many people don't understand satire. It reminds me of those older Jewish people in my synagogue (and even young Jews on Facebook) who actually think Borat is anti-Semitic.
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