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Author Topic: Anti-Semitism in American Film  (Read 13213 times)

Corndog

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Re: Anti-Semitism in American Film
« Reply #10 on: April 06, 2010, 04:42:51 PM »
roujin?
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Clovis8

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Re: Anti-Semitism in American Film
« Reply #11 on: April 06, 2010, 04:44:59 PM »
The more I think about it the more I think The Believer would be a very interesting addition. Like I said it's about a Jewish neo-nazi.


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Re: Anti-Semitism in American Film
« Reply #12 on: April 06, 2010, 04:58:52 PM »
The Believer would be an interesting addition.


pixote

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Re: Anti-Semitism in American Film
« Reply #13 on: April 06, 2010, 08:27:59 PM »
Crossfire (Edward Dymytrk, 1947) - suggested by professor

Definitely provides an interesting comparison to Gentleman's Agreement.  Also interesting: the focus on anti-Semitism is not a part of the source novel, which instead looks at homophobia.  (Fun fact: That book, The Brick Foxhole, was written by future film director Richard Brooks.  And it's pretty good.)

I can't remember if the change was specifically prompted by the Hays' Code or not.

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« Last Edit: April 06, 2010, 08:30:23 PM by pixote »
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pixote

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Re: Anti-Semitism in American Film
« Reply #14 on: April 06, 2010, 08:44:09 PM »
Quiz Show (1994) might work.  I like its handling of latent anti-Semitism in 1950s America.

Also, though I haven't seen it, The Life of Emile Zola (1937) might make a very interesting starting point.  Per an IMDb review: "One may forget that this film was released in 1937 when anti-Semitism was again sweeping the continent of Europe, and for that very reason, the word 'Jew' is never mentioned and we are only given a short visual reference."

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Zhankfor

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Re: Anti-Semitism in American Film
« Reply #15 on: April 06, 2010, 09:37:34 PM »
Finally, I can put my 12 years of Jewish day school education to use. You might try The Fixer (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062977/), based on a novel by Bernard Malamud, about a secular Jew in Czarist Russia who's falsely accused of murdering a Christian child. Very good film.

I'll try to think of a few more, I'm sure I watched them when one of my teachers didn't feel like teaching.

And even if it didn't have some things to say about anti-Semitism, you couldn't really write a paper about Judaism in film without watching Fiddler on the Roof. Not to mention it's a fantastic musical.

The funny thing about Jewish film (and much of Jewish literature, too) is that it pretty much all has to do with anti-Semitism.

Or maybe "funny" isn't the right word.

EDIT: Oh, and you could always throw in Borat for good measure.
« Last Edit: April 06, 2010, 09:43:01 PM by Zhankfor »

sdedalus

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Re: Anti-Semitism in American Film
« Reply #16 on: April 07, 2010, 12:47:13 AM »
Crossfire (Edward Dymytrk, 1947) - suggested by professor

Definitely provides an interesting comparison to Gentleman's Agreement.  Also interesting: the focus on anti-Semitism is not a part of the source novel, which instead looks at homophobia.  (Fun fact: That book, The Brick Foxhole, was written by future film director Richard Brooks.  And it's pretty good.)

I can't remember if the change was specifically prompted by the Hays' Code or not.

pixote

I'd always assumed that the anti-Semitism in both films was a stand-in for racism against African-Americans.
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Bondurant

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Re: Anti-Semitism in American Film
« Reply #17 on: April 12, 2010, 08:44:50 AM »
The Great Dictator is a good choice if you're willing to include comedies.  I think it's the best anti-Nazi filme ever made.

Corndog

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Re: Anti-Semitism in American Film
« Reply #18 on: April 12, 2010, 12:04:03 PM »
Updated list of films. What does it look like? Solid? Also I'll probably watch a couple of them today.
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Re: Anti-Semitism in American Film
« Reply #19 on: April 12, 2010, 12:46:01 PM »
Looks pretty solid to me. Gentleman's Agreement is one of my favorite movies of all time.
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