Blog #13
Read the preparation assignment “Judaism.” Please respond to the questions for thought and reflection, carefully thinking and writing about each one. Finally, describe you thoughts on the similarities and differences between the way in which Mormons, Jews, and Muslims have been portrayed in entertainment and news media. What are the most important points or ideas that we should consider or discuss in class?
Last year, I was able to take a class on German and Scandinavian cinema. The class opened my eyes to the German culture and how Jews were portrayed in film before World War II. I never understood how nearly an entire nation accepted the torture and murder of innocent people based on their religion. After watching the media and propaganda that filled their minds, I realized that they were raised to believe that Jews were cheating liars. They were taught that Jews would ruin their communities and not help to better society. Based on these statements, many individuals began to have concerns with Jews. I see similar ideas and feelings being expressed in media towards individuals of the Muslim faith. We have these assumptions about Muslims based off of what we are exposed to in the media.
ReplyDeleteNow, Jews are becoming more and more accepted. Sometimes I wonder if it takes a drastic event to occur for individuals to finally feel sympathy towards a group of individuals. If World War II had not occurred, would we still have the same feelings as what the Germans had pre-World War II? I would hope that the answer would be no, but sometimes media causes individuals to be ignorant to the realities of the world. Jewish references in media have become light-hearted and friendly now. Our society is improving the way that we portray Jews in media.
The first question you asked in the readings dealt with patterns in the media and how they portray Judaism. In the initial clips that we saw from Gilmore Girls all the way to Schindler's list, it seems that Judaism is portrayed very positively. The people are very poor and humble, and centered on love and family. It's interesting to me, I have never noticed that before. I haven't seen a lot of negative media portrayals when it comes to Judaism. I don't know why this is exactly, but maybe it has something to do with Judaism's long history. It has been around for a really long time, and seems to be less controversial. I also wonder if the way Jews were portrayed in the media changed after WWII. Did the media become more positive towards them because such a horrible and disastrous genocide had happened to them? I feel like that must play into it somehow too.
ReplyDeleteThey are, however, spared no expense when it comes to humor. Jews, just like Muslims and Mormons, are also poked fun of at times. One of the examples used in the readings was Howard's mom from The Big Bang Theory. She is known for being "very Jewish" who is never seen, only heard. I feel like this stereotype is more about the culture with which Judaism is associated, but it's all in good humor. I still feel like Jewish characters have a certain positive energy about them in most of the portrayals on television and in movies.
The news does of course expose us to the reality of some Jewish countries- which is war and destruction. For me though, those things are normally associated with Islam in my mind. I don't know what it is but when I think about conflict in the Middle East I picture Muslims, not Jews. I am not sure what that says about me, but I am sure it shows how I am playing into the stereotypes that the media is feeding me. Jews are looked at as peaceful, and sometimes even the victim. Muslims are portrayed as violent criminals.
Although there are a few differences in how Mormons are portrayed against Jews and Muslims, I think it all comes down to the same thing- stereotypes. We like stereotypes because they are easy for us to understand. They relate to us on a level that doesn't require a lot of thinking. I feel like Mormons are normally shown as mysterious, oppressed, and ignorant people. Muslims are seen as terrorists. Jews are portrayed as overly religious and old fashioned. I do think the Muslim stereotype is much more damaging, and something needs to be done. All in all though, depending what channel you are watching, you will find religious humor and stereotypes pretty much anywhere you go.
As I was reading about Judaism, I couldn’t help but thinking back to my experience at a Jewish synagogue last year. For my World Religions class, we had our choice of attending another religion’s services. I attended the Congregation Kol Ami synagogue in Salt Lake. I noticed that the representations of Jews in film leaned heavily on orthodoxy. They all wore traditional clothes, and were devout participants in ceremony. My experience in the synagogue was interesting because most of the congregation dressed in regular clothes. They didn’t wear the black top hats seen in Fiddler on the Roof. They didn’t all have beards. If I weren’t in the Shabbat worship service with them, I would have never even thought that they were Jews.
ReplyDeleteTalking to them afterwards I realized that their religious lives aren’t that much different from mine. I think that a Jew seeing the Orthodox representation would appreciate its respectfulness but disdain its antiquity. Orthodox Jews certainly exist, but I think that many more have done away with elements of Orthodoxy.
Overall, I think that Jews are often portrayed positively. In my opinion, negative portrayals draw from the Orthodox stereotype, that they’re unwilling to change or stray from strict tradition, that they see themselves above other religions, and that they are too serious. I have noticed that the media likes to portray the most radical of any religion. For Muslims, that means terrorists. For Mormons, polygamists. And for Jews, strict Orthodoxy. Elements of all of these things do exist in the world, but they don’t always actually belong to the religion they pretend to and thus present an untrue picture to viewers of other faiths.
This topic is very interesting to me because I feel like Jews have more reverence and respect than most religions. I believe this to be a direct result of the Holocaust, but I of course wish that something far less tragic could've prompted the respect. Perhaps the world gives them more tolerance than other religions because they have physical evidence of the absolute extreme consequence that stereotyping and dehumanizing can create.
ReplyDeleteAnother emotion that struck me while doing the reading was that I feel a lot of camaraderie with Jewish people because they live a life similar to us. They are taught values, but do have traditions and rites that they follow as outward representations of their faith. I think it would be interesting to discuss some of those traditions and how they are similar to ours.
It might also be interesting to talk about how our church is portrayed in the media vs. theirs to discuss the similarities. Stereotypes I see commonly are jokes about them being stingy, bound by tradition and even some of their physical appearances. I can't help but feel for them as we have similar stereotypes as members of the LDS church.
I would also like to discuss why maybe we don't get the same reverence they do potentially because persecutions of our faith are far less publicized.
One common trait I have noticed with the Jews portrayed in Media is their display of Jewish religion. All Jews have specific attire, family life, and relationship with God. Theirs traditions appear to be very strict and inconvenient. The strict life Jews live can sometimes be criticized by people who don't understand why they practice those traditions or what the traditions mean to Jews. However, through all the criticism, Jews continue to stay true to their religion and their traditions which I think is very admirable.
ReplyDeleteI have seen several movies and TV shows with a Jew character. They usually just a side character and not made fun of, but they are definitely pointed out because of their peculiar beliefs and commitments. Some movies do poke fun at their strange actions and outfits, just like any other religion. Every religion offers unique beliefs and unique behaviors and sometimes it is fun and entertaining to see the differences between people.
Jews take pride in the religion – as they should. I have great respect for their religion and their devotion to it. Their love for family, their religion, their traditions, and their God is very admirable because they show that love through their actions. They are a great example of not only being a part of a religion but living their religion.