Currently Browsing: Nathan Abrams 76 articles
Ten Reasons Why ‘Shrek’ Is Jewish
Nathan Abrams provides ten reasons why Shrek is Jewish. Every year, the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry chooses 25 films of historical, cultural, or aesthetic significance to be marked for preservation. Among this year’s inductees is Shrek (2001). The Registry commended the film thus: Even by DreamWorks standards, the charm and magic of ‘Shrek’ […]
The Mysterious (Jewish) Monoliths
Nathan Abrams considers the religious symbolism of the mysterious monoliths that have been recently appearing. Strange monoliths have suddenly started appearing and disappearing at various locations around the world. No one knows who put them there or why. Immediately, the lyrics of the immortal Spinal Tap came to mind: In ancient times,Hundreds of years before the […]
Flash Gordon, Moshiach of the Universe
Nathan Abrams tells the hidden Jewish history of a childhood favourite, Flash Gordon, which is 40 years old today. Imagine if the creators of Superman had read Susan Sontag’s ‘Notes on Camp’ and the result is Flash Gordon which celebrates the fortieth anniversary of its release today. In a nutshell, scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov, football […]
Marie Stopes, Eugenics and the Jews
In the third instalment of our series on Jews & Sex, Nathan Abrams considers the darker side of the work of the feminist pioneer and her relationship to Jews. Dr. Marie Stopes (1880-1958) is best remembered as a feminist and a birth control pioneer. As the most forceful sexual revolutionary of her age, as well as […]
Jews & Sex
In 2008, my book, Jews & Sex was published. It reflected on the relationship between Jews and issues of sex and sexuality, opening up what Keith Kahn-Harris called ‘the hidden worlds of Jews and sex’. This included essays on lesbian Yiddish poetry, Jews in the porn industry, representations of Jews and sex in the work […]
Jews, Money and Globalisation
Nathan Abrams reviews two new books which tell us surprisingly little about the links between Jews and global capital. Jews might be considered the archetypes of globalist capitalists. And with the figure of Sir Philip Green looming large in the press over the weekend, the negative connections between Jews, globalisation, capitalism and finance once again […]
The Top Ten Jewish Chess Movies
The Queen’s Gambit, a novel that has been adapted for and is currently streaming on Netflix (read a review here), has caused an uptake in the game of chess. Jews, as we know, excel at the sport, perhaps because it requires no physical contact, is played indoors and takes brains to master. In fact, the […]
An Uncomfortable Period of British and Zionist History
Nathan Abrams reviews a new book which sheds light on an a forgotten snippet of British Imperial History. In her new book, The People on the Beach: Journeys to Freedom After the Holocaust, Rosie Whitehouse explores that forgotten period in Britain’s history, the years between the end of the Second World War and the birth […]
The Crown’s Jew(el)s*
Nathan Abrams looks forward to finding more Jews in The Crown‘s new season. Season Four of the Netflix drama The Crown is about to drop. ‘This drama’, as its official website states, ‘follows the political rivalries and romance of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and the events that shaped the second half of the 20th century.’ Seemingly, […]
The Kabbalist of Co-Working: Adam Neumann, WeWork and the Story of a Capitalist Cult
Nathan Abrams reviews a remarkable book about the spectacular rise and fall of the co-working start-up WeWork and its Jewish founder, Adam Neumann. In 2005, software engineer Brad Neuberg coined the term ‘co-working’. He wanted to find a balance between the grind of office life and the solitude of freelancing but without having to fight […]