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David Cronenberg: Jewish King of the Venereal
While one famous Canadian Jew has been in the news recently, another has been overlooked: David Cronenberg. His first feature, Shivers, opened 45 years ago this October, soon making him the nascent new horror’s ‘Baron of Blood’ and ‘King of the Venereal’. It also established many of the Jewish themes and characteristics that would become staple elements of all his […]
Ben Cross: Non-Jewish Actor Who Excelled at Playing Jewish Roles
Sean Alexander reflects on the Jewish roles of Ben Cross who passed away on August 18th. Inevitably, the obituaries for actor, Ben Cross, who died yesterday aged 72 following a short illness, started with his starring (and arguably name-making) role in 1981’s Chariots of Fire, in which Cross played the real-life Jewish athlete Harold Abrahams. He and Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) portrayed Jewish and Christian runners both competing for […]
What Prickled Me About ‘An American Pickle’
Nathan Abrams rants about why he didn’t like An American Pickle. I was looking forward to watching An American Pickle, Seth Rogen’s latest movie. As I have written here, I am a fan of his films, and the furore caused by his appearance on the Marc Maron show only intensified my expectations. An American Pickle […]
A Pickler on the Roof
Jarrod Tanny discusses An American Pickle. *Contains some spoilers* At the risk of deploying an overused pun, we need to begin by alluding to the now well-known pickle Seth Rogen got himself into in July. While discussing his new film, An American Pickle, on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, where he spent an hour schmoozing with the host about all things ‘Jewy’ and their shared inability to escape their yichus. Rogen was […]
Joker: A Jewish Stain
As Joker streams in the UK, Sean Alexander considers his Jewish origins. DC Comics, like its rival Marvel, has long been acknowledged for its rich Jewish heritage in terms of the creation of its most iconic characters. While Batman himself was the co-creation of Jews Bob Kane and Bill Finger, it was another Jew – Jerry Robinson […]
Stop Bullying Seth Rogen
I hesitate to wade into this debate. It feels like it’s been done to death already (gesticulates). But there is something no one has said about the Maron/Rogen interview. Seth Rogen is being bullied. Some sections of the Jewish community are bullying him. Not because of his talent or some might say his lack of, […]
My Hero, Seth Rogen
I have long admired Seth Rogen and I still do. No amount of selective quotation from his hour-long interview with Marc Maron will change my mind. In fact, it has reinforced my appreciation for him. Rogen (whose surname must be mispelled as often as mine is) first came into my life as part of Judd […]
Alan Parker’s Five Most Jewish Films
While he was not Jewish, Alan Parker who passed away on July 31st, created some memorable Jewish moments onscreen. Here are the top five. The Evacuees (1975) The Evacuees was an episode of the BBC’s Play for Today series written by Jack Rosenthal. Loosely based on Rosenthal’s own experiences of World War Two, it focuses on the lives of […]
The Secret Jewish History of Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was released 60 years ago last month, and it has a secret Jewish history. The film was based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch who was a Jewish author. Bloch based his story around the real-life serial killer, Ed Gein, who himself was influenced by Nazi atrocities. He had fashioned household items from the remains of his […]
Clueless at 25: a chance to reflect on Jewish girls in pop culture
In this second piece on the film, Michele Byers reflects on Clueless after 25 years. Full disclosure… I love Clueless. Seriously. I’m not sure if it was Alicia Silverstone’s shiny, perfectly straight hair, her BFF Stacey Dash (those hats!), the witty repartee with her dad (‘I couldn’t be happier than if they were based on real grades!’), her […]