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‘And spet upon my Jewish gaberdine’
Jay Prosser reviews The Merchant of Venice on BBC iPlayer. Watching the BBC iPlayer’s screening of The Merchant of Venice, Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare on the BBC iPlayer in the age of COVID makes for a surreal experience, either like time-travelling or being dropped onto a different planet. It’s not only because this recording is from 2015, of the Royal Shakespeare Company directed under Polly Findlay. Nor is […]
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 […]
10 Reasons Why Zoom Limmud Is Much, Much Better Than Normal Limmud
1. I didn’t have to book in February to make sure I was charged £8,000 rather than £8,050 for my own room. 2. On my way into a talk, I didn’t have to barge my way past groups of people who attend the same shul and feel compelled, not having seen each other for five […]