The difference between Silverman’s take and the others is that hers took the form of a grievance and the others are more of an observation. In the NPR article she’s now walking back that grievance. It’s one thing to note that the roles of Jewish women are being played by non-Jewish actresses and another to claim it’s a failure of representation.
There will never be a way to prove or disprove the existence of a historical Moses. There are so few contemporary texts or archeological evidence available to provide anything meaningful. The Egyptian historical record doesn’t match the biblical account and that’s meaningful. But there could have been a tribal chieftain named Moses who led a Hebrew speaking people from Egypt to Canaan without the plagues and miracles. Yup Brynner played pharaoh in The Ten Commandments. Edward G Robinson played Dothan who was comedy relief and a foil for Moses. I remember speculation that Robinson really wanted to be in the movie and the studio wanted to punish him for his left leaning views during the McCarthy era and that was the only role they would give him. > On Nov 17, 2021, at 8:55 AM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Bial’s take is thoughtful and nuanced (which I guess just means I agree with > him). I’m not so sure about the author of the article, who cites as one of > the more problematic appropriations Charlton Heston playing Moses, who A) may > have been Hebrew, but was not Jewish in any recognizably modern or technical > sense (that term would not have applied at the time) and B) with all due > respect, probably has to be regarded as a fictional character. > > More striking from that film is the casting of Edward G Robinson as Pharaoh, > not so much for cultural appropriation, but hilarious miscasting. > >> On Wed, 17 Nov 2021 at 3:09 AM Steve Timko <[email protected]> wrote: >> NPR weighs in. >> >> https://www.npr.org/2021/11/16/1053632682/jewish-roles-movies-tv-sarah-silverman >> >> >> >>> On Thu, Oct 7, 2021, 10:22 AM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> On Thu, Oct 7, 2021 at 11:06 AM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> I think Tom makes the main point that there is a relevant discussion to be >>>> had here, but it easily regresses into progressive caricature when it >>>> abandons nuance and flexibility. >>>> >>>> I think the most problematic part of Silverman’s argument is the use of >>>> the term “Jewface” (not sure if that was part of the original Time article >>>> Tom refers to). The problem with Blackface is not primarily that famous >>>> white actors got roles denied Black actors. Blackface was explicitly part >>>> of a larger social process of stigmatizing, de-legitimizing and >>>> rationalizing a pervasive, violent antiBlack regime. The analogy is not to >>>> Rachel Brosnahan playing an attractive, intelligent and very likable Mrs >>>> Maisel, but maybe to something that could have existed in 1930s Germany >>>> with Aryans wearing stereotypical noses and clothing and enacting >>>> characters that would justify the attitudes and assumptions that led to >>>> the Holocaust. >>>> >>>> I don’t necessarily blame Silverman for this, the whole modern critique of >>>> blackface has tended to turn it into the “representation” issue that >>>> Silverman is writing about, which tends to minimize and trivialize what >>>> the problem with blackface was. >>> >>> Jewface wasn't in the Time article. That article was about being sensitive >>> to having Jewish women being excluded from stories about Jewish women. I >>> have a CD called Jewface, which is a collection of recordings of songs made >>> during the first decades of the previous century. The songs are from >>> vaudeville and are ethnic caricatures of Jewish characters. The songs are >>> written and performed by Jewish men. It's very far from minstrelsy and the >>> degradation of blackface. >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "TVorNotTV" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to [email protected]. >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiEAkzWu2d4uHLDvNzqnL5jZH5VoLJ30EWVRqRStBS9UWg%40mail.gmail.com. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAH5J8yzzu4do4M7R%2Bd-fBzCthH%2BSCrkifAPw9kd7Fg8COhbrSQ%40mail.gmail.com. > -- > Sent from Gmail Mobile > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkY%2BQXyVmdK%3DFDE-t_WmGPxfyOoNA0cOTp5CgU7abP0%2BQoQ%40mail.gmail.com. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. 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