Nobody Should Want This

I think I understand how attorneys must feel watching TV shows about lawyers, or how doctors view the many movies and series featuring the medical profession. I simply cannot stomach watching most shows that depict rabbis or cantors. While some are simply cringe-worthy, others border (or cross the border) on destructive Jewish caricatures.

Most of the time, I make an effort to avoid all of these types of shows or movies because I know I won’t be able to suspend disbelief enough to enjoy them. I did watch the recent movie Between the Temples because…how could I not? It featured a cantor as the main character. That is, a cantor who is never heard singing a single note of music. All around I gave it a meh, but at least they got some stuff kinda, sorta right.

When I saw that there was a new Netflix series called Nobody Wants This, I figured, Oh great, yet another movie about the good looking, cool rabbi who falls in love with a non-Jewish woman and has to navigate the pressure of his family and congregation. I guess they couldn’t figure out how to make a sequel to Keeping the Faith (another movie I pretty much hated). Still, I was cautiously optimistic, so when there was nothing else on I figured I would give it a chance. As it turned out, the first episode was….actually not too bad. The depiction of the rabbi was predictable but not altogether terrible, and the dialogue was pretty well written. I thought–maybe this show will surprise me.

Then I watched the second episode.

It is not an exaggeration to say that I was disgusted by what I was watching. The rabbi’s mother–played by Tovah Feldshuh who clearly should have known better–was portrayed as a shrewish and angry stereotype (with a really bad Russian accent). She represented the very worst pop culture image of what people think Jewish mothers are like. Furthermore, most of the other Jewish characters, mainly the women, were one-dimensional at best and offensively depicted at worst. But most disturbing and alarming was the fact that the episode featured the word “shiksa” numerous times–not realizing or perhaps not caring that THIS IS A DEROGATORY, DESTRUCTIVE, AND OBJECTIONABLE WORD that should NEVER be used by Jewish or non-Jewish people. It should not ever be used to refer to another human being, nor should we be expected to chuckle when it’s used as a punchline of a joke.

Please tell me that you are not still inserting this hateful word into your casual conversations with other Jews.

Sometimes–not often–Hollywood gets it right. The movie A Serious Man was seriously brilliant, and it got all of the meticulously researched synagogue scenes and religious themes (with appropriate humor and caricature) perfect. And who could forget the 37 seconds that changed Jewish life on the small screen forever during The Plot Against America? But here’s a fun fact: in that scene, set during Friday evening services, the seated congregants were originally wearing tallitot. I politely spoke up and explained that in a traditional Conservative synagogue, the worshippers would not be wearing them on Friday night, so the director had everyone remove them. Accuracy matters!

When all of us are constantly aware of rising anti-Semitism and threats against the Jewish people, why in the world are we so willing to add to the world’s negative impression of Judaism with these false and tired stereotypes? Save your time on this junk and re-watch Game of Thrones.