by Debra | Aug 16, 2023 | Arts, Celebrity, film, News, Newsflash
Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in the film “Maestro.”
by Debra Rich Gettleman
Don’t you just hate when you spend millions of dollars to write, direct, produce, and act in a major motion picture only to be doused by social media criticism the minute the trailer is dropped? I know I do.
So yesterday, with the trailer release of Bradley Cooper’s up-coming biographical romance about Leonard Bernstein, Cooper felt the slings and arrows of a cadre of antisemitic organizations and individuals who found his prosthetic nose to be more than a little insulting.
While some of the backlash was aimed at the portrayal of Bernstein, the Jewish composer of West Side Story and a slew of other iconic musicals, by a non-Jew, the bulk of criticism centered around Cooper’s “Jewface” which pushed an ugly (both physically and metaphorically) convention of Jews as having large hooked noses, a deeply antisemitic cultural stereotype.
“Hollywood cast Bradley Cooper — a non-Jew — to play Jewish legend Leonard Bernstein and stuck a disgusting exaggerated ‘Jew nose’ on him,’” posted StopAntisemitism, an organization aimed at countering antisemitism.
Another poster lashed out about having seen Cooper play the elephant man on Broadway without the use of any prosthetics. “But then he plays a Jew and decides he needs a huge nose?
And one comment pointed out, “He’s the director too so don’t blame anyone else.”
Bradley Cooper
According to The Media Diversity Institute (MDI) website, portraying Jews with large hooked noses had its roots in Nazi propaganda from the 1930s. “It is a technique used to stir up a sense of disgust and repulsion towards Jews, either collectively or individually, and is often found alongside other antisemitic motifs involving money, power, conspiracy and blood.”
MDI goes on to explain that it is virtually impossible to find a single piece of propaganda from the time that does not depict Jews with an exaggeratedly large, grotesque, hooked nose. “It is easy to see how these strikingly evil and sub-human looking images stayed with those who saw them—subtly entrenching the association between Jews and large noses, using this ‘defining characteristic’ to encourage people to identify, and discriminate against Jews.”
There’s an old saying that no press is bad press. But I beg to differ on this one.
Leonard Bernstein
“Maestro” will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September and is expected to have a limited theatrical release on Nov. 22. The question now is how limited this release will be.
by Debra | Aug 15, 2023 | Culture, Israel, Lifestyle, News, Newsflash, Sports
By Debra Rich Gettleman
It was more than exciting that the Makkabi Berlin team, founded by Holocaust survivors made history by winning the Berlin Cup and qualifying for the German Cup this year. Makkabi Berlin is the first Jewish club to participate in the tournament since its inception under the Nazis in 1935.
Wolfsburg’s Joachim Maehle attampts a goal during German Cup match against Makkabi Berlin on Sunday, August 23rd. photo credit: Andreas Gora/dpa via AP
It was a real David v. Goliath story with Makkabi Berlin made up of a bunch of office and part-time workers battling the professional Volkswagen backed Bundesliga team. With one goal ruled out for offside early in the game, and Wolfsburg driving in two goals early in the second half, the dream of a Makkabi upset vanished.
According to Doron Bruck, Makkabi captain, in an AP post game article, “They were better, you have to give respect. And I think we presented ourselves well.” While Bruck is Jewish, the team, proudly displaying the iconic Star of David on their uniforms, boasts a varied and inclusive line-up of players from all backgrounds and religions.
Makkabi was founded back in 1970 by Holocaust survivors and is proud to be the first Jewish club to compete in the German Cup which excluded Jews when the Nazis restructured the competition in the 1930s.
Debra@Jewishlifenow.com
by Debra | Aug 14, 2023 | Arts, Celebrity, Death, Hollywood Shorts, Newsflash
Mark Margolis Has Died at the age of 83.
Your favorite mute gangster, Hector Salamanca, from “Better Call Saul” passed away in a New York hospital on Thursday. Margolis, a veteran Jewish actor, was best known for his post stroke cartel role in “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.” But his acting career spanned decades and included impressive films like “Scarface,” “Arthur,” and the Jim Carrey favorite, “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.”
He was nominated for an Emmy for Salamanca who was a man of few words. Margolis managed to play one of the most unforgettable characters on television in a wheelchair with only a bell as his tool of communication.
The actor modeled the Salamanca character after his mother-in-law, who was unable to speak after suffering from a stroke. He told “Time Magazine” back in 2013, “The fact that he didn’t have words wan not an issue for me.” He went on to say that he was actually delighted not to have to learn lines. Without the pressure of memorizing, Margolis was able to dive deeply into the character of Salamanca.
Born into a Jewish family in Philadelphia on Nov. 26, 1939, Margolis trained under legendary acting teachers including Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg. He appeared in over 50 off-Broadway plays and guest starred in numerous television shows.
Bryan Cranston, Margolis’s co-star on”Breaking Bad,” said in “The Hollywood Reporter,” “He was a really good actor and a lovely human being” who was “fun and engaging off the set,” and who possessed a “mischievous nature and curious mind.”
Margolis will be missed by fans around the world and especially by his wife, Jacqueline; his son Morgan; his brother Jerome Margolis; and three grandsons.
by Debra | Aug 12, 2023 | Celebrity, Culture, Newsflash
photo credit theculturednerd.org
In 1938, Jerry Siegel and JoeShuster, two awkward Jewish teens created the strongest superhero in the multiverse. Superman, aka Kal-El, a Hebrew name for God, emerged during a dark time in Jewish history. World War II and Hitler made Jews feel anything but powerful. So, the fantasy of a Jewish justice warrior on a mission to kick Nazi butts, captured the hearts of Jewish kids everywhere.
By 1940, Superman’s fame had spread across the globe and Siegel and Shuster published a short two-page comic in Look magazine entitled, “How Superman Would End the War.” Bending Nazi cannons into pretzels, downing Luftwaffe from the sky with his bare fists, and dragging Hitler and Stalin by the neck before the League of Nations to stand trial, the one place Superman was not so revered was in the high ranks of the Nazi party.
In fact, several months after the article appeared, the official SS newspaper, Das Schwarze Korps (The Black Corps), published a full-page diatribe, ostensibly written by Joseph Goebbels himself, accusing the man of steel of being the brainchild of a Jewish conspiracy designed to poison the minds of American youth.
Fast forward to present day Hollywood. Wonder Woman Gal Godot is an Israeli megastar and uber handsome good guy, David Corenswet, will be the first Jewish actor to play Superman in a major motion picture, Superman: Legacy.
While Superman’s ideators may not be present on earth to see the first Jewish man of steel on the big screen, Joe Shuster died in 1992, and Jerry Siegel soon followed in 1996. But I think it can be argued that they’re both kicking back and enjoying a bucket of popcorn in their own Fortress of Solitude and kvelling.
by Debra | Aug 11, 2023 | Celebrity, Culture, Hollywood Shorts, Influencer, Influencers, Profiles
Not to diss our religion or anything. But, when I think about beatboxing, scratching, and mic drops, Jews are not the first people who come to mind.
But as today is hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, let’s celebrate the Jews who have had a real impact on the genre.
Here’s the top 10 influential Jewish rappers according to Andrew Esensten’s informal survey in JTA with Eric and Jeff Rosenthal, hip-hop afficionado brothers (aka ItsTheReal) considered the paragon of music storytellers.
The only order for this list is alphabetical.
Beastie Boys
BLP Kosher
Doja Cat
Drake
El-P
Mac Miller
MC Serch
Mike Posner
Shyne
Check out Esenstein’s article at: https://www.jta.org/2023/08/11/culture/the-10-most-influential-jewish-rappers-of-the-past-50-years
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