https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYcx43AmAyY

Here’s the thing: It gives one great hope that one can be, say, an academic, and be portrayed in a film by Rachel Weisz. This isn’t to denigrate Lipstadt’s appearance or Weisz’s acting abilities; they just really don’t look alike. Still, at least Weisz is actually a Jewish woman portraying a Jewish woman.

This got me thinking: Who plays Jewish women in biopics, and what do they look like? I dove down the worst kind of rabbit hole: Wikipedia.

In a list of biopics (film or TV), Jews don’t tend to come up often; we’re a minority, fine. But (with the exception of Holocaust movies, ugh) Jewish women seem to be a rarity, and have films depicting their lives and accomplishments far less frequently than men. Furthermore, the women more often tend to be “glammed up” with their casting. It’s easier to be an accomplished actor without outlying attractiveness if you’re a man, and this is especially clear in biopics.

Male Jewish real-life folks on screen have a range of portrayals— in recent or prominent films depicting Jewish men, we’ve had Peter Sarsgaard as Stanley Milgram, Vincent D’Onofrio as Abbie Hoffman,Kevin Spacey as Jack Abromoff, and Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman. None of these men (actors or subjects) read immediately as heartthrobs, and none of the actors are Jewish. Or, you can have schlubby-coded Jewish men play these roles (very recently, Jonah Hill has portrayed Michael Finkel and Efraim Diveroli).

Occasionally, you can have heartthrobs portray Jewish characters: take Allen Ginsberg, who’s been portrayed by both James Franco  and Daniel Radcliffe (both of Jewish descent).

So what of the ladies?

It’s so hard to find real Jewish women portrayed on screen, particularly as the leads, and especially if you remove Holocaust victims and Biblical characters (enough Christian-made films about Esther. Please).

Somewhat recent Jewish women on film include:

• Keira Knightley as psychoanalyst Sabina Spielrein— Jon Stewart once aptly said of Knightley that she “acts with cheekbones so improbable they were probably sprinkled with God Dust,” though to be fair, this film also cast Viggo Mortensen as Sigmund Freud, so, an upgrade all around.
  
• Helen Mirren has played Ayn Rand. I’m not even going to touch how ludicrous that is.
  
• An upcoming HBO series about the Madoffs (Bernie is Robert De Niro) has Michelle Pfeiffer as Ruth Madoff.

Note that all of these woman are both Hollywood standards of attractive, and also not Jewish. Once again, there are exceptions; Natalie Portman plays Ruth Bader Ginsburg in an upcoming film, and she’s a Jewish actor. And Gertrude Stein has been played by a range of wonderful actors not cut from the Hollywood glamor mold, both Jewish (like Miriam Margolyes) and Gentile (like Kathy Bates). But honestly, the sample size is too small to get any reliable patterns, which in and of itself is telling.

And so, keep an eye out for my next piece: A list of ideas for Jewish female actresses that could easily star in biopics, and ideas for  who they might portray. We need more examples, period.

In the meantime, please comment below, or tweet Jewcy with your own ideas.  Try to keep both actor and subject of Jewish descent, and if possible, avoid movies about sex symbols,  therefore repeating casting the same three gorgeous Hollywood actors. As in, try to resist casting Mila Kunis as Hedy Lamarr, as great as that might be.

Images via YouTube

The post Jewish Women in Biopics? Part 1 appeared first on Jewcy.

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah was full of fantastic films and celebrity appearances. From among the more than 100 movies and countless screenings scheduled, here are the top five Jewish moments:

1. The Way, Way Back (Premieres)

While discussing her role as a water park employee in this hilarious comedy, actress Maya Rudolph said at a Q-and-A session, “I’m usually a funny person, but when it comes to this movie, I’m a kvelling Jew.”

2. Fill the Void (Spotlight)

In this Judaism-centric film from Orthodox director Rama Burshtein, Shira is devastated by the death of her sister during childbirth and must decide whether she wants to marry her widower, a decision which would be acceptable, if the rabbi approves, in her ultra-Orthodox Tel Aviv community.

3. Kill Your Darlings (U.S. Dramatic Competition)

Daniel Radcliffe’s Allen Ginsberg arrives at Columbia University in 1943 and meets his roommate, who asks him, “Are you Jewish? I’m getting really good at being able to tell.” Later, a sexual encounter in the library produces a similar statement from the librarian.

4. Afternoon Delight (U.S. Dramatic Competition)

In Jill Soloway’s first feature-length project, Kathryn Hahn’s Rachel gets drunk while hanging out with her fellow JCC moms and lets slip the derogatory nickname she and her friends have for one especially religious member of their group: Kosher Amanda. When Rachel confronts her later, Amanda tells her that she doesn’t even keep kosher, since she likes cooking and doing so would prevent her from making some of her favorite dishes.

5. Concussion (U.S. Dramatic Competition)

Lesbian mom and new prostitute Abby (Robin Weigert) gets nervous when a client turns out to be someone she knows, citing the fact that she’s on the board of her synagogue as one of her main concerns for being outed.

The post The Top Five Jewish Moments at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival appeared first on Jewcy.

• Behold: Allen Ginsberg’s borscht recipe. [Brain Pickings]

• Looks like bacon isn’t going away anytime soon. [TIME]

• A look at Jeremy Piven as Mr. Selfridge. [Esquire]

• Scroll man Adam Chandler revisits his teenage days, where troublemaking Jewish Texans literally stole Baby Jesuses from front lawns. [Tablet]

• Larry King survived a Twitter death hoax. [Twitter]

• Nick Kroll, aka Ruxin from The League, is one half of PubLIZity, our favorite new fake reality show. The other half? Jenny Slate.

The post Daily Jewce: Allen Ginsberg’s Borscht Recipe, Everyone Still Loves Bacon appeared first on Jewcy.

• Israel has banned underweight models from runways and advertisements, but the specifics of the ban are already proving problematic.

• Allen Ginsberg, for the Harry Potter generation.

• The men of KISS have seen better days.

• Note to self: learn to drive Zamboni, look after children.

The post Daily Jewce: New York and Paris Celebrate Macaron Day as Israel Bans Underweight Models, and more appeared first on Jewcy.

Why wouldn’t Jews want to show their love for America?  Before there was a Jewish homeland, there was the USA with its lack of pogroms, tzars, Hitlers, and other assorted violent Jew haters.  Sure, America has its bigots and antisemites, but it sure beats having to deal with the Cossacks.

The American contribution to the “Great American songbook” is undeniable.  When you look down the list of great American songwriters, it is littered with Jewish names from Tin Pan Alley to the Brill Building songwriters like Burt Bacharach, Leiber & Stoller, and Goffin & King, but instead of writing a long essay about all of those great Jewish American songwriters, we decided that in the spirit of the 4th of July, we would present you with five great songs written by Jews with American in the title. Enjoy the fireworks!

1. Irving Berlin – “God Bless America”

2. Simon & Garfunkel – “America”

3. Neil Diamond – “America”

4. Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) and music by Leonard Bernstein – “America”

5. Allen Ginsberg – “America” (While we realize this is technically a poem, the music is supplied by Tom Waits, thus making it something like a song)

The post The Great American Jewish Songbook appeared first on Jewcy.

• Sarah Palin plans to visit Israel soon.  There will probably be pictures of her riding a camel, and then hunting it.

• A Jewish parents guide to Christmas.

• 25 years after it’s release, Shoah remains the most powerful Holocaust film ever made.
  

• Remember that time Allen Ginsberg forgave Ezra Pound for hating on the Jews?

• Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, except he wasn’t there because, ya know, he’s in prison.

The post Daily Jewce: Palin Going To Israel, Jewish Christmas, Allen Ginsberg Pardoning Ezra Pound And More appeared first on Jewcy.