You may have missed a fascinating obituary from last week: that of Sheila Michaels, the feminist and civil rights activist who is credited for propagating the use of the honorific “Ms.” Outside of this news-making accomplishment, her life was fascinating, from being expelled from college in part due to her outspoken anti-segregationist views, to working as a cabdriver, to becoming a restaurateur. The New York Times piece adds a lot of color and detail in a short amount of space to the life of an amazing woman. But there’s one glaring omission: Michaels was Jewish.

…

Jewcy is on a summer residency! To read this piece, and our others for July and August 2017, go to our big sister site, Tablet Magazine!

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Brazilian director Héctor Eduardo Babenco died on Wednesday of a heart attack. Babenco, 70, was the first Latin American nominated for Best Director at the Oscars, for his film Kiss of the Spider Woman. (His other most famous films were probably Pixote and Ironweed.)

While Babenco was an international director based in Brazil, he was born and raised in Argentina. His mother, Janka Haberberg, was a Jewish immigrant from Poland. His father, Jaime, was a gaucho (cowboy) of Ukrainian origin (it seems unclear whether or not he was Jewish as well).

The New York Times completely failed to mention Babenco’s Jewishness in their obituary. What a surprise.

This isn’t to say that Babenco had a strong affinity with his identity. If he did, he didn’t speak publicly about it or include it in his work. His 1991 drama At Play in the Fields of the Lord was critical of Christianity, though being critical of systems of power was a theme in much of his work, from prisons to economic oppression. In his spot in the 2014 religious anthology film Words with Gods (Israeli director Amos Gitai did another segment), Babenco opted to explore Umbanda, a syncretic Brazilian tradition.

Babenco’s legacy continued in at least one other Jewish art form: Kiss of the Spider Woman was eventually adapted into a musical by powerhouse (Jewish) writing team John Kander and Fred Ebb.

Whether or not Babenco was influenced by his Jewish heritage isn’t an answerable question, but what we did have was a brilliant director, who was Jewish in origin, who through his work was always questioning, taking risks, facing injustice. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but it’s a resonant one at the least.

The entirety of Kiss of the Spider Woman (the 1985 film) is actually on YouTube, and you can watch it below:

Thanks to film archivist Harry Eskin for his valuable input for this piece.

Image Credit:Wikimedia

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In honor of Yom Ha’atzmaut, check out The New York Times’ coverage of the proclamation of the State of Israel from May 15, 1948. The story occupies most of the front page, under the headline “Zionists Proclaim New State of Israel; Truman Recognizes it and Hopes for Peace.”

Correspondent Gene Currivan (who, incidentally, also covered the liberation of Buchenwald three years prior) eloquently captures the joyous “fever of nationalism” in Tel Aviv:

In one of the most hopeful periods of their troubled history the Jewish people here gave a sigh of relief and took a new hold on life when they learned that the greatest national power had accepted them into the international fraternity…

There was great cheering and drinking of toasts in this blacked-out city when word was received that the United States had recognized the provincial Government. The effect on the people, especially those drinking late in Tel Aviv’s coffee houses, was electric. They even ran into the blackness of the streets shouting, cheering and toasting the United States.

Read the full article here.

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James Franco likes to be many things to many people, hence his diverse array of career accomplishments. Although many teenage girls and Hollywood funny men love Franco, most art critics take a strong disliking towards his masterpieces.

Most recently, NY Mag’s Vulture published a piece by Jerry Saltz entitled, “At This Point, George W. Bush Is Actually a Better Artist Than James Franco.” How’s that for a mouthful, huh? Saltz gives Franco his due (sort of) by acknowledging his acting prowess in Springbreakers and 127 hours, but thinks his recent Pace Gallery “New Film Stills” show is completely horrendous. Besides that, he notes one of the reasons Pace welcomes such “art” is due to corporate merchandising and the growth of Pace’s desire for publicity.

Franco’s show is inspired by Cindy Sherman’s 1977-80 “Film Stills,” which have been replicated numerously throughout the art community.

Saltz elaborates on the originality of it all, “By now hundreds of young artists have riffed on the “Film Stills.” It’s almost required in art schools; It’s one of the most predictable holding patterns in all of art. I always tell students who do Sherman remakes, “Cool. Get them out of your system, then get back to work, and don’t show these to anyone. It’s just you masturbating and may mean you’re not meant to be an artist.”

This review comes in the wake of other reviews cast for Franco’s Broadway production, Of Mice and Men. Most notably, the New York Times review by Ben Brantley, in which the critic wrote, “The presentation is lucid, stately and neutral. Such traits might make this revival an excellent audiovisual aid for middle-school instructors who are teaching Steinbeck’s novella.”

He also notes both lead characters, Franco and Chris O’Dowd’s “heartthrob” status, suggesting that the excitement that roars from anyone in the crowd is exactly the result of that “celebritism” (I made up a word), and not so much the actors’ talents in their current roles.

James Franco took to his Instagram–he literally posts 5 times a day–to voice his discontent with Brantley, calling the writer “a little bitch” and claiming that the whole theater community hates him.The 36-year-old polymath has quite the ego, but we should give him some credit for attempting to excel in so many different artistic mediums. Most people choose one or two. But, alas, we shouldn’t over praise. The whole Instagram date with a 17-year-old still rings creepy AF. Also, it was likely a publicity stunt, knowing Franco’s antics, which may make the whole thing even worse?

(Image: Getty)

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Oh, The New York Times wedding announcements, a celebration of the lasting bliss for those who’ve found true love, and fodder for wannabe brides’ entertainment. But, as it turns out, it’s also a telling database filled with words and phrases that revealed matrimony trends since the early 1980s when explored by Todd Schneider, a computer programmer at Rap Genius.

Schneider used over 60,000 wedding and engagement announcements to document the changing patterns of New York nuptials, which complement current events and population changes. For example, since the financial crisis of 2008, there have been fewer mentions of investment banks, but more mentions of hedge funds. And when the city’s Indian population increased by 118 percent in the 1990s, Hindu marriages rose, while WASP mentions declined. But Jewish weddings— measured by the popular surnames of Cohen, Rosenberg, and Goldberg—have remained prevalent in the announcements.

L’chaim!

When Harvard Met Sally: N-gram Analysis of the New York Times Weddings Section [Rap Genius]

(Photo by Mila Supinskaya/Shutterstock)

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BuzzFeed’s Andrew Kaczynski brings to our attention one of the greatest New York Times corrections in recent history:

Amazing NY Times correction. twitter.com/BuzzFeedAndrew…

— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) November 8, 2012

Look, we’ll totally take him, but he should probably change E Street to J Street.

Bruce Springsteen Isn’t Jewish, But the Times Thinks He Is [Daily Intel]

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• Lena Dunham forgot her pants again. Instead, she got a $1 million book deal.

• Brooklyn native Barbra Streisand says playing at the Barclays Center is a homecoming for her.

• Being a Jew in China means everyone assumes you’re good with money.

• Jewish Jocks, a new book edited by Frank Foer and friend-of-Jewcy Marc Tracy, was deemed ‘highbrow brilliant’ by the New York Magazine approval matrix.

• The world came full circle when Jerry Seinfeld wrote to the New York Times to criticize an opinion column hating on the word ‘really.’

• Rashida Jones impersonates a Jewish grandmother and does a German accent on Conan:

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This weekend’s New York Times Sunday Book Review included an interview with Joan Rivers, in which we learn that the 79-year-old Jewish comedian is an avid reader and knows her way around European History. She is also as sharp as ever, taking shots at Anna Wintour, Leo Tolstoy, and of course, herself.

Here are Rivers’ five best quotes, entirely context free, from the interview:

1. “The other book is The Idiot’s Guide to Osteoporosis. I don’t read this one too often, as every time I pick it up my wrist snaps.”

2. “And let’s not forget Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator, which is based on the Anna Wintour biography.”

3. “The funniest in person but rather boring on the page is, hands down, Leo Tolstoy. If I hear one more time: ‘How many czars does it take to change a light bulb? None; they didn’t have them in those days,’ I think I’ll scream!”

4. “The writer I would love to meet the most is God. I’ve been a huge fan of his work since the Ten Commandments. I’d like to know what influenced his font choice and why he engraved in stone and not silver.”

5. “What’s the one book you wish someone else would write?”

“Stephen Hawking Explains Both the Universe and Bad Fashion Choices.”

Previously: Happy 79th Birthday, Joan Rivers

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In the New York Times this weekend, Mark Oppenheimer profiled Ort, the 26-year-old behind the website KosherStarbucks.com, which is exactly what it sounds like: a Starbucks trayf-o-meter.

Ort used to be a Dunkin Donuts guy, until a trip to Israel introduced him to the world of strong coffee (sounds like we stayed in the same Bedouin tent). America may run on Dunkin, but Israel evidently does not. Soon addicted to the Seattle-based coffee overlord’s offerings, Ort started the site in 2007 with his brother to keep track of what kosher-keeping Jews could and could not imbibe.

It’s more complicated than you may think. Oppenheimer explains:

Coffee beans and hot water are kosher: they do not run afoul of the biblical prohibitions against foods like pork and shellfish. But Starbucks does offer such items, for instance, breakfast sandwiches with ham. And the carafes, knives and other implements can commingle in Starbucks sinks and washing machines, which means particles from, say, a nonkosher smoothie mix can contaminate a spoon used to skim the foam off a latte.

The site uses the basic, if not very Jewish, green and red color-coded system as a guideline for consumers. Sadly, every single Frappucino is marked red (If only this was around in time to save Zoolander’s male models). The surprise kosher item on the Starbucks menu? The festive Eggnog Latte (though Ort recommends you check the eggnog certification). Here’s a sampling of Ort’s findings:

Guzzle away: Iced Coffee, Cappuccino, Caffe Misto, Cold Apple Juice (children’s menu), Espresso, all Tazo tea varieties, Orange Mango Vivanno Smoothie (protein power NOT recommended), Hot Chocolate, Gingerbread Latte (so you can fit in around Christmas).

Trayf alert: Frappucinos (that includes fan favorites Caramel, Java Chip, Peppermint Mocha, and even Pumpkin Spice), Strawberry Vivanno Smoothie, White Hot Chocolate, Caramel Macchiato, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Skinny Caramel Macchiato.

So go forth, kosher-keeping brethren, and patronize your local Starbucks chain. Just stay away from the Frappucinos (you’ll thank us later).

(Art by Margarita Korol)

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Susan Freeman and Gabriel Kaufman are getting married this evening in Washington.  We’re sure they’ll be a happy couple.  We’re also happy that they’re continuing the tradition of joining together Jewish families, that when combined, sound like fantastic law firms.

Freeman and Kaufman: We get your money.

or

Kaufman & Freeman : We will sue for you.

or

Maybe add a Shapiro to it: Kaufman, Freeman and Shapiro: You won’t go to jail.

Sure, gentiles have Crockett & Tubbs, Cagney & Lacey, Hardcastle & McCormick; and we’re totally happy about those great goyish icons of 80s television, but do they sound like good teams of litigators?  No way.

Thanks Gabriel and Susan for continuing this great tradition.

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