Posted on 12/02/2009 1:58:14 PM PST by Nachum
Jenny: Oh, and by the way ... Davids a Jew, a wandering Jew. So watch yourself.
We were only 15 minutes into the film and this was the second reference to the Wandering Jew, an age-old, European anti-Semitic stereotype. The British coming-of-age film, An Education, had gotten rave reviews, yet the more I watched, the more the character of David Goldman resembled the parasitical Jew of Der Ewige Juden (The Eternal Jew) one of the infamous 1930s Nazi propaganda films
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishjournal.com ...
My grandmother has a plant called a Wandering Jew. It’s a nice looking plant.
Used to have a jewfish here in Florida. Thats not PC so now they are called Goliath Grouper. Things get to about 800 pounds.
(look out for the Wandering Jew!)
Funny that. I never thought that the wandering Jew theme was particularly anti-semitic. Nor is it very well known anymore.
The Nazi film is very obscure.
Far more pertinent was Eugene Sues very popular 19th century anticlerical novel of that name, where the “Jew” in question (there are two of them in fact) are benevolent characters.
This is a nifty idea. My standard response to being called "racist" is to call that person a child molester. I think that I might try yours the next time it happens.
Mark
There’s one in the Key West Aquarium, called jewfish.
I was diving once and had one sneak up on me. I turned to see it about two feet from me. massive eyes and mouth. darn thing was probably the size of a small car
I’m British and I’ve never heard of this.
Funny that. I never thought that the wandering Jew theme was particularly anti-semitic. Nor is it very well known anymore.
I didn't take many history courses in college -- back in the pre-PC early 80s -- and even I've heard of it. The "wandering jew" is a pretty well-known anti-semitic tradition, not exactly obscure if you've done any reading on WWII Germany and European anti-semitism, or are familiar with European 18-19th century literature. The old Soviet version of it was ""bezrodniy kosmopolit," or "rootless coasmopolitan." Same idea, same underlying nastiness.
The Nazi film is very obscure.
A lot less obscure to me than the British film the reviewer was criticizing. Never seen all of Der Ewige Juden, but if you've watched just one ducumentary on WWII that deals with Nazi anti-jewish propaganda you've probably seen clips from it (as I have).
Far more pertinent was Eugene Sues very popular 19th century anticlerical novel of that name, where the Jew in question (there are two of them in fact) are benevolent characters.
As for pertinence, I think it important to note that the reviewer isn't trying to lecture us on motifs in the 19th century novel.
He's using the term "wandering jew" as shorthand for a popular anti-semitic stereotype that portrays jews, as per the old Soviet term, as rootless cosmopolitans who have no loyalties to -- and are destructive to -- the community within which, and the individuals with whom, they live.
If the reviewer's excerpts from the film are accurate, then I'd say that it does appear that the film is playing around with fairly straightforward anti-semitic stereotypes. Whether the "playing around" is critical of the stereotypes, or is using them for evil ends, can only be determined by watching the film.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.