Jewish Film

I enjoyed both of the short films we watched in class – “The Unchosen Ones” and “The Tribe.” Both films were very different yet similar in ways. Both films used a narrator to portray the film. For example, in “The Unchosen Ones,” the narrator was Dudik, the camera man. In a way he was a hidden narrator and the film is seen through his perspective. In “The Tribe,” the male narrator is invisible and unlike Dudik, he is reciting historical facts. Nevertheless, both films got its point across regardless of the prescience of voice. In my opinion Iris Bahr is very creative in that she played most of the characters in the film, illustrating various voices and images. I found this film to be funny because it portrayed various Jewish stereotypes including the typical American Jewish girl, a British TV person, and a typical Israeli. The film takes place in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and has a happy ending. Samantha (the typical American Jewish girl) finds love with the narrator/camera man, Dudik. “The Tribe” was a documentary like film that that seemed a bit disorganized and random. Despite its randomness, it was very interesting and I did not find myself bored. Before this film I was not aware that Barbie was invented by a Jewish woman. It is interesting that the creator, Ruth Handler, depicts Barbie as an Aryan idea of beauty which breaks Jewish stereotypes. Similarly, both films use the idea of Jewish stereotypes. The movie said that when someone says you don’t look Jewish, people sometimes take it as a compliment. I have heard this saying before in real life and it is interesting to see that people take it as a compliment. Why don’t people like to look Jewish? People probably don’t like to look Jewish because it is often associated with certain negative stereotypes. These stereotypes are not portrayed in Barbie because she has a perfect figure with blonde hair and blue eyes.