Inside Out, Outside In: On-Screen Representations of Jews and Jewishness
Dr. Stewart J. Brookes — Lyell Fellow in Latin Palaeography at the Bodleian Library and Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford — explores the ways in which Jews and Jewishnesses have been represented and self-represented, in film and television.
This lecture explores the ways in which Jews and Jewishnesses have been represented and self-represented, in film and television. Historically, such identifications have relied on allusion to ethnicity, stereotyping and coded references. In recent years, however, these depictions have become more sophisticated, so we not only see Jewishness being used to draw attention to difference and to investigate notions of belonging and exclusion, but also to explore Jewish identities that are complex and even in conflict with themselves. Perhaps most surprising, and most intriguing, is the application of “Jewish” sensibilities and religious customs to ostensibly non-Jewish characters. At a time when there are strong on-screen Jewish characters, it would seem that there remains an interest in depicting an underground, unacknowledged, Jewishness.
About the speaker
Stewart J. Brookes is the Lyell Fellow in Latin Palaeography at the Bodleian Library and a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. His research interests include representations of Jews in medieval literature, adaptations of the Bible in the early medieval period, and palaeography.