PJ Grisar is a Forward culture reporter. He can be reached at [email protected] and @pjgrisar on Twitter.
PJ Grisar
By PJ Grisar
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Culture 14 films to watch for Pride
It’s a Pride Month like no other. The Trump administration revoked Obama-era health care protections for transgender patients. At the same time, the Supreme Court made a historic ruling in defense of queer people’s right to employment. JK Rowling has decided to pen a manifesto insisting on the saliency of “biological sex” — to the…
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Culture From Pinter to Ben Gurion and back again: The Jewish history of Ian Holm
For a Christian Brit of Scottish stock, Sir Ian Holm’s long career had a lot to do with Jerusalem. The actor, who passed away June 19 at the age of 88, was nominated for an Oscar for his role as the coach to a Jewish runner in “Chariots of Fire,” a film that takes its…
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Culture The Secret Jewish History of Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Lynn, the songstress who boosted British troops’ morale through much of the 20th century, has died at 103. Best remembered for singing “We’ll Meet Again,” Lynn was the “Forces’ Sweetheart” for delivering reminders of the white cliffs of Dover to far off shores. Oftentimes, her crooned postcards for King and Country were penned…
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Culture Why Roy Cohn, a bully and coward, was also a victim
In 1988, Ivy Meeropol and her father, Michael, visited Washington, DC to see the massive AIDS quilt that covered the National Mall. The first panel they saw belonged to the man who sentenced Michael’s parents to death: “Roy Cohn,” it read in cut fabric letters, “Bully, Coward, Victim.” “It was the first I thought about…
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Culture Why are celebrities sharing a 30-year-old clip of Louis Farrakhan?
Update, June 17, 11:58 a.m.: Chelsea Handler has removed the clip of Louis Farrakhan from her Instagram profile. Jameela Jamil called him an “extraordinary man.” Jessica Chastain and Chelsea Handler said his words were “powerful.” Minister Louis Farrakhan must be pretty pleased with his reception. In a landscape where influencers and celebrities are scrambling to…
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Culture Why this Bloomsday is different from the rest
Now more than ever Leopold Bloom’s mundane day thrills with danger. While the protagonist of James Joyce’s “Ulysses” notoriously did very little, his every action — drinking at a pub; traipsing through Dublin; dining with his uncle at a hotel — now presents us with certain pandemic-related risks. Should we emulate Bloom as many bibliophiles…
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Culture Who would win in a Ted Cruz-Ron Perlman showdown?
Somehow it’s come to this. There’s a global pandemic, nationwide demonstrations against racism, and in the middle of it all, a sitting U.S. senator has challenged “Hellboy” actor Ron Perlman to a wrestling match. Monday morning, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), mad over an earlier spat between Perlman and Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), let loose on…
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Culture The ‘Fawlty Towers’ episode skewering Nazis deserves to be preserved
John Cleese can now boast that his little sitcom about a seaside hotel is a cultural lightning rod on the level of “Gone with the Wind.” Late last week, the BBC-owned streaming service UKTV removed a 1975 episode of “Fawlty Towers” for racial slurs, including the N-word and the British epithet “wog.” Cleese, the show’s…
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Film & TV In unheard recordings, Andy Kaufman emerges — a kinder, gentler soul than you may expect, or hope to see
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Opinion As fires burn in L.A., has Trump found his Reichstag fire moment?
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