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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Fast Forward Janet Malcolm, who challenged and changed journalism, dies at 86
Janet Malcolm, the legendary writer whose seminal books on journalism and psychoanalysis influenced generations of reporters, died Wednesday at the age of 86. Her daughter, Anne Malcolm, told The New York Times that the cause was lung cancer. Malcolm, who began a long career at The New Yorker in 1963 and whose books delved into…
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Culture From the time of Torah to TikToks, 10 of Judaism’s best dads
“Fiddler on the Roof” is unequivocal: It is the father’s lot to, day and night, scramble for a living, feed a wife and children, say his daily prayers and have the final word at home. Well, things have changed for most of us since shtetl days — a net positive — but Papas are still…
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Culture What if ‘Call Me By Your Name’ was French? (And less Jewish)
François Ozon’s “Summer of 85,” which hit the Jewish film festival circuit earlier this year, seems like a coup for any lineup: a sumptuous period piece that competed at Cannes and isn’t about the Holocaust should be opening night material. But what makes it Jewish? The film, which comes to cinemas in New York and…
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Culture Ferris Bueller turns 35 — and I still hate him
I had a friend from camp who loved Ferris Bueller and lived by the Tao of his maxim: “Life moves pretty fast if you don’t stop to look around once in a while.” The friend’s name was, funnily enough, Cameron. Cameron (the person, not the character in the film) made friends easily, had a Hebrew…
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Culture Your Jewish guide to Pride 2021
We are officially in Pride Month, and this year, with the return of some in-person events, it feels particularly festive. Yes, we’re still not through with the pandemic, but in-person Pride Shabbatot on sunny beaches, special seminars and yes, even parades are back on. And there are also still plenty of virtual options, offering the…
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Culture ‘Loki’ is Kafkaesque in a way we don’t usually see
In the first episode of “Loki,” the titular God of Mischief learns what Kafka proposed long ago: the world is controlled not by deities and strongmen, but by the soft totalitarianism of paper pushers. Trapped in the municipal-looking headquarters of the TVA (Time Variance Authority — any resemblance to DMV seems thuddingly intentional), Loki encounters…
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Culture Simone Biles’ GOAT leotard has a biblical precedent
Simone Biles is not being humble with her latest fashion statement — and who could blame her? The gymnast has 30 Olympic medals and continues to push her sport, and seemingly the laws of physics, to new heights. Because of her mastery, she has been called the GOAT, Greatest of All Time, and was recently…
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Theater Stephen Tobolowsky has a Talmud story to tell you
For over a decade Stephen Tobolowsky has been sharing stories. Have you heard the one about his Talmud collection? The 70-year-old actor, known for his turns as a folksy insurance salesman in “Groundhog Day” and a hapless tech sociopath in “Silicon Valley,” has written two books, hosts a podcast and is now debuting an audio…
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