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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Film & TV Why Heschel’s example was the exception, not the rule
Far too often, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel is used to justify an attitude he never held: complacency. Whenever there is a civil rights anniversary or friction in white Jewish and Black relations, Heschel, a leading rabbinical luminary in the mid-century, is the go-to stand-in for the entire Jewish community. His march through Selma with Martin…
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Culture Yes, Dr. Seuss wrote racist books. He still has things to teach us.
Update March 2, 2021: This article has been updated to reflect news that six of Dr. Seuss’ books will no longer be published because they “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.” My first introduction to fascism was the tin-pot dictator of Sala-ma-Sond. Yertle the Turtle, the king of a “nice little pond,”…
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Culture ‘Borat’ wins big and Aaron Sorkin quotes Abbie Hoffman at the Golden Globes
The Golden Globes were very nice for Borat, and not bad for those of us who like his brand of second-hand embarrassment. Sacha Baron Cohen, who whiffed earlier in the evening for Best Supporting Actor in “The Trial of the Chicago 7” had a major comeback at the end of the ceremony. “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”…
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Culture Ted Cruz quotes Mel Gibson — I mean William Wallace — at CPAC
Ted Cruz is once again having a totally normal one. After the latest in a series of questionable Hollywood metaphors — this time invoking “Star Wars” — the senator from Texas wrapped a speech at CPAC by invoking the immortal death cry of Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace. Really, he was just quoting Mel Gibson,…
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Culture Dropping Potato Head’s ‘Mr.’ doesn’t erase the brand’s Jewish roots
The discourse boiled over Thursday with the announcement that Mr. Potato Head products would be rebranded as the gender neutral “Potato Head.” Knowing that potato plants are hermaphroditic anyway, I welcome this inclusive marketing change. But let’s hash out one thing: I would like for Potato Head to still be Jewish. Yes, Mr. Potato Head…
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Culture The obvious biblical beef with the Golden Trump
Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, two men were seen hauling a gold statue of Donald Trump through the Hyatt Regency Orlando lobby. Clergy, coreligionists and people with eyes for easy metaphors all asked: Where’s the beef? The golden calf jokes aren’t subtle and wry when they make it all obvious like that https://t.co/mNQzwjgGsh…
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Culture Klingon Hanukkah and ‘Rugrats’ Purim — our wish list for Paramount+’s reboots
Mere weeks after a Super Bowl ad showed Jeff Probst, Dora the Explorer and DJ Khaled summiting a twisted Mount Olympus of mixed intellectual property, the forthcoming Paramount+ platform has announced more familiar faces coming to its streaming lineup. Because there is nothing new under the sun, we’ll be graced with a fresh take on…
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Culture In Tel Aviv, racial privilege gets a second look
We’ve seen this before. A street scene. A young man finds his stolen bike and calls the police. They ask him to find the thief and he thinks he does. Within minutes, the life of a Black person is destroyed. It could be cellphone footage from anywhere in America. But it happened in Israel. “White…
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