This is the Forward’s coverage of Jewish culture where you’ll learn about the latest (and sometimes earliest) in Jewish art, music (including of course Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen), film, theater, books as well as the secret Jewish history of…
Culture
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Was ‘North By Northwest’ Alfred Hitchcock’s Secretly Jewish Film?
The character Cary Grant plays in “North by Northwest” is a familiar one in Alfred Hitchcock’s films: An innocent everyman tangled in a web of intrigue that may wind up costing him his life. But the name of this character is different than the typical ones in Hitchcock’s work. He’s not L.B. Jeffries or John…
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The Secret Jewish History Of Roller Derby
Who would have thought that the roller derby, a roughhouse spectacle where skaters elbow and knee each other relentlessly, was really a Peaceable Kingdom of friendly violence and Yiddishkeit? The death in early July at age 87 of the American Jewish entrepreneur Jerry Seltzer, owner and manager of the last touring professional roller derby league,…
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In Chantal Akerman’s Final Work, Two Tragedies Come Into Focus
My Mother Laughs By Chantal Akerman, translated by Corina Copp The Song Cave, $20, 175 pages “What would keep me alive.” It sounds like a question, but it’s not. Even if the punctuation mark were different, no answer would come into focus. It’s not quite a statement, either. The narrator, a woman in her sixties,…
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On Ernest Hemingway’s 120th Birthday, A Look Back At His Anti-Semitism
Editor’s Note: Ernest Hemingway would have turned 120 today. How should we look at his work in light of his Anti-Semitism? Unquestionably, Ernest Hemingway was anti-Semitic. Studded throughout his letters are nasty remarks about Jews. But Hemingway felt his prejudice had a place in his fiction as well, most notably in “The Sun Also Rises,”…
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4 Artists Withdraw From The Whitney Biennial Over Controversial Board Member
Four artists have requested the removal of their work from the Whitney Biennial – a historic and often career-making exhibition of contemporary art – citing their objection to military and police hardware entrepreneur Warren B. Kanders’s position as one of the five vice chairs of the Whitney Museum’s board. “We respectfully ask you to withdraw…
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July 28: San Francisco: SFJFF Closing Reception
San Francisco-area readers: The Forward is heading to the Bay area for the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival! On Sunday, July 28, at the end of a fascinating week of films, join Forward CEO and publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen at a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Castro Theater….
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July 28: Brooklyn: The Heart, Art and Food Of ‘Shtisel’
Calling all fans of “Shtisel”: Join Yiddish Forward Editor Rukhl Schaechter in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn as she leads a discussion called “How ‘Shtisel’ Has Changed the Way We Look at Haredi Jews.” “The Heart, Art and Food of Shtisel” will take place Sunday, July 28 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the…
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Could The ‘Cats’ Movie Design Be Inspired By Chagall’s Creepy Kittens?
To paraphrase the blockbuster musical “Cats,” Jellicles can and Jellicles do. But should they have? A trailer for “Cats” the movie, director Tom Hooper’s latest cinematic vivisection of a popular musical, was unleashed upon an innocent public July 18. It is notable for its familiar Andrew Lloyd Webber score, A-List talent and its Doctor Moreau-esque…
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Theater Michael Tilson Thomas, Conductor And Yiddish Theater Scion, To Receive Kennedy Center Honor
The Kennedy Center Honors announced July 18 that it would recognize a member of Yiddish Theater royalty. Michael Tilson Thomas, the longtime music director of the San Francisco Symphony and an 11-time Grammy winner, will receive the prestigious award at a ceremony to be broadcast December 15. Thomas is a veteran maestro, pianist and composer…
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Seth And Mark Rogen To Be Honored At Workmen’s Circle Benefit
This year’s Workmen’s Circle benefit will be a father-son affair. On July 18, the Workmen’s Circle, the historic Jewish social justice group, announced it would be honoring non-profit professional Mark Rogen and his son, actor Seth Rogen, with the organization’s Generation to Generation Activism Award. “From the moment we met Mark and Seth Rogen, we…
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12 Overlooked Jewish Films That You Can Stream For Free
The Internet is filled with oddities and lost gems. We took a dive into YouTube and found that some of the most interesting Jewish films are out there. And you can watch them right now. 1) The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz Ted Kotcheff’s 1974 screen adaptation of Mordechai Richler’s classic coming-of-age novel starred a young…
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