The Schmooze lies at the intersection of high and low culture. Here, the latest developments and trends in Jewish art, books, dance, film, music, media, television and theater are all assimilated into one handy pop culture blog.
The Schmooze
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The Day Captain America Became a Nazi and the Internet Exploded
The comic book-reading part of the Internet convulsed earlier this week when the first volume of the new Captain America series, “Captain America: Steve Rogers No. 1,” included a controversial twist that (spoiler), Captain America is actually a member of evil organization Hydra. Bloggers and commenters were quick to note that this wasn’t just objectionable…
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Amy Schumer Gets ‘Katfished’ by Jake Gyllenhaal, and It Is Glorious
For fans of MTV, there is no reality show more Millennial than “Catfish,” where naive young adults seek the help of host Nev Schulman to track down people they are in online relationships with, but who they have never met. The show takes itself very seriously. Amy Schumer does not. Schumer’s “Inside Amy Schumer” parody…
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At Age 96, Henry Heimlich Saves a Life With His Heimlich Maneuver
In his career as a chest surgeon, Henry Heimlich invented techniques and devices that have saved thousands of lives, but it’s only as a near-centenarian he’s used the most famous – the Heimlich maneuver – to save one of his own. The 96-year-old Cincinnati resident recently performed the maneuver in his senior living center, where…
The Latest
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WATCH: Adam Sandler and Jimmy Fallon Dedicate Song to the Troops on ‘Tonight Show’
In honor of Fleet Week and just days before Memorial Day, Adam Sandler joined Jimmy Fallon for a twang-infused performance of “Friends on All Bases,” a patriotic parody of “Friends in Low Places,” to an audience full of servicemen and -women. View post on imgur.com Donning cowboy hats as a banner of the American flag…
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Neo-Nazis Salute ‘Aryan Goddess’ Taylor Swift
(JTA) — Taylor Swift may look every bit the all-American girl-next-door, but according to white supremacists, she’s actually a Nazi at heart, feeding her legions of followers racist messages coated in the saccharine lyrics and sick beats of Grammy-winning songs. The Vice blog Broadly explored the extent and origins of that conspiracy theory in a…
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Raise a Glass to Manischewitz on #NationalWineDay
Adulthood: when you stop dreading Passover Seders because you have to wait to eat, and start looking forward to them because of those famous four cups of wine. It’s National Wine Day today, giving us a great reason to raise a glass to Manischewitz, the sickly-sweet concoction that is, more often than not, the contents…
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In a Haifa Hair Salon, Arab and Jewish-Israeli Women Bond Over Shampoo
(JTA) — Jewish-Arab coexistence in Israel has never looked so sudsy. The New York Times opinion section on Tuesday featured part of “Women in Sink,” a short documentary set in a Christian-Arab hair salon in Haifa. The Jewish-Israeli filmmaker, Iris Zaki, wrote in the short essay accompanying the video that she initially set out to…
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Will Elsa Get a Girlfriend on ‘Frozen’? Idina Menzel All In for Lesbian Love Story
Idina Menzel said she is totally on board with a campaign to give her “Frozen” character a female love interest. “I think it’s great,” the Jewish actress and singer told Entertainment Today on Sunday. “Disney’s just gotta contend with that. I’ll let them figure that out.” Fans of the musical hit have urged Disney to…
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Jewish ‘Game of Thrones’ Show Runners Apologize For the Horrible Jokes Their Latest Death Inspired
“Game of Thrones” fans, beware. Spoilers below. Just when you thought HBO’s “Game of Thrones” couldn’t possibly surprise viewers any more, Jewish producers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff go ahead and kill off Hodor, perhaps the sweetest, most harmless character in the show’s history. For years, the two have been unapologetically decapitating, dismembering, drawing, quartering,…
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Rabbi’s Great-Granddaughter Who Starred in ‘Curly Sue’ Wins ‘The Voice’
The big winner in last night’s “The Voice” finale was none other than the beloved Jewish former child star-turned-singer Alisan Porter. Best known for her adorable role as the title character in the 1991 Jim Belushi hit “Curly Sue,” the 34-year-old mother of two helped make “Voice” history when her coach, Christina Aguilera, became the…
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‘Game of Thrones’ Welcomes Israeli Actress-Singer Ania Bukstein
Russian-Israeli actress Ania Bukstein recently joined the cast of the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones.” Bukstein, a Moscow native who immigrated to Israel at 8, plays Red Priestess Kinvara, debuting on the episode that aired Sunday night. Bukstein, 33, is a household name in Israel for roles in shows and movies such as “Rabies,”…
Most Popular
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Opinion I’m a Jew of color. Ta-Nehisi Coates can’t apply US lessons to Israel.
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Culture Columbus may have had Jewish heritage — that doesn’t mean he was Jewish
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Culture Why Doug Emhoff shared his bar mitzvah with a guy named Scott
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Opinion Take it from someone who’s both Black and Jewish: Ta-Nehisi Coates weaponizes race to spread antisemitism
In Case You Missed It
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Looking Forward Sinwar, Sukkot and what Netanyahu needs to do now
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Culture Why we should listen to Ta-Nehisi Coates even if we may disagree with him
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Sports The Jewish NBA players to watch as the 2024-2025 season tips off
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Fast Forward Will Sinwar’s death end the Gaza war? The US hopes so, but Hamas and Netanyahu say they’ll keep fighting.
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