#cw: representations of antisemitism

[roskirambles]

Horror Movie of the Day: The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol, 1969)

Content warning: Antisemitism.

Karel Kopfrkingl works for a crematorium in Prague during the raise of World War II as the support for Hitler raises. He’s obsessed with an idyllic interpretation of Tibetan Buddhism that has been tainted with German fascism, as he now believes incinerating the dead is the means of freeing their souls. And now a former soldier and comrade of his called Reinke is slowly pulling him into the party, thus helping him grow in status. If you put two and two together, it shouldn’t be hard to see where this is going. And it's as horrifying as what it doesn't show.

Based on the novel by Ladislav Fuks (and adapted to the screen by his own hand), there's a playful wickedness to this Czech film like only Eastern European cinema could pull off. Being completely seen from the point of view of Karel, the movie is full of these self aggrandizing monologues of poetic language where he boldly proclaims his ideals, passions, piousness, allegiances and love for his family.

Yet, the camera betrays his words with a different tale: one full of hypocrisy, poorly masked sexual obscenity, callousness, depraved obsession and a descent into increasingly violent madness. Karel isn’t just burning bodies, he’s becoming the reason they end in the oven to begin with. Whatever kindness he may had is being slowly replaced by ideological poison, against his own blood even, the film begging you to read between lines to see the full disturbing picture beneath it's faux elegant framing and incongruously placid music.

Besides the deeply uncomfortable subject matter, if there’s a barrier of entry here that has to be the visual language being akin to an art film for a large chunk of the first half. If you can put up with it, however, the morbid comedy and horrifying glimpses into the mind of a depraved man can be captivating in the best/worst way.

[bossymarmalade]

the rest of Ari Richter's comic here on Hyperallergic

[wahlpaper]

Thistlefoot Review

Thistlefoot by GennaRose NetherCott

CW: Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Death, Genocide, Self-harm, Suicidal Ideation, Swearing, Toxic Parental Relationship, Money Problems, Homelessness, Possession, Child Death, Drinking, Blackmail, Gore, PTSD, Self Loathing

5/5

I have found in my attempts at using dating apps that the media/entertainment recommendations of my matches tend to stick with me a lot longer than the people do. I say this to be funny, not for pity. Months ago I matched with a book-loving girl who gave me the perfect book rec. I told her about my blog being Queer and Jewish-based, and she immediately suggested Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott. It took a while for it to get to me on Libby, but it was absolutely worth the wait!

Thistlefoot is about two magical siblings, Isaac and Bellatine Yaga. They are left a living house from their great-great-grandmother, Baba Yaga. Isaac and Bellatine are young adults now and haven't seen each other in 6 years. They don't trust each other, but they're willing to work out what to do with the house. Isaac has some debts he wants to clear and Bellatine wants the freedom that comes with a house that can walk. So they decide to continue their family business of puppet shows for one year, adding a stage to the house. Unfortunately, the house wasn't the only thing Baba Yaga left them. The past is coming back through an old enemy who wants the house destroyed.

Folklore, the past, and the concept that the body remembers trauma are all very important to Thistlefoot. Nethercott did a lot of research on folklore while writing the book. She looked into her Russian roots and quite a lot of American stories. She incorporated as much as she could into the book and wrote her own in as well. Folklore also affected how the story was told. Most books in third person have a narrative to explain what's happening outside of dialogue, but it's rare for them to feel like a character. In Thistlefoot, you aren't just reading a story, you're being told one. Perhaps it's Nethercott inserting herself into the story. Throughout, you also get interjections from Thistlefoot, the house, as she tells you interesting, but misleading information about the past.

I absolutely loved the experience of reading Thistlefoot. I didn't really know what was going to happen as I went through, even down to the last page. Every bit of the present, past, and history unfolded when the time was right. The story centers on a group that doesn't want to care about each other, but can't help themselves. Isaac and Bellatine are joined by a musical trio that just wants to fix the world and a girl that Bellatine brings to life with her animation powers. Basically, everyone has something about themselves that they aren't sharing, and that absolutely includes the house. Some pieces are revealed more cinematically than others, but they all contribute to why this book is so popular.

Despite the fact that Baba Yaga is not traditionally Jewish, I think it was a smart move to make that her religion. Russia's history of pogroms and antisemitism plays an important role in the story. There are many happier aspects of Judaism incorporated as well, such as traditional names, the use of Yiddish, and a shofar. Alongside the Jewish representation is queer representation. Bellatine has a romance with another woman, Baba Yaga was happier as a widow than married, Isaac had complex feelings for his best friend, and Sparrow the musician is non-binary. More diversity than this is included in Thistlefoot, making the book that much more relatable.

Nethercott spins an epic tale and race against time in Thistlefoot. If you're looking for a cinematic book that you can feel like a part of, I highly recommend this one. Puppetry, folklore, and memory come together to tell a tale you won't forget!

[shyjusticewarrior]

Just found out that David Mazouz, the actor that played Bruce in Gotham, almost didn't get the job because a Fox executive thought he looked "too jewy" and they straightened his hair to make him look less Jewish in the show.

[genngraymane]

You don’t actually care for the Ruby Rose Cast.

I think it’s pretty telling of the comic book community of Tumblr to get up in arms over a non-Jewish woman playing a Jewish role all of a sudden. It’s not like you guys were really there for us when Marvel retconned The Maximoff twins not being Magneto’s kids anymore, erasing their Jewish heritage. Not like you guys were there for us when Marvel put the Fantastic Four in comic book limbo for years, which featured one of comics’ only prominent Jewish heroes. Not like you guys expressed any kind of outcry when Ellen Page was recast as Kitty Pryde when she herself isn’t Jewish (another LGBT actor but no outcry? hmm). And it’s certainly not like you guys ever had the same rallying cry for more Jewish representation for our superheroes the same way we see that enthusiasm for other kinds of PoC or LGBT characters.

And at the end of the day, the Jewish Identity isn’t really what matters to you guys, is it? It’s just an after thought to most of you. People on this site care for Batwoman as Lesbian representation more than anything else. I remember how people here posted time and time again how an actual LBGT writer should take over Batwoman’s book, Even though Greg Rucka, a Jewish writer who’s responsible for making Batwoman as popular as she is with books like Batwoman Elegy, is constantly thrown under the bus. I remember when Fox announced they were working on the script for a possible Kitty Pryde movie, most of you were yelling how it should have been Storm and how we don’t need another “brunette white girl.” 

This is a problem that stems from our culture outside of comics. You don’t want to consider Jewish people as PoC until it’s convenient for you. You guys are willing to call out forms of bigotry like racism or homophobia but it’s like winning the lottery when I come across someone pointing out antisemitism in any capacity. We’re only considered PoC or a marginalized group until we’re ammunition for someone else’s argument. No one would care about a Jewish woman being cast for Batwoman if the character wasn’t so heavily associated with the LGBT comic book community, and I guarantee if a straight woman was cast for the role it would have been on multiple social media sites, greater slews of articles would have been written, and waaaaay more people would have expressed their disgust for Warner Bros. and the CW. 

And you know what the greatest tragedy out of all of this? Superheroes are such a huge part of Jewish-American culture and there are barely any Jewish superheroes. Nearly everything during the Golden Age and the Silver Age of comics was created by Jewish talent. Jewish people from immigrant families that no one would hire had to create their own industry, their own art form, their own outlet of expressing their cultural ideologies and experiences. Characters like Superman heavily exemplified the Jewish experience without ever explicitly stating they are because people would have rejected it. It was our way of ending the stigma of being seen as outsiders and integrating ourselves into a white Anglo-Saxon dominant society. This expression of art was the only way we as a people could truly express ourselves in a time riddled with marginalization and persecution. And it was the work of Jewish creators that brought about the normalization of PoC representation in superheroes. Where would we be if Jack Kirby never created Black Panther? Where would we be if Neal Adams never created John Stewart as Green Lantern? Where would the cultural relevancy of superheroes and American animation even be if Max Fleischer never invented Rotoscope for the Superman cartoon?

I want good Jewish representation. I always will. And I appreciate that now, better late than never, you guys are expressing the same frustrations I’ve had since I was a child. But you can’t expect me to believe you’re all about solidarity and supporting us when we’ve been shit on by you guys before. You want me start believing you guys care for us? Advocate for more Jewish characters, consider the voices and opinions of Jewish people, express how there should be more Jewish talent in creative positions in the media you enjoy.

Because right now, I think you’re going to express your disdain for a few months over Ruby Rose, do the same song and dance about the importance of representation for what you consider “real” PoC, and then go back to pretending we don’t even exist. 

Prove me wrong. Please. I want to see a change. I want us to be heard.

[benevolentbirdgal]

Writeblr Introduction Post: benevolentbirdgal

Shalom y’all! I’ve seen several of these as of late and thought it probably my turn!

Me: You can call me Tzipporah or Birdie. I am a 20-something woman who likes to write stuff. She/her. SFW, but probably would be rated as PG-13. Here there be swearing.

What You’ll Find On My Blog: Writing advice, OC questions (mine and reblogged), prompts (mine and reblogged), my four WIPs, occasionally other people’s WIPs, Jewish stuff, random tumblr stuff. 

My Genres: Humor, Horror, Sci-Fi, YA, short story.

Writeblr Stuff

Asks: Very open! Feel free to ask about writing stuff, my WIPS, writing advice (although I’m no more qualified than the next internet rando), or just to be chatty!

Ask Games: If I reblog or post it, you can ask me for the ask game.

Community: I am not currently in any writeblr groups or group chats or exchanges on Tumblr, but I am open to it!

Contacting Me: Inbox is open!

Fanworks/read-alongs/whatever: I would be/am immensely flattered by anyone wanting to make fanart or do readings of stuff I write. I realize I can’t enforce this, but please tag or link the original work if you want to make something with my stuff.

Tag Games: Open to tag games. No promises I’ll participate in every one I get tagged in, but feel free to tag me.

Tagging: If you want to be tagged for WIP updates, let me know. If you need me to tag for cw/tw stuff, let me know. 

My current (active) WIPS (4):

God of Cheese:

Irreverent story about hubris, found family, bureaucracy, and the love of cheese. 

Set in ancient land with heno-polytheistic pantheon of gods doing their thing. Not based around any particular pantheon past or present.

The big/important gods go to a conference (to meet with gods from other lands) and leave the God of Cheese, Colby, in charge. He's a competent dude, but like a lower-management type, not a "run the land" type. There's all sorts of minor gods and gods-adjacent critters and special humanish types that are suddenly his problem

Shenanigans ensue. 

Most of the gods have names that are dumb puns or jokes in languages I speak.

Some stuff written, still workshopping and worldbuilding. 

Unnamed Jewish YA Vampire Hunter Story/Fantasy:

Hannah (Chava) is 14 and weird things started happening after her bat mitzvah last year. It comes to a head when she learns she’s from a Jewish family of alukah & sheyd (vampire and demon) hunters, although her branch is usually focused on alukot. 

Very much an exploration of Jewish identity in the U.S. in the 2000s/2010s. 

Jewish ideas about folklore, alukot (vampires), sheydim (demons), and the spooky. 

Antisemitism is discussed, portrayed, and processed. 

Several parts written, need to edit and find requisite chutzpah to post. 

Unnamed Sci-Fi dramedy in spaaaaaaaaaaaace:

Kind of episodic. Takes place in the near-ish future, timeline intentionally unclear. Probably a 3 or 4 out of 6 on TV trope’s Sci-Fi Hardness scale.

The Earth empire, which is kind of sort of an extension of the successor to the U.N., has what is basically starfleet managing its extensive holdings around the universe. 

The story centers around three main characters in their 20s navigating employment and space. 

Includes Jewish, queer, and disability representation. Talks about class/regional values conflict through sci-fi lens. 

You can learn more about this one here, here, and here. 

Several parts written, need to edit to post. 

How To Survive Shopping

Ruleshorror stuff I write and post on reddit. I usually repost here as well, but the most complete version lives on my reddit index.

Basically, spooky one-off lists about different kinds of shopping that conceivably take place in the same universe as one another. 

Currently 20-something parts. 

[saltiestsoprano]

Being genuinely excited and enjoying the first black actress to play Batwoman AND being appalled at the fridging of an iconic Jewish character are both valid statements and can be experienced at the same time. Really bummed the writer’s and production put that target squarely on Javicia’s back. Really bummed if CW Batwoman fails that folks will blame minority representation and not bungling/antisemitism on production’s end.

Javicia is great as Batwoman. I wish she had a better hand-off than what she got.

[whiskeydickclaws]

here’s my final take on this whole thing, and then I’m going to stop talking about it wholesale.

I think queer people should be allowed to talk about the Holocaust. they were victims as well, and we lost an entire generation of queer culture that has had lasting impact on the queer community. the laws put in place during the nazi regime have lasting impact, and some of them are still in effect or weren’t overturned until very recently.

however.

I do not agree that queer people should claim the Holocaust as their own. they were victims, they were affected, yes. But the flat out erasure of the antisemitism that led up to it, that it left behind, the culture of hate that not only continued, but is resurfacing, the antisemitism that is now taking hold IN THE QUEER COMMUNITY, should not, and cannot be ignored.

When you speak of the Holocaust, you must remember not to silence Jewish voices, not to erase or belittle the Jewish experience, and how the Holocaust has affected us. You cannot say that queer voices matter more than Jewish voices because of “representation” and for the love of G-d stop trying to put a queer label on a dead Jewish child.

Let our dead be remembered in peace.

Our dead are not your representation. They are real, and they deserve respect. And the fact that you are willing and able to dehumanize a real dead child and talk about her as if she was a character on the CW is disgusting.

Talk about the Holocaust, talk about the loss of a Queer culture that shouldn’t have happened. Talk about the laws and the social impacts.

But keep our dead out of your rhetoric. We aren’t here to be your Representation, and we shouldn’t be treated like inanimate tokens for your viewing pleasure.

Sincerely, A Queer Jewish Romani Man.

[a-midlife-krisis]

So I had no knowledge they had casted the Batwoman role yet I was working (delivery driver, not really about to scroll through tumblr on the road you feel). On my way home my roommate/best friend is sitting in the passenger seat and he goes "THEY CASTED BATWOMAN XJEKDOW" I'm immediately excited I was ready to hear LITERALLY any other actresses name than the one he said. I'm openly gay (not Jewish but one of my best friends is and I am just as upset about that but hold up). So he tells me "Ruby Rose" and I don't think he's ever seen such disappointment on my face ??? And he was SHOCKED ??? I love him to death okay don't get me wrong but when he asked why I was mad I brought up her shit acting and okay she's queer but not Jewish so ??? And he goes "oh... you're gay I thought you would be happy bud" NO. OH MY GOD BOI YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT TO MEEEEEE I LOVE YOU BUT THAT'S PROBABLY E X A C T L Y WHAT THE STRAIGHT WHITE PEOPLE THOUGHT WHEN THEY PREPARED TO CAST THE ROLE. THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG.

Yes, I am gay, and I am ALL for that representation give me more of that shit. Trans superhero for Supergirl? Ate that up that's good stuff but RR is not Jewish. Whitewashing and antisemitism is real af and the CW proved that they don't give a damn yet A G A I N about actual representation.

"She's gay? She's been in OITNB? AND ALL THESE OTHER MOVIES!? THE WHITE STRAIGHT FANGIRLS LOVE HER TOO?!?! Hired."

Which is another point. RR is famous, she's had her career in modeling and advertising and then America was like yes let's make her ACT! Pitch Perfect 3, Resident Evil (I think 6 ??), OITNB, John Wick 2, that new Jason Statham movie about the big ass shark SHE'S BEEN SEEN. YOU KNOW WHAT HASN'T?! A JEWISH LESBIAN.

YES she's allowed to be successful don't get me wrong and who know maybe this will make way for other struggling gay actresses out there but like that's A L R E A D Y happened, she's been given roles she's put out there that a gay gender fluid person can do it (in her case it's not even good acting so there's probably a shit ton of more capable people out there for these goddamn roles ??? smh) so why not someone who could ACTUALLY portray the character of Kate Kane with all the characteristics she should have ??? So why not get a Jewish lesbian actress and get some of THAT representation ????

I'm bitter. There's so many flaws to this casting I'm just dkmrflwkr what the hell. Most importantly the fact that once again the Jewish community isn't being recognized at all (no article I read even MENTIONED Kate Kane being Jewish). I'm so sorry they doing you like that with this bullshit I WANT Y'ALL HEARD.

Shout out to the Jewish community and the Jewish lesbians. You important, you matter, and I love you.

This has been my Ted Talk thank you.

[phasedarchive]

i have no idea why dash view doesn't work for search on this url. anyway, all tags are typically preceded by a dot ("."). this won't matter so much w searching, but if on the full site then the tag's name will typically includes a dot at the beginning, w some exceptions.

uh... i'll add the links in later idk. for now i just... idk.

women's issues and feminism: misogyny, sexism. as bizarre as it probably seems, i use the misogyny and sexism tags to also "catch" other typically women-related issues, such as female representation, among other things.

lgbtq+ bundle: homophobia, biphobia, transphobia. i have typically included these all at the same time, even if only one is touched upon. i have my reasons. as w other tags, it doesn't have to specifically be related to oppression/prejudice. i have not historically had ace or demi related tags. the posts are so few and far between that i've tended to lump them in the lgbtq+ bundle. i have my reasons for that, too, which you can probably guess from the commentary i sometimes add, but which i won't expand upon in this post.

racism related: racism, antisemitism, islamophobia, immigration, genocide. i typically won't bundle these tags together unless they're actually related. w... some exceptions.

other political: police brutality, oppression, censorship, capitalism, health care

representation: representation, "asian tag". i don't have specific tags for other races/groups. i have my reasons for this too.

self care, relationships: i tend to group these together. the self care tag may be about actual self care, or it may be a kind of "soft" thing, or it may actually be about growing as a person (which i consider a form of self care, though others may not). the relationship tag is typically bundled with this, though not always. "relationship" can be related to platonic or romantic relationships or even just "how we interact with others (or the world)". it's... probably overly broad.

ref: uh... this means almost nothing. originally it was for "how to" or "reference" posts, but it's... gotten out of hand and i'm not sure what i use it for anymore. someday, "someday", i should split this tag up. "ref" can also be used for "come back to this" or "remember this", and sometimes... shows up w "self care", for... reasons.

mental health: this tag... usually? relates to mood disorders or etc, but sometimes also just... how to... uh, feel not so miserable? idk.

reprieve, art, writing, DANCE, BALLET, fandom tag, horsie/horsey (idek): mostly self explanatory.

cws?

i will typically tag death, murder, blood, needles, violence, gun violence (also a tag for the political thing...), food... body image is iffy? i don't tag it on representation tags, but if it shows up in a post i tag mental health then i may? but not as a cw so much as a "this post is body image related". everything before it tends to be tagged consistently, at least since my most recent return in 2019. what is NOT consistent is whether i use a dot before the tag or not. i'm not sure how tag blacklists work exactly, but when tumblr's search actually works it tends to catch the dotted tags even if searching without the dots, so i... don't know what to think. tumblr search is weird imo.

[augustheart]

"all of your pro-jewish sentiment is performative if you’re willing to let antisemitism slide in exchange for gay representation because you refuse to ask..."

oh that one!! it was about cw’s the ray, which is an antisemitic garbage fire BUT it has a gay protagonist (ray terrill, who trust me i love and i recommend his rebirth issues (he's got a bf now!)) so people are going to watch and support it despite the fact that it’s an antisemitic wank fantasy + the cw has a TERRIBLE track record with mlm representation in general.