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Thread ID: 19664 | Posts: 14 | Started: 2005-08-15
2005-08-15 22:25 | User Profile
The OC makes Yiddishkeit cool
(2005-01-29) January 27, 2005, Canadian Jewish News
Rachel Mentioned
[size=4]Seth Cohen[/size]. Just mention the name and girls swoon. Tall, dark and cute, completely unattainable ââ¬â [size=4]and kinda Jewish[/size]. All my good friends ââ¬â not one would deny it ââ¬â have a crush on Seth Cohen. For those of you lacking any knowledge of pop culture, he is the nerdy, long-winded Jewish character on The OC, the new millenniumââ¬â¢s answer to the 1990s hit Beverly Hills 90210.
The OC offers a wonderfully delusional depiction of affluent suburban teenage life in Orange County, Calif., replete with alcohol abuse, relationship turmoil and family drama. And while its the plot complexities could fill this column, I want to delve a little deeper.
The character of Seth has brought the image of the gangly and verbose, yet sensitive and sweet, Jewish boy to new heights of popularity. Created in the image of the showââ¬â¢s writer and producer, 20something Josh Schwartz, Seth Cohen brings to light the greatness of Jewish neuroses, Yiddishkeit and of course, bagels and cream cheese.
Because of The OC, blond bad boys have ceded their heartthrob status to a precocious and scrawny Jewish kid. The showââ¬â¢s self-described ââ¬ÅAryanââ¬Â character, Ryan, played by Benjamin Mackenzie now plays second fiddle to Seth, played by real-life Jew Adam Brody. And it canââ¬â¢t be ignored that in real life, Brody is dating his non-Jewish co-star, Rachel Bilson, evoking the greenest jealousy in Jewish girls everywhere.
On Beverly Hills 90210, Andrea Zuckerman was the token nerdy Jewish character, but her religion and culture seemed incidental. A curly brown-haired keener who cared about her grades, Andrea was a foil for the showââ¬â¢s blond beauties. Aside from the ethnicity of her name, and one episode where her Judaism posed a problem for the sorority she wanted to join, her Judaism was of little significance.
The OC, by contrast, offers a real glimpse of a modern, assimilated and non-religious North American Jewish family. Seth is the son of a California blond ââ¬â the perfect self-described ââ¬Åshiksehââ¬Â ââ¬â and her Jewish Brooklynite husband. Seth talks about his bar mitzvah and helps to educate his non-Jewish girlfriend before she comes to the family seder. Through Seth and the Cohen family, Judaism is given a prominent role on the show, and even more importantly, itââ¬â¢s the key to what makes the Cohens, and Seth in particular, so cool.
Ironically, Kirsten Cohen, Sethââ¬â¢s mom, never converted, so Seth wouldnââ¬â¢t even be considered halachically Jewish. Yet Judaism is fundamental to his personality, and itââ¬â¢s essential to the Cohen familyââ¬â¢s identity.
For example, their witty banter is laced with Yiddish idioms, and Jewish humour pervades their actions and interactions.
On one particularly memorable episode, while everyone else anticipates Christmas, Seth launches a campaign to popularize ââ¬ÅChrismukkah,ââ¬Â his self-created holiday that celebrates both Jesus and Moses and combines eight days of gifts (Chanukah) with one really huge day of gifts (Christmas).
On another episode, as a family scandal erupts, Seth astutely explains how family members use humour to deal with the issues facing them, and in doing so, he describes a fundamental aspect of Jewish culture.
Humour aside, Sethââ¬â¢s identity as a child of intermarriage allows The OC to incorporate Jewish elements into mainstream Christian traditions that are ubiquitous on the small screen. As well, the show looks at how Jewish identity factors into non-religious North American Jewish life.
It also exposes people who have never encountered Jews to Jewishness and Yiddishkeit. And while Judaism on mainstream television has often evoked controversy, or been a source of shame or struggle for characters (as is the case on The West Wing for the Toby Ziegler and Josh Lyman characters), The OC portrays it as a positive source of identity.
[size=5]Judaism has never been cooler, and Yiddish is reaching the masses. [/size] Of course, you might wonder whether it is only cool for a character to be Jewish if he or she is half-Jewish, and if the person is both willing and culturally able to mix Judaism with the culturally dominant religion.
[size=5]But given the superficial character of The OC, it seems safe to conclude that there is little wrong with a show that succeeds in making Yiddishkeit trendy.[/size]
[url="http://www.rachelbilsonfan.com/Press/print.php?newsid=54"]http://www.rachelbilsonfan.com/Press/print.php?newsid=54[/url]
:blink:
2005-08-15 22:38 | User Profile
Oh it gets worse for this "OC" program
[url="http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2004-12-15-chrismukkah_x.htm"]http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2004-12-15-chrismukkah_x.htm[/url]
[size=3]Have a merry little Chrismukkah [/size]
By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY
The newest faux holiday that companies are using to make a buck this season is "Chrismukkah," a mishmash of Christmas and Hanukkah.
As with "Festivus" (the Dec. 23 holiday for the "rest of us") from Seinfeld, Chrismukkah is a made-for-TV holiday. It came out of an episode last December of Fox's teen soap opera, The O.C. Character Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) creates the faux holiday for his Protestant-Jewish family. (Related: [url="http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2004-12-15-oc_x.htm"][color=#0000ff]'O.C.' fans are invited for 'Chrismukkah'[/color][/url]) The idea has taken on a life of its own, and O.C. producer Warner Bros. now is hawking Chrismukkah greeting cards, T-shirts and more at [url]www.theocinsider.com[/url].
Chrismukkah "is a huge hit with consumers," says Lisa Gregorian, Warner senior vice president of TV creative services. "It's obviously something a lot of Americans can relate to: having one Christian parent and another who's Jewish."
O.C. creator Josh Schwartz told reporters in a conference call Monday that while Chrismukkah is fake, the feelings behind it are real. "What Jewish boy or girl growing up doesn't feel a little jealous? They get all the good songs, the tree, Frosty and Rudolph. We get dreidels. It's not the same."
A study of the nation's 5.2 million Jews showed 47% of Jewish spouses wed since 1996 married non-Jews, says Glenn Rosenkrantz of United Jewish Communities.
While interfaith households long have created their own holiday rituals, the catchy Chrismukkah name is new, and so are the resulting efforts to cash in on it. Details:
ââ¬Â¢The "Yarmuclaus." A fuzzy, red mix of a Santa Claus hat and Jewish yarmulke, Warner's $15.95 Yarmuclaus sold out before its O.C. debut in tonight's episode. "It's kitschy, people get it," Gregorian says.
Warner also offers O.C.-inspired Chrismukkah items such as boxes of Merry Chrismukkah cards ($15.95) and "Menorah & Candy Canes" wrapping paper ($12.95).
ââ¬Â¢Merry Mazol Tov. Inspired by last year's "Chrismukkah" episode, Web entrepreneurs Ron and Michelle Gompertz, a Jewish/Protestant couple, left their California beach house and moved to Montana to launch Chrismukkah.com. The site sells items that combine secular Christmas symbols with Hanukkah symbols, including cards with reindeer that have menorah antlers ($15 per dozen), "Merry Mazel Tov" mugs ($11.99) and "Oy Joy" coasters, teddy bears and T-shirts ($5.99-$15.99). Ron Gompertz expects revenue of $35,000 from sales of 40,000 to 45,000 greeting cards. "We're not any more offensive than the average episode of South Park. We're being wildly irreverent in a humorous way," says Ron Gompertz, a son of Holocaust survivors.
Chrismukkah marketers have tried to not offend religious groups. They drop the "t," for example, to avoid the word Christ.
But not everyone thinks Chrismukkah is hip and witty. Calling it a "multicultural mess," The Catholic League and the New York Board of Rabbis, in a joint statement, condemned Chrismukkah as "insulting" to Jews and Christians.
The company Mixed Blessing has sold interfaith holiday cards for 14 years and expects to sell more than 250,000 this year at $13 for a box of 10. But it will not use the word Chrismukkah, owner Philip Okrend says. "We're not trying to create a new holiday. We're trying to portray the holidays side by side."
The big greeting card makers also are taking a pass on the Chrismukkah fad. "We don't want to run the risk of offending people, because Christmas and Hanukkah are very religious holidays," says spokeswoman Amanda Todorovich of American Greetings, a $2 billion company that does offer a dozen interfaith cards.
Hallmark has seven mixed-faith cards this holiday, but "until there's a large consumer demand, we won't offer Chrismukkah cards," says Deidre Parkes, spokeswoman for the $4.3 billion card giant.
Meanwhile, O.C.'sSeth might coin more holidays, Schwartz says, "like Eastover and Kwanzashonna."
*Contributing: Ann Oldenburg :nerd: *
2005-08-15 23:03 | User Profile
When a cockroach makes its presence known in broad daylight it means that behind the walls is overrun with them.
2005-08-16 01:37 | User Profile
I don't blame the Jews for being what they are for they have no choice in the matter, after all they are Jews, but do blame those who allowed the them to get away with what they are doing and do NOTHING about it.
Can you really get mad at a mosquito when it baits you? not me, I simply squash them and keep on walking.
2005-08-16 03:19 | User Profile
Good point, Cracker.
2005-08-16 04:13 | User Profile
Pay careful attention:
Nothing - [I]nothing [/I] - can make Jews 'cool'.
Don't pay attention to news stories written by Jews, who were commissioned by Jews, to write flatteringly about other Jews. That's like 'reporting' the fact that there's an old black guy named Yacub who's been orbiting the earth in an interstellar drive-thru KFC for the past 5000 years.
When "Jim Smith" and "Susie Stone" start routinely standing on line at the Bureau of Vital Statistics to legally change their names to [U]Menachem Goldfish[/U] and [U]Shulamith Nussbaum[/U], then - and [B]only[/B] then - will "Jewish" be commensurate with "cool".
Shoot, even gold-digging shiksas who marry up with wealthy Jews know they're just doing it for the money. If they wanted 'cool', they'd've had a wedding where nobody steps on a light bulb.
2005-08-16 04:32 | User Profile
Way to go Cindy...........Ponce
BUSH PROTESTING MOM CALLS FOR 'ISRAEL OUT OF PALESTINE'; VOWS NOT TO PAY TAXES Drudge Report Anti-war protestor Cindy Sheehan, whose soldier son Casey was killed in Iraq, is calling for Bush's "impeachment," and for Israel to get out of Palestine!
"You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you'll stop the terrorism," Sheehan declares.
Sheehan, who is asking for a second meeting with President Bush, says defiantly: "My son was killed in 2004. I am not paying my taxes for 2004. You killed my son, George Bush, and I don't owe you a penny...you give my son back and I'll pay my taxes. Come after me (for back taxes) and we'll put this war on trial."
"And now I'm going to use another 'I' word - impeachment - because we cannot have these people pardoned. They need to be tried on war crimes and go to jail."
2005-08-16 04:38 | User Profile
Ponce, put down the sangria. You posted to the wrong thread.
2005-08-16 04:53 | User Profile
Upsssssssss did I step on your toes?
Sorry didn't mean to take the spot light away from you...... :twisted:
2005-08-16 05:20 | User Profile
It's hard to step on my toes when both your feet are in your mouth.
This probably won't penetrate your skull, but what the hell - I'll give it a whirl: making comments about Cindy Sheehan on a thread aout Fox-TV soap operas is only going to confuse the hell out of people. Unless they're already famliar with you.
2005-08-16 13:40 | User Profile
Well froggie I believe that Cindy, as one of the coming new leaders of this country, is more important that a fagish soap opera.....soap opera is for womens and not for the male of the species.
By the way froggie now you sound like a Jew [U]for trying [/U] to insult me as you did, that's what those people do when ever they don't know what to say.
Saalam Aleikum
2005-08-16 14:22 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Ponce]Well froggie I believe that Cindy, as one of the coming new leaders of this country, is more important that a fagish soap opera.....soap opera is for womens and not for the male of the species.
By the way froggie now you sound like a Jew [u]for trying [/u] to insult me as you did, that's what those people do when ever they don't know what to say.
Saalam Aleikum[/QUOTE] Ponce, I think you may be failing to realize that Hollywood productions, including 'fagish soap operas', are one of the most powerful forms of kosher propaganda.
2005-08-16 18:28 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Quantrill]Ponce, I think you may be failing to realize that Hollywood productions, including 'fagish soap operas', are one of the most powerful forms of kosher propaganda.[/QUOTE]
Hi Quantrill, I know what you mean and that's why last weed I cancelled my Dish satellite programs, all they had was Jewish propaganda like Raid on Antebee, The Diarie of Anne Franklyn, or what ever she was, also about the Jews that was kick out of a turist ship, The Piano Player and on and on.
What passes for "entertaiment" now days is more propaganda than anything else.
2005-08-17 05:48 | User Profile
[QUOTE]Hi Quantrill, I know what you mean and that's why last weed I cancelled my Dish satellite programs, all they had was Jewish propaganda like Raid on Antebee, The Diarie of Anne Franklyn, or what ever she was, also about the Jews that was kick out of a turist ship, The Piano Player and on and on.[/QUOTE]
I believe you're referring to [I]The Diary of [B]Joe [/B] Franklin[/I], and you're right. Nothing but bald-faced propaganda for Martin Paints and Streit's Matzohs. Especially at the end, when the Nazis find him hiding in the attic with Irving Caesar, Herbie Faye and the two surviving Boswell Sisters.