CINE298J

Cross-listing with JWST219J. This course will examine the ways in which filmmakers have used the cinematic medium to construct Jewish identity, and the different ways Jews and Jewishness have been represented in cinema over time. We will investigate different types of representations of Jews, asking how they operate in broader social context and film traditions. Our goal will be to critically engage with the films and to grapple with such questions as: How is Jewishness defined by film creators? What are the points of linkage and rupture between the various films? Are Jewish films, if such a category exists, the product of a marginalized minority? How do definitions of ethnic film help analyze Jewish film? Can non-Jewish filmmakers create Jewishness on screen?