# How DO Jews in media tend to portray Jews? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 28, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882 "2014-06-28T19:58:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/41 "2014-06-30T17:16:33Z")
Occasionally subtlety worked. On _Friends_, one got the impression, but never confirmation, that Ross, Monica and Rachel all were the products of a Jewish-by-birth father, and a gentile mother, but Ross and Monica’s mother had converted to Judaism, while Rachel’s had not. In both cases, the characters fathers were played by actors pretty well-known to be Jewish, and the mothers known not to be. Rachel: referred to one grandmother as “Bobbe,” but also once explicitly told Phoebe she didn’t “have” Hanukkah in response to Phoebe’s holiday song. Ross & Monica: their parents had a mezzuzah on their front door, and they gave each other Hanukkah presents, but they were not uncomfortable joining in a Christmas present exchange with the other friends. Chandler once told Monica the reason she can’t be a minister is that “You’re Jewish.” Ross, in one episode tried to get his son interested in Hanukkah, and he knows enough about it, that one suspects he went to Hebrew school. Those were all really subtle things over a ten-year run, but they were also pretty clear. I was still involved in Hillel when _Friends_ was on, and “Who’s Jewish on Friends?” used to come up a lot. Anyway, it’s not always just a matter of mentioning someone’s bar mitzvah once, then otherwise ignoring the person’s religious identity. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/42 "2014-06-30T18:20:22Z")
Never as action heroes. Unless it’s a comedy (e.g., [The Hebrew Hammer](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317640/?ref_=nv_sr_1) or [You Don’t Mess with the Zohan](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0960144/?ref_=nv_sr_1)) ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/43 "2014-06-30T18:33:33Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Never as action heroes. Unless it’s a comedy (e.g., [The Hebrew Hammer](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317640/?ref_=nv_sr_1) or [You Don’t Mess with the Zohan](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0960144/?ref_=nv_sr_1)) Israelis are commonly portrayed as action bad-asses - for good or bad. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/44 "2014-06-30T18:37:56Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I don’t find it tiresome and off-putting, but I have noticed that TV characters are usually a-religious unless they are Jewish. If a character is Jewish, there will be a reference made to Hebrew School, bar mitzvah, Passover seder, etc. There will be at least one scene during a show’s run where someone is wearing a yarmulke. But aside from a very Christmas episode, signs of overt Christianity are usually missing. Disagree - TV (and movie) gangsters, for example, are often portrayed as Catholic. Think of _The Sopranos_. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/45 "2014-06-30T21:02:55Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Disagree - TV (and movie) gangsters, for example, are often portrayed as Catholic. Think of _The Sopranos_. That’s because they’re Italians, and everyone knows that all Italians are devout Catholics, even if they are 4th generation Americans. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/46 "2014-06-30T21:43:48Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Disagree - TV (and movie) gangsters, for example, are often portrayed as Catholic. Think of _The Sopranos_. True. I imagine that if my understanding of the world came solely from TV and movies, I would think that only bad guys and old ladies were Christian and that all Christians are Catholic. Unless the old ladies are black. All black Christians on TV belong to a lively Protestant congregation with a sweaty Southern preacher and a hand-clapping choir that only sings “This Little Light of Mine” and “Oh Happy Day.” And if it’s an all-black show, there will probably be at least one episode where at one of the characters is in the church choir and either can’t sing (Raejanne from “Living Single”) or they are embroiled in some crazy competition (Carlton and Ashley on “The Fresh Prince” and Nicki and Kim on “The Parkers”). ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/47 "2014-07-01T13:01:30Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > True. > > I imagine that if my understanding of the world came solely from TV and movies, I would think that only bad guys and old ladies were Christian and that all Christians are Catholic. Unless the old ladies are black. All black Christians on TV belong to a lively Protestant congregation with a sweaty Southern preacher and a hand-clapping choir that only sings “This Little Light of Mine” and “Oh Happy Day.” > > And if it’s an all-black show, there will probably be at least one episode where at one of the characters is in the church choir and either can’t sing (Raejanne from “Living Single”) or they are embroiled in some crazy competition (Carlton and Ashley on “The Fresh Prince” and Nicki and Kim on “The Parkers”). Heh, all true. 😃 How’s this as a generalization: ordinary middle of the road whitebread protestant denominations are rarely seen in US television. If someone is religious, it is usually in some reasonably exotic or minority way, portrayed with identifying stereotypes, so as to add “authenticity” or distinction to a character. In contrast, judging by UK TV, the local vicar is a major social character - there are whole shows devoted to such people, from comedy (“The Vicar of Dibley”) to solving crimes as a detective (“Father Brown”). Watching TV, one would think that religion, or religious institutions, played a major social role in the UK but not in the US - while the exact opposite is true, from what I understand. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/48 "2014-07-01T14:42:28Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > In contrast, judging by UK TV, the local vicar is a major social character - there are whole shows devoted to such people, from comedy (“The Vicar of Dibley”) to solving crimes as a detective (“Father Brown”). Watching TV, one would think that religion, or religious institutions, played a major social role in the UK but not in the US - while the exact opposite is true, from what I understand. You know, though, there was a TV show in the US where the main character was a minister. It was called _7th Heaven_, and was about a minister and his family-- really, it focused more on the kids, and I think had a teenage demographic. I’ll admit I haven’t seen it that many times, but I did watch it more than you’d expect, because I had a client at the time who had a sister who watched it, no pun intended, religiously, reruns included, and he watched it with her sometimes. Anyway, I don’t think they ever gave a denomination for the minister, other than “Protestant.” The family was not terribly religious-- there was a lot more outward demonstration at my aunty and uncle’s, because we were shomer Shabbes and shomer kashrut. There was a short scene at church almost every episode, and the parents were very intrusive into the children’s lives when it came to preventing them from have sex, but aside from that, it was a pretty ordinary family show. It could have been an updated version of _Father Knows Best_, or _My Three Sons_. \* The Vicar of Dibley\* was hilarious. My (woman) rabbi had the whole series of DVD. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/49 "2014-07-01T15:29:27Z")
One of my favorite quotes from [a show filled with awesome writing](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103466/combined): **Arthur** Don’t you know who runs this town? **Phil** I don’t know, the Jews? **Arthur** The _gay_ Jews. I don’t get to share it often, so I figured I’d just leave it here. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/50 "2014-07-01T16:33:29Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Israelis are commonly portrayed as action bad-asses - for good or bad. Other than Ziva David on NCIS, I can’t think of an American TV show or movie where a main character was Israeli, other than _Zohan_. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/51 "2014-07-01T16:46:29Z")
As usual, the expression “put two Jews in a room and you’ll get three opinions” is proven correct. > [@DSeid](#): > > Secular, nominally observant American Jew chiming in - > > If speaking about the 25-hour period between Friday evening and Saturday night with Jewish cultural or religious connotations, virtually never ever hear “Sabbath” and that word tends to have more of a Christian feel and would usually imply a religious Christian’s Sunday. That 25-hour period between Friday evening and Saturday night is, in America at least, in my secular circles, referred to as Shabbat. Secular Saturday is Saturday. > > You may not be giving your clients their money’s worth. Not in my secular circles. Sabbath, baby. Sure, my grandmother said “Shabbos,” as did her children including my mom when speaking with her, but the rest of us usually used “Sabbath.” (FYI for gentiles–Ashkenazi Yiddish transliteration often substitutes “s” for “t” in common words, e.g. we say bas mitzvah vs. bat mitzvah) And this was in Great Neck, that most Jewy McJewowitz of Jewish Long Island enclaves. (Although I would imagine it’s the opposite now, since Sephardic Jews are now vastly more represented than we Ashkenazis since the big Iranian exodus in the 1980s. Generations before, Great Neck was full of 1st gen. Russian/Polish/German Jews who ‘moved on up from the (lower) East Side’ as well as Brooklyn and the Bronx to settle in suburbia.) Anyhoo, if “Sabbath” is good enough for Tevye and Golde in _Fiddler on the Roof_, where they sing in [Sabbath Prayer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=618IKgQ2wys), “May God bless you and grant you long lives (May our Lord fulfill our Sabbath Prayer for you…)” it’s legit enough for me. In short: OMG! Pockets of Jews in tiny enclaves say different things! Why do people have to make such _absolutes_? Jesus! (Or Moses! as the case may be. :D) As far as the OP, I’m reminded of the scene in _Gentleman’s Agreement_ where in a meeting with the goyishe newspaper, it’s the Jewish board member or editor who tries to convince the well-meaning publisher not to run with the “Anti-Semitism” story (not knowing it’s actually “I Was a Jew for Six Weeks” article). I believe the film’s producer, studio mogul Darryl F. Zanuck–often confused for a Jew because of his name, like Norman Jewison–received similar arguments from some of the Jewish studio owners for not producing _Gentleman’s Agreement_ in the first place. “Let it lie there, don’t push our luck,” the board member/editor (can’t remember) tells the publisher. “We just want to be regular people, not causes.” This was, after all, not long post-WWII, and there was certainly feeling _as in the nauseating post that started the trainwreck_ that the Jews had pushed/caused WWII. So in some cases, at least historically even when there were _more_ Jewish producers/studio owners, they preferred to play down so-called Jewish causes, rather than highlight them. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/52 "2014-07-01T18:01:19Z")
An addendum: even in the same neighborhood and general background, people differed. My BFF growing up had parents who grew up in the Bronx, and they always said “Shabbat.” My Brooklyn parents were egalitarian and said both “good Shabbas” and “Sabbath.” Even in _Fiddler on the Roof,_ I’m pretty sure (at least in the film) while the song lyrics and title say “Sabbath Prayer,” Golde (or Yente) says “good Shabbas!” at some point to Yente (or Golde). 🙂 Dang I miss that Rabbi smilie. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/53 "2014-07-01T18:08:26Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Other than Ziva David on NCIS, I can’t think of an American TV show or movie where a main character was Israeli, other than _Zohan_. [Munich](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408306/combined) [The Debt](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226753/combined) Coincidentally, Ciarán Hinds appears in both. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882/54 "2014-07-01T18:10:25Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Other than Ziva David on NCIS, I can’t think of an American TV show or movie where a main character was Israeli, other than _Zohan_. Well, one fought beside Brad Pitt in that action movie about zombies, World War Z. She’s portrayed as a bad-ass fighting woman. > **[World War Z (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Z_(film))** > > World War Z is a 2013 American action horror film directed by Marc Forster, with a screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goddard, and Damon Lindelof, from a story by Carnahan and J. Michael Straczynski, inspired by the 2006 novel of the same name by Max Brooks. It stars Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane, a former United Nations investigator who travels the world seeking a solution for a sudden zombie apocalypse, along with an ensemble supporting cast including Mireille Enos and James Badge Dale [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-jews-in-media-tend-to-portray-jews/691882.md?page=2)