Jewish Identity in American and European Cinema

This course explores the evolution, stereotypes, and pluralism of Jewish identity in 20th and 21st-century American and European popular cinema. We will examine how Judaism is represented in these films and how this representation has shaped a sense of American and European Jewish identity.

The questions guiding our analysis include: What does it mean to be Jewish? Is Judaism a religious, ethnic, and/or cultural identity? How are gender and sexuality related to Jewish identity, and how do these aspects shift or become subverted over the decades? How do Jews navigate their dual Jewish and national identities? What is the relationship between Jews and other minority groups? What are the ethics and anxieties surrounding assimilation, particularly in relation to intermarriage or ethnically/religiously mixed romantic relationships? How are American Jewish identities depicted differently from European Jewish identities in these films?

The American film material will consist of, but not be limited to, early Hollywood classics addressing the complexities of Jewish identity, such as “The Jazz Singer” (1927), “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1948), and more. It is hard to overstate the role of Woody Allen and Mel Brooks in questioning and constructing Jewish identity for both American and global audiences. Therefore, we will dedicate extra time to their works from the 1970s and ’80s. Allen’s and Brooks’ films will be supplemented by a look at other essential Jewish films of the era. Moving into the 1980s and ’90s, we will study “The Chosen“ (1981) and Jewish romantic comedies. The American section of the course will conclude with a look at films by the Coen Brothers, as well as by Spike Lee. Some films will be shown in full, while others will be excerpted. 

We will then turn our attention to Europe, where we will analyze a selection of films that explore the nature of European Jewish identity, including films by Jean Renoir, Aleksandr Askoldov, Hugh Hudson, Mike Leigh, István Szabó, Karin Albou, Elie Wajeman, Pawel Pawlikowski, and Nadav Lapid. We will explore how these European films reframe the question of Jewish identity in the diaspora and examine their continuity and divergence from their American counterparts. Finally, we will discuss not only the identities of the characters in these films but also the identities of the films themselves. Can we read these works as Jewish films, and if so, in what way?

Prior knowledge

No prior knowledge about the subject is needed. 

Course material

Course material is included in the cost for this course.

About the teacher

Zoe Kelly-Nacht holds a Ph.D. in religious thought from Boston University, an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School, and a B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University. She specializes in the intersections of religion, literature, and film. Her dissertation, Nathaniel Dorsky: Religion, Buddhism, and Film, examines the life, films, and manuscript “Devotional Cinema” of American Jewish Buddhist experimental filmmaker Nathaniel Dorsky. 

Zoe grew up in New York City and, before moving to Sweden, taught religious studies courses at Hunter College, City University of New York, and Marymount Manhattan College. She now lives in Stockholm with her partner and two young children.

Photo: Canva.