Movies and Midrash
Subtitle: popular film and Jewish religious conversation
By: Wendy I. Zierler ; foreword by Eugene B. Borowitz
Contributors: Borowitz, Eugene B., writer of foreword
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 309
ISBN-13: 9781438466156; 9781438466149
Subjects: Motion pictures; Moral and ethical aspects; Judaism
Description: "Movies and Midrash uses cinema as a springboard to discuss central Jewish texts and beliefs. Wendy I. Zierler explores what Jewish tradition, text, and theology have to say about the lessons and themes arising from influential and compelling films. The book uses the method of 'inverted midrash': while classical rabbinical midrash begins with exegesis of a verse and then introduces a mashal (parable) as a means of further explication, Zierler turns that process around, beginning with the culturally familiar cinematic parable and then analyzing related Jewish texts. Each chapter connects a secular film to a different central theme in classical Jewish sources or modern Jewish thought. Films covered include The Truman Show (truth), Memento (memory), Crimes and Misdemeanors (sin), Magnolia (confession and redemption), The Descendants (birthright), Forrest Gump (cleverness and simplicity), and The Hunger Games (creation of humanity in God's image), among others"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-296) and index.
Table of contents: title: The Truman show : truth; title: Magnolia : confession and redemption; title: The descendants : birthright : consent versus descent; title: On Memento : remaking memory from the outside in; title: Crimes, misdemeanors, sin; title: Forrest Gump : cleverness and simplicity; title: The King's speech : speaking God's word; title: Stranger than fiction : God as author; title: A serious man : parables of Jewishness; title: Exam : tests, trials, and attachments; title: The hunger games : in God's image; title: Conclusion : Moonrise Kingdom : and the youth shall see visions.