“The Tribe” and Jewish Film

“The Tribe” is a fantastically made film that really portrays some of the stereotypes of Jewish people and really all people in general. The pictures, clips, music, humor and narration of the film display many clear messages. For me the greatest message is that to be Jewish, Muslim, Christian, or any other faith or nationality you don’t have to look at certain way. Using Barbie as the example of this, Barbie has traditionally been a white doll with blond hair and a great figure, traditionally Barbie is the perfect thing with the perfect life. While through the years Barbie has been created in every color, size, shape, nationality, religion and anything else that one can create in a doll, Barbie is the example that it doesn’t matter what you look like because you can identify yourself with whatever you want.

In one part of the film it displays the traditional Barbie in what the film calls “The American Dream”. It is interesting that this blond doll, in this toy house was identified as “The American Dream” because typically “The American Dream” is associated in this dream family or person who looks so perfect; it is not typically associated with Jews or any other type of person.

This film truly plays on the many stereotypes of Judaism. At the end of the film, when we listen the Vanessa Carlton, the Hebrew Mamita talk about her experience with the use of all the pictures going backwards really shows that Vanessa may defy the stereotypes of a Jewish person, she is clearly a Jew.

What does “The Tribe” have to do with Jewish film? Is it the use of Jewish history, pictures of Jews, music that is often associated with Judaism, reference of the Holocaust, Jewish religious movements, or Israel references? Can a film be called a “Jewish Film”? For me this film initially was not considered a Jewish film. However after class and after thinking about it I asked myself, “What needs to be in a film if it is going to be considered “Jewish”? I realized that in my opinion it must contain values of Judaism, portray a Jewish message, portray a Jewish experience or teach us something about Judaism. “The Tribe” addresses stereotypes of Judaism and uses words and ideas associated with Judaism; it is a Jewish film because one of its messages can be that there isn’t one way to define a Jew. One doesn’t have to “look” Jewish to be Jewish, to be Jewish to identify with the values and ideals of Judaism.

I really liked the film and I think it is fantastically done!