Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 59: Jewface and Jewish Characters in the Media

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QUICK EPISODE OVERVIEW

On this week’s episode, Tracie and April discuss the recent discussion on the concept of “Jewface” that followed a recent podcast by Sarah Silverman on the topic. They discuss a few different perspectives on the topic and reflect on the patterns within the portrayal of Jewish characters in media. 

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Access the audio version of this episode here.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. Have you heard of this discussion of “Jewface” that Tracie describes? What are your thoughts about it?

  2. April reflects on Manishtana’s response to this idea of “Jewface” and raises questions on if this term is inherently exclusive of Jews of Color. What do you think? 

  3. Tracie uses the example of Tracie Ellis Ross, David Diggs, and Rashida Jones being all Black Jews but who play non-Jewish characters on Blackish to explore the trend of Jewish actors playing non-Jewish characters. What do you think about this? 

  4. When you think about Jewish characters in the media and think about who plays them, do you see any patterns? Does antisemitism impact these portrayals? 

  5. April says  that this pattern is a common one that marginalized people face when their stories are told. What do you think about who should be telling a marginalized community’s story?

  6. April and Tracie remind us that even though the names are the same, that Jewface is not the same as Blackface. How are they different from each other? Have you thought about the history of Blackface? 

COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?

Let us know in the comments below!