Pop Culture

Promotional Image for Seinfeld

The Catharsis of Jewish Comedy

Sarah Groustra

What is Jewish comedy?

Topics: Comedy
Bridgerton promotional image

'Bridgerton' is Frilly and Problematic, but We Want More

Abby Richmond

Based on romance novels by Jewish author, Julia Quinn, Netflix's Bridgerton leaves us wanting more.

Topics: Television
Wonder Woman 1984 promo image

'Wonder Woman 1984' Is Not Good

Larisa Klebe

The Wonder Woman sequel isn't good. And that's OK.

Topics: Film
Yael Averbuch

Interview with Soccer Star and Players' Rights Activist, Yael Averbuch

Alyx Bernstein

JWA talks to soccer player and NWSLPA founder, Yael Averbuch.

Topics: Sports
Illustration of Curly Hair

Embracing My Curls, Embracing My Jewish Femininity

Simone Miller

My hair doesn’t only destroy hair ties; it also destroys insecurities about my Jewishness and femininity.

Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams in "Dick," 1999

1999 Watergate Comedy, "Dick," Teaches Us to Take Teen Girls Seriously

Eliza Bayroff

What can we learn from this 1999 coming-of-age comedy in 2020?

Gilmore Girls Friday Night Dinner

We Need a Jewish Bechdel Test

Ariel Finkle

Too often Jewish characters are the butts of jokes or used as trauma porn fodder. Enter the Finkle Test.

Topics: Television, Film
Since Parkland Website Image

"Since Parkland": Writing the Stories of Youth Victims of Gun Violence

Ellie Klibaner-Schiff

With "Since Parkland," I tried to celebrate other kids' lives and acknowledge the failures that ended them.

Illustration of Parts of the Body

Social Media “Influencers”: Start Influencing Girls to Love Ourselves

Neima Fax

Girls today are given an image of what an ideal body should look like on social media, and our introduction into womanhood and knowing our bodies is through the lens of fixing it.

Topics: Feminism, Media
Missy and her parents on Netflix's "Big Mouth"

Loving Cartoons as a Black Woman: Thoughts on Jenny Slate Leaving 'Big Mouth'

Erica Gerald Mason

Last month, Jenny Slate announced she would no longer voice Missy, a biracial teen, on Netflix's Big Mouth.

Topics: Television
The Plot Against America Promo Image

"The Plot Against America" and the Jewish Insult

Ilana Diamant

The Plot Against America exemplifies how "Jewish" speech illuminates the diversity in class, culture, and politics of the Jewish people.

Natalie Portman in "Jane Got a Gun"

Eighteen Jewish Country Songs

Beth Levine

Here are eighteen heimishe tunes to get your ortho slides a tappin’ and your tush a boppin’.

Topics: Comedy, Music
Screen capture from Unorthodox

Is "Unorthodox" Good for the Jews?

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

For Jews, representation onscreen is complicated. Does Unorthodox succeed?

Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr: Not Your Average Movie Star

Hannah Landau

Hedy Lamarr teaches us to be whatever the heck we want to be.

Topics: Film, Inventors
Rose Weissman, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Is Rose Weissman in on the Joke?

Ilana Diamant

When will The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel's Rose Weissman be given a chance to shine?

Topics: Television
Ilana Glazer in "The Planet is Burning"

Ilana Glazer’s Stand-Up Special Is Not on Fire

Emma Cohn

One of JWA's Rising Voices Fellowship almumnae reviews Ilana Glazer's stand-up comedy special The Planet is Burning.

Topics: Television, Comedy
Tik Tok

Is TikTok "Bad for the Jews"?

Julia Métraux

It should not be up to Jews to censor our own content to shield ourselves from antisemitic threats, but it is up to all of us to think carefully about the content we post.

Topics: Antisemitism, Media
Mrs. Maisel Season 3

Review: "Mrs. Maisel" Season 3

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

How does season three of Mrs. Maisel stack up?

Topics: Television, Comedy
A man and woman stand in the snow looking at a notepad

Review: Lifetime's "Mistletoes and Menorahs"

Rabbi Leah Berkowitz

Rabbi Leah Berkowitz breaks down her eight favorite and least favorite things about Lifetime's Mistletoes and Menorahs, and talks to screenwriter Guy Yosub.

Topics: Hanukkah, Television
old television

Sitting Shiva for TV

Ilana Diamant

To lose a character to death or a show to the fickle whims of network executives is devastating.

Topics: Television, Ritual
Cover of Jenny Slate's "Little Weirds," cropped

Little Weirds, Lots of Tenderness

Babette Dunkelgrün

We review Jenny Slate's memoir, Little Weirds.

Topics: Comedy, Memoirs
Jenny Slate on stage

Jenny Slate's "Stage Fright"

Larisa Klebe

Have you seen Jenny Slate's new Netflix special, Stage Fright?

Topics: Television, Comedy
Gold Star of David necklace hanging in midair, in partial focus.

Jewelry and Jewish Feminism

Lila Goldstein

Like everything we wear, our jewelry displays our tastes and preferences. On a deeper level, though, it also projects our values to the world.

Bill Maher

Zap the Fat Shaming

Larisa Klebe

No, fat shaming doesn't need to make a comeback.

Topics: Activism, Television
Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles

Film Review: "Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles"

Dr. Helene Meyers

After watching Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles, viewers will likely find themselves humming “If I Were A Rich Man” and “Tradition” for days.

Topics: Film, Theater

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