Pop Culture

Katherine Ryan

Why Keep a Man in Your House?

Larisa Klebe

Katherine Ryan isn't Jewish, but her new comedy special on Netflix is.

Topics: Television, Comedy
Desk with computer, coffee, notebook, and phone on top

Find Your Voice, Then Share It

Shira Minsk

Forming strong opinions is easier said than done, and for me, the exercise of writing helps me get there.

Ask Dr. Ruth Hulu

Dr. Ruth: Pleasure Yo’ Self!

Larisa Klebe

Have you watched Ask Dr. Ruth on Hulu yet?

Topics: Television
Rosie the Riveter

Finding My Femininity

Ilana Jacobs

I was weird for being strong. “Weird” because physical strength is not often an attribute associated with women.

Olympic athlete Caster Semenya

Restricting Semenya is Sexist and Violates Human Rights

Molly Weiner

By saying a woman can only be defined as female and enjoy success if she has an arbitrary amount of testosterone, the IAAF has turned the hormone into something it is not: a myth of male greatness.

Irma Gershkowitz in a Pussy Hat CROP

A Century of Hats and Spirit

Leann Shamash

A new mother/daughter photo project encourages viewers to challenge ageism and value the experiences of the elderly.

Rising Voices Fellow Molly Weiner's school cross country team

Look Fast

Molly Weiner

The first step the female athletic community can take towards fostering healthier norms is to share stories collectively, to address a pain that is all too common.

Topics: Schools, Athletes
Mona Lisa Saperstein

Authenticity, Please: TV’s Jewish Ladies

Rena Lubin

Television shows often reduce Jewish women to a few tired tropes, ones that are largely negative, or stereotypical.

Topics: Television
Still Photo from "Working Woman" (2018)

Film Review: "Working Woman"

Karen Davis

Exclusively for JWA, film critic Karen Davis reviews Working Woman, a film about one woman’s #MeToo story in Israel.

Broad City Lost and Found

The Eight Best Jewish Quotes from Broad City’s “Lost and Found”

Larisa Klebe

A curated list of the eight best Jewish quotes from Season 5, Episode 6 of Broad City.

Ilana Glazer Cropped

My Intersectional Feminist Queen, Ilana Wexler

Lily Drazin

“Madonna, Rihanna, Ilana!” That’s just one of the many unique jingles enthusiastically sung by none other than the ultimate feminist, Jewess, and queen: Ilana Wexler. Wexler, the fictional character from Comedy Central’s hit series Broad City, embodies every aspect of what it means to be a badass, world-changing, intersectional feminist.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Getting "Crazy" About History

Rebecca Brenner Graham

Rebecca Bunch is apparently a student of history... and I don’t just mean her relationship history.

Judge Judy

Judge Judy: Poetry Muse

Jen Karetnick

Exclusively for JWA, Jen Karetnick shares two of her poems about everyone’s favorite Judge: Judy.

Topics: Television, Law, Poetry
"Egg Cream" Film Still

Neither Egg, Nor Cream: An Afternoon at the Tucson Jewish Film Festival

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

When I saw a flyer advertising the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival at the Jewish Community Center, with something called Egg Cream listed as a short film to be shown toward the end of January, I was intrigued.

Topics: Food, Film
Gertrude Berg and Amy Sherman Palladino

Yoohoo...Mrs. Maisel!

Ava Berkwits

Gertrude Berg and Amy Sherman Palladino are two women who have brought Jews to television in completely revolutionary ways; as funny, approachable characters who are incredibly dynamic and unapologetically Jewish.

Topics: Television
Silhouette of a Girl

Fixing the Flaws in Perfection

Ilana Jacobs

Every “perfect girl” I have ever met has been so humble, that they can turn a compliment into self-deprecation. It is so unbearably heartbreaking to me that these girls who are so marvelous all don’t know how marvelous they are. But the truly terrifying truth is that their humility and self-consciousness seem to be an essential part of being the “perfect girl.”

Midge Maisel Catskills Season 2

Review: “Mrs. Maisel” Season 2

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

Does The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel accurately portraying New York Jewish life in the 1950s, or is it caricature? One of our writers tackles this question in her review of season two.

Topics: Television
Ilana and Abbi in Broad City Episode, "Witches"

Why I Rewatched Broad City's “Witches” For My Birthday

Rena Lubin

For my 22nd birthday in December, I decided to rewatch Season 4 Episode 6 of Broad City—“Witches”and let it all sink in as another year goes by, another birthday passes, and I apparently keep growing older.

Topics: Feminism, Television
Facebook

Is it time to break up with Facebook?

Rebecca Long

Are we still on Facebook? Yes. Do we feel icky about it? Definitely. Do we plan to stay on Facebook for now? Yes, and I’ll tell you why.

Topics: Boycotts, Journalism
Sarah Silverman's I Love You America

I Love You, Sarah

Larisa Klebe

In this particular political moment, Sarah Silverman’s latest project, her show on Hulu called I Love You, America, is exactly what I need.

Topics: Activism, Television
Promotional Poster for Wonder Woman

The Wonder of Representation

Emma Cohn

Watching Patty Jenkins’s 2017 film Wonder Woman was nothing short of a transformative experience. It was a victory, glorious and all-consuming, and it was my victory. I was the hero. And as I sat in that theater, tongue dry with over-buttered popcorn and stale air, I cried.

Topics: Film
To All the Boys I've Loved Before

The Fashion of "To All the Boys I've Loved Before"

Rebecca Long
This summer, no movie captured our hearts like Netflix's To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Rafaella Rabinovich, the costume designer responsible for film's iconic looks, discusses the most popular outfits from the movie and the importance of representation in film.
Cover Image of Michelle Wolf's The Break

Give Me The Break

Larisa Klebe

Michelle Wolf isn’t a “nice lady,” and neither am I. Screw being nice. Netflix just cancelled The Break with Michelle Wolf after just one season, and I’m not having it.

Topics: Television, Comedy
Cover of Iliza Schlesinger's Elder Millennial

Respect Your Elder (Millennial)

Larisa Klebe

Having watched all of Iliza’s specials, read her book, and watched much of her talk show, there are any number of aspects of her comedy I could talk about. I’d like to focus on what I see as her evolution as a feminist, paired with the rising trend of comedy specials that challenge our perceptions of what comedy can be.

Paris Geller and "Operation Finish Line"

How Paris Geller’s Jewishness Helped Me Understand Mine

Rena Lubin

So, how Jewish is Gilmore Girls’ Paris Geller? I’d say, very.

While Gilmore Girls has a permanent home in my Netflix “Continue Watching” list and I tend to restart the series as soon as I finish it, I feel conflicted about the representation of Paris Geller, and of her Judaism.

Topics: Television

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