Justice, Self and Society in American Jewish Film and Fiction

FYS 47a: Justice, Self and Society in American Jewish Fiction and Film JUSTBOOKS Freshman Seminar (counts for NEJS credit) Sylvia Barack Fishman Spring 2013 Semester

This course looks at short stories, novels, and films by North American Jewish writers and filmmakers that deal with competing concepts of justice, loyalty, autonomy, and citizenship. American icons such as the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and the Statue of Liberty bear witness to the stirring declarations concerning individual liberty and social justice in Jewish texts from the Hebrew Bible to the modern era. In some official articulations, individual rights appear to be the bedrock of a righteous society. But how is social justice attained when individuals want different things for themselves or from each other, when they are competing for scarce resources, or when social groupings like families, workplaces, or governments make demands that abridge individual rights? Inspirational declarations may seem to link individual opportunity with larger societal goals, but many have experienced them as conflicting rather than mutually supportive. Definitions of social justice differ, and individual freedom, ambition, and the yearning for personal fulfillment are often at odds in complex ways with societal expectations.

Course requirements include: 1) Students are expected to complete all readings and viewing assignments, to attend class, and to participate in discussions (10 %). 1) Journal entries discussing assigned films and readings will be handed in twice during the semester, February 26 and March 19. Journal entries should be submitted both in email and hard copy (40 %). 2) A substantive term paper, 15 pages, dealing with the work(s) of any combination of Jewish fiction writers or filmmakers—as agreed upon by a conversation with Prof. Fishman during office hours or by appointment—Wednesday April 30 at 5 p.m. (50 %).

Introduction: Too high a price? Economic injustice and human values The course begins by looking at immigration as a crucible in which established societal norms and expectations were disrupted, and individual aspirations to take advantage of opportunities to attain success, freedom, and power in a new land often superseded considerations of justice or compassion. Anzia Yezierska’s stories capture the interpersonal, intergenerational, and often class-based struggles that marked and sometimes maimed individual lives. At the same time, both in Russian and Eastern Europe and after emigration to the United States some Jews were distinguished by their attraction to and participation in socialist strivings for social justice, including the various union movements emerging in the early decades of the twentieth century. Barbra Streisand used the film “The Way We Were” to depict Jewish involvements in social justice causes, and to make some—arguably over-schematic—comments about aspects of Jewish culture that lent themselves to these involvements. A very different depiction of Jewish women’s involvement in social justice is found in the short stories of the incomparable Grace Paley, especially those stories that depict Faith Darwin Asbury’s gradual awakening on several levels at once, as she moves “out of that sexy playground” and thinks “more and more and every day about the world” in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. The class will discuss the responsibility of individuals toward the political and economic situations that surround them, and conflicting moral demands of individual autonomy and parenthood, self and society, as depicted in a selection of Paley stories. 1. Anzia Yezierska, “The Fat of the Land,” in Fishman, Follow My Footprints: Changing Images of Women in American Jewish Fiction (pp. 176-193). Read for Wednesday January 15. 2. Grace Paley, “Dreamer in a Dead Language,” Fishman (pp. 333-348). Read for Wednesday January 22. 3. “The Way We Were” (Dir. Sydney Pollack, with Barbra Streisand, 1973). Watch for Monday January 27.

Unit I: Struggling for justice across boundaries of belief The class looks at the historical difficulties of fighting for justice in unjust settings first by focusing on one ethnoreligious case study, the “ritual blood libel” perpetrated against the Jews in various times and places. Bernard Malamud’s Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning novel, The Fixer uses an historical episode in Kiev in 1911 to explore the broader humanistic and universalistic implications of the need to fight against particularistic injustices. Moving across the ocean to the very different—and in some ways more subtle—forms of anti-Semitism in the United States, the class looks at Philip Roth’s sly, pitch-perfect analysis of the troubling and sometimes conflicting demands of tribal, patriotic, and military loyalties and their concepts of loyalty and justice. 4. Bernard Malamud, The Fixer. Read for Wednesday January 29, Monday February 3, and Wednesday, February 5. 5. Philip Roth, “Defender of the Faith,” on Latte. Read for Monday, February 10 and Wednesday February 12. Unit II: Justice and I-Thou relationships Some authors suggest that certain relationships demand specialized forms of justice that go beyond impersonal objectivity; indeed, some suggest that a parent, mentoring adult, or romantic partner who regards his child, student, or significant other dispassionately is actually committing an injustice of sorts. How can we make sense of differing layers of ethical and moral obligations embedded in relationships? 6. Tillie Olsen, “Tell Me A Riddle,” in Fishman, pp. 213-246. Read for Monday February 24 and Wednesday February 26. FEBRUARY 26--JOURNALS DUE 7. Rebecca Goldstein, “The Legacy of Raizel Kadish,” on Latte. Read for Monday March 3. 9. “Torch Song Trilogy” (Dir. Paul Bogart, with Harvey Fierstein, 1988). Watch for Wednesday March 5. Unit III: A Zero-Sum Game? Justice and ambition in the real world Individuals who are nurtured in particular racial, ethnic, or religious families sometimes discover that the very fact they “belong” to that group may be an obstacle to their success and advancement in the broader American socio-economic environment, in which “equality” and “justice” are not necessarily equally accessible to all. The class will do close textual analysis of Philip Roth’s Pen/ Faulkner award-winning novel, The Human Stain, considering the relationship between familial and tribal loyalty, individual achievement and “rugged individualism,” emotional and sexual intimacy, economic class distinctions and stereotypes, and the conformities and treacheries of the academic world. Individuals who look just, upright, and compassionate in their relationships to family, religious group, and community sometimes hide an unseen secret life characterized by injustice, corruption, and callousness. Does anyone—on heaven or earth —“see” what they do? Is the universe marked by—or devoid of—order and integrity? What are the implications for human behavior implicit in these questions? The class will analyze the visual, cinematic, musical, and dialogic answers proposed by Woody Allen’s brilliant film, “Crimes and Misdemeanors.” 10. Philip Roth, The Human Stain. Read for Monday March 10, Wednesday March 12, and Monday March 17. 11. Woody Allen, “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (Woody Allen, 1989). Watch for Wednesday March 19. MARCH 19--JOURNALS DUE Unit IV: Public and private responsibility to combat corruption and injustice Dedication to global and local social justice in vigorous efforts that transcend ethnic, geographic and socioeconomic boundaries is illuminated by recent novels such as Nathan Englander’s powerful The Ministry of Special Cases, situated in the nightmare world of 1970s Argentina, where “kidnappings and extortions…murders and disappearances” occurred “on all sides.” The class will examine the moral universe presented when Englander’s lower class, everyman protagonist, Kaddish Poznan, illegitimate son of a prostitute, tries to protect himself and his family by ignoring growing evidence of Argentine fascism and brutality, while in contrast, Kaddish’s son Pato rejects Poznan’s division of the moral world into insiders and outsiders, one deserving, the other not deserving a principled fight for justice. A very different setting—and a very different kind of public acquiescence—may be present when examining the various players who produce and consume American popular culture. What responsibility does the entertainment industry have toward the populace it competes to entertain—versus its responsibility to the sponsors that employ it and make its programming possible? What culpability does the audience itself have when it seems to value escapist distractions over programming integrity? How does racism or antisemitism show itself in public programming? What is the responsibility of the entertainment industry--and the public viewing audience--in dealing with overt or implicit racial stereotypes? How can society be improved? What is the impact of their own individual flaws and shortcomings on political leaders who want to improve society. 12. "Quiz Show"(Dir. Robert Redford, 1994)--watch in class on Monday March 24, discuss in class Wednesday March 26. 13. Nathan Englander, The Ministry of Special Cases. Read for Monday March 31 and Wednesday April 2. 14. “Puttermesser and Xanthippe,” in Fishman (pp. 439-494). Read for Monday April 7 and Wednesday April 9. SUNDAY APRIL 28, CLASS PARTY AT PROF. FISHMAN'S HOME, LAST CLASS, wrap-up discussion. TERM PAPER DUE WEDNESDAY APRIL 30 AT 5 P.M. IN PROF. FISHMAN'S NEJS MAILBOX, HARD COPY AND EMAIL ELECTRONIC COPY ALSO