I'm always on the lookout for films and tv series with a Jewish theme, so I was particularly excited to finally have the opportunity to start watching Shtisel. Here is a description of the show according to Netflix: "A Haredi family living in an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood of Jerusalem reckons with love, loss and the doldrums of daily life." I started watching Saturday night and watched the first two episodes so far. I like it--the acting is good, the portrayal of the community seems authentic (not that I would know exactly, but there's nothing that suggests to me that it's off base). However, there was one part of what I watched that honestly shocked me.
In episode 2, (33 minutes into the show) the single bachelor Akiva visits the shadchan (matchmaker) to request he set up a meeting for him and a woman who he would like to court. The woman is a widow twice over and has a young son. The shadchan feels that Akiva can do better. He says of the widow: "She's like a shnitzel that was frozen, thawed, heated up, frozen, thawed, heated up in the microwave, and served on a paper plate." I was surprised to hear this type of sexual objectification of a woman by comparing her to meat (literally!). I have always felt that traditional Judaism, while perhaps being patriarchal, encourages respect for women as people.
My post last week about modesty and the #metoo movement is a perfect example. Modest clothing is supposed to encourage women to be seen for their inner qualities, not to be seen as sexual objects.
This idea has been expressed by many people in many places. One example is in Avi Shafran's October article in Tablet:
"Do we really imagine that true respect for the integrity and honor of women can survive, let alone thrive, in a world where standard 'entertainment' fare is saturated with the objectification (and all too often actual abuse) of that half of the population, where women’s skin is used to sell everything from cars and candy to beer and barbecue grills? Where female performers–claiming 'liberation' no less–feel compelled to appear on stage in costumes that once would have had them arrested if worn in public? Are the divas offering the public their talents or their bodies?"
He goes on to compare this to Orthodox Jewish culture: "Those of us who were reared in Orthodox Jewish homes and who hew to traditional Jewish standards, have always regarded 'enlightened' society as anything but. Long considered prudish, we in the Orthodox community are now watching the secular mainstream reluctantly embrace lessons about the needs for sexual restraint that once made us the target of their mockery."
The scene in Shtisel doesn't reflect my understanding of how women are supposed to regarded and spoken about in Jewish communities of any type. Besides the idea that modesty should prevent the sexual objectification of women, Judaism also prescribes strict guidelines for ethical speech that should in theory prevent derogatory comments from being made about anyone.
There are some very lovely scenes in Shtisel that portray Haredi life in a good light, but this one scene does a lot of damage. I hope that this type of talk about women is not, actually, reflective of a conversation that realistically might happen in a Haredi environment. If it is, I hope viewers know that this type of disgusting conversation is in violation of Jewish standards, not part of them.
The jury is out on whether modest dress actually prevents the sexual objectification of women. I am curious to hear your thoughts.
Comments
Post a Comment