Rainbow Jews : Jewish and gay identity in the performing arts / Jonathan C. Friedman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Friedman, Jonathan C., 1966-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gay people in the performing arts--United States.

Gay people in the performing arts.

Gay people in the performing arts--Israel.

Jews in the performing arts--United States.

Jews in the performing arts.

Jews in the performing arts--Israel.

Homosexuality in motion pictures.

Jewish drama--20th century--History and criticism.

Jewish drama.

Homosexuality in literature.

Jews in literature.

Israel.

United States.

Physical Description:

x, 203 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, MD : Lexington Books, [2007]

Summary:

Rainbow Jews deals with the intersection of gay and Jewish identity in American and Israeli film and theater from the 1960s to the present. Its main area of interest is the extent to which Jewish creative voices in the performing arts have constructed multidimensional images of, and a wel-coming public space for, the gay, lesbian, and transgendered community as a whole. Through a close reading of numerous American and Israeli plays and films, Jonathan Friedman evaluates some of the key conventions and tropes that have been employed to construct, critique, and reflect the social reality of the connection between Jewishness and gay identity in the United States and Israel. He also explores ways in which gay Jewish playwrights and filmmakers have assisted the reevaluation of sexual norms within Judaism over the past three-decades, inspiring and reinforcing measures across the spectrum of belief geared toward integrating Jewish members of the GLBT community into the overall Jewish historical narrative.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Homophobia and Tolerance in Judaism 9

Chapter 2 Jews, Homosexuality, and the Performing Arts in the United States: Sensibilities and Tensions, 1890-1969 31

Chapter 3 Gay Jewish Voices "Come Out": Plays and Films, 1969-1982 59

Chapter 4 Kaddish: AIDS, Jews, and the Performing Arts 87

Chapter 5 The "Great Work" Continues: Gay Jewish Representations in American Film and Theater, 1990 to the Present 119

Chapter 6 A Minority within Several Minorities: Jewish-Lesbian Films and Plays 145

Chapter 7 Queer in the Holy Land: Gay and Lesbian Cinema in Israel 161.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-194) and index.

ISBN:

9780739114476

0739114476

9780739114483

0739114484

OCLC:

76871647