Re: More on Jews in R/B and Jerry Ragovoy

[Eliott Kahn <Elkahn...>]

At 01:34 PM 12/2/2003 -0600, you wrote:
>But one must ask, I think, if there is an almost exclusively behind the scenes 
>role throughout popular culture for Jews, when exceptions are all either 
>forthrightly assimilationist or strangely filtered/marginalized, what's truly 
>going on?  Could it be that so few Jews really wanted to be media stars?  
>Seems to me that's what most American kids want to be at least at some point 
>in their maturing years.  There is a cloak of ineffable otherness on the 
>Jewish role in pop performance that doesn't seem to be going away.

Alex:

These are some important points you're making. I would posit that there is a 
"cloak of ineffable otherness" in being a Jew in a predominantly Christian 
society. Therefore it would make sense that the Jews who were the most 
successful in our popular culture would be the most assimilated. 

Or perhaps Jews make great songwriters, movie directors and playwrights because 
we're fascinated by ideas....

Eliott


---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+