We are all the main character in our own reality show
Just another week in Jewish culture wars
How reality TV got real: A review of Emily Nussbaum’s cultural history book ‘Cue the Sun!’
Click for the latest book review by Phoebe Maltz Bovy—and, from her own Substack, additional rumination about a week of feeling like a reality television character herself.
How did women’s cultural spaces become home to pro-Palestinian activism?
Recently, a Canadian women’s magazine, Chatelaine, removed an article from the digital version of its website for including a photo of the author sporting a red triangle—which is only a subtle gesture if you didn’t know that the red triangle is a symbol of Hamas. The author, a pro-Palestinian chef and activist in Nova Scotia, describes baking challah to connect with her Jewish heritage. But the ensuing political fallout across social media (and some traditional media, including this one) caused more headaches than the editorial staff at Chatelaine were likely anticipating.
The debacle exemplifies an ongoing shift in the culture-wars landscape: women shifting to progressive spaces, men shifting to conservative ones. (See: the re-election of Donald Trump.) But the cost of this broadstrokes realignment has ramifications on how political cultural spaces become, ranging from women’s magazines to television, film and cuisine.
Here to discuss these issues is Shayna Weiss, associate director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University. She joins Phoebe Maltz Bovy and Avi Finegold to discuss representation of women in Israeli culture and society, the evolution of cuisine as a cultural signifier, and the role of media in shaping perceptions of identity.
Coming up on the podcas
Toronto-based culture critic Lydia Perović gabbing about the aftermath of protests surrounding the 2024 Giller Prize, and how the literary awards might be modified for these times—exploring the suggestions she outlined last week on her own Substack:
What It’s Like Being Jewish; What Jews Are Really Like ✡️ https://tinyurl.com/58eatscm