New Coen Bros, A Serious Man

(not to say that I don't love W.P. Mayhew.)

Take Arthur, for instance, the easiest target of ridicule in the movie, if one wanted to take that route. He takes a really, really long time in the bathroom, but that's not a stereotype. He has a cyst that's disgusting and needs draining, but that's not a stereotype, either. Arthur doesn't even kvetch. He's actually in constant pain. The one scene where he airs his grievances is more of a breakdown than anything that could be called specifically Jewish. And to boot, he might actually be a genius, though of course the movie doesn't tell us.

Well, from a culture that's given us the mensch, the schlemeil and the schmuck, often in very humorous contexts, it's hardly surprising that some of the characters here would be describable as such. Thought her insinuation of Coens being self-hating thoroughly missed the point. I found all those things she was on about - the exaggeration of habits and characteristics - to be more about the claustrophobia of growing up in a particular suburb and community where everything you do is under the microscope of your god and the neighbours, who may or may not have it in for you.

Btw: a detail I liked. Sy Ableman points out to Larry that the Jolly Roger has a pool. In the scene with Arthur by the pool, we see that the pool is empty.

if i wrote a piece of drama it would have various stereotypes from my background basically

granted it's not a frequently persecuted minority ethnic group but j/s

about the claustrophobia of growing up in a particular suburb and community where everything you do is under the microscope of your god and the neighbours, who may or may not have it in for you.

The neighbors, well... maybe there's something to be afraid of there. I freaked out myself when the people moved in upstairs who hung American flags in the front windows and drive a big-ass truck. Anyway, I relate very much to Larry's fears on that front. This is why I don't live in Texas anymore.

But I don't think Larry feels like he's under the microscope of God. He's too rational by nature to ever assume that he's being punished by God. But that's also his problem -- he also demands rationality from the world, and the world doesn't have gracious amounts of that to spare.

Which explains the opening scene, too.

Kind of.

Most every review I've read, positive or otherwise, has seen all three rabbis and all of their advices as being merely comic. What's comic is Larry's frustration, not the advice. All of the rabbis are saying something essential about our place in the world. The comedy (and tragedy) of it is that Larry is not the kind of person who will ever hear it.

A Serious Man is crowded with fat Jews, aggressive Jews, passive-aggressive Jews, traitor Jews, loser Jews, shyster-Jews, emo-Jews, Jews who slurp their chicken soup

Which one of these is Mrs Samsky?

hot stoner jews

MILF JEW

milf jew > bear jew

as a gentile i must agree

MILF JEW

hmmm is this a website yet

JILF?

i don't think mrs samsky had kids so technically that would make her a JOUGAR

rofl

coen jougar mellowcamp

JOUGAR ELIMINATOR

I really enjoyed this. One of the Coen Bros. better films I think.

Not really seeing this as anti-semitic at all. Coens just continuing their tradition of populating their films with cartoon characters. And the only prominent gentiles in the movie are the dim, aggressive redneck neighbors, so w/e.

...and the Asians.

do east asians count as gentiles? i think they're beyond that biblical scope tbh.

JILF?

Chosen moms choose JILF.

hot stoner jews

So reductive! She has freedoms that are new.

Also, a John Boehner tan.

Chosen moms choose JILF.

lol

asians are the jews of asia

all jews are buddhists now

jewddhists

40 is kind of young for a cougar (or jougar), innit?

It's all about the size of the gap, innit?

Oh come on, ppl. Not even a groan?

i don't think mrs samsky had kids so technically that would make her a JOUGAR

― elmo leonard (elmo argonaut)

Seriously, how can you not call it JEWGAR?

Oh come on, ppl. Not even a groan?

I closed my laptop for a bit to watch Fringe on the DVR, but I lolled after the fact.

Did I imagine Arthur specifically bemoaning a 'curse' as the source of all their trouble during the pool/breakdown scene? It's the only thing I could link back to the prologue.

Did not love the ambiguous ending, but definitely made sense tying in with 'no questions answered' theme of the movie, rabbi's advice, schroedinger, etc.

enjoyed very much, on the whole. would echo the comment that a better workign knowledge of jewish culture would maybe have given me a bit more to take from it.

the movie struck me as a little self-loathing jew, tbh, but it was really the wife/daughter that came out of the whole thing stinking- at least the son got a little bit of fleshing out from being just another pain-in-the-ass for Larry to deal with every day.

I found the portrayal of Jews a little overly negative too, although I found the rabbis rather likable and almost zen-like -- which makes me wonder if I either got something some other people missed or just misread it out of wishful thinking (I didn't want to believe that the Coens would go for a trite cheapshot at the 'emptiness of religion').

At the same time, looking for antisemitic stereotypes is kind of an infinite feedback loop and for that reason a game I like to avoid where possible. I had a slight problem with the portrayal of a few characters because they seemed inhuman (the wife), but I think the film may be asking us to understand this as partly a product of the main character's perception.

Oh I guess I sort of said some of those things upthread.

i liked the rabbis too!

Also I feel like there has to be some kind of separation between kinds of stereotypes - particularly when they're being used in a knowing way by someone who grew up in a community as opposed to someone from outside. I mean if you grew up in a Synagogue you probably knew a few nebbishy Jews, and there is such a thing as a familiar cultural type. There's a difference between having that in a film about a Jewish community and placing a lone caricature of a nebbishy Jew for comic relief in a film otherwise devoid of Jewish characters. Like there's a difference between a Jewish stereotype as a token of a type of Jew and a Jewish stereotype as a token of The Jews.

I liked the first half of this but it wore on me by the end. I did like the rabbi scenes, though. "The story of the goy's teeth" was probably the best part.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_ky2g5scLwk1qa9bmvo1_1280.png?AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1273528616&Signature=c62ktsUwAhj8fAr%2FivoG%2FC9toLs%3D

a serious max

i keep meaning to rent this, but every time i'm in the video store, something holds me back. i guess in all honesty i don't like any of the coen brothers' films very much, and i'm a little wary of this one, more out of instinct than thoughtful consideration. should i bother?

i'd say no, given that you don't like any of their others very much, but then i think that maybe makes you a little bit crazy anyway.

i'm a bit insulted. i can't formulate a general objection to them, and i grow tired of those who insist on doing so. but i just don't have particularly warm feelings about anything i've seen by them, and i have pretty negative feelings about some of their films, like 'man who wasn't there.' none of their films sticks in my mind as an experience i want to linger over or return to.

are you the same darragh mac who writes for senses of cinema?

nope.

the 'ur a little bit mad' was me just being confused btw, sorry if it came over a little strong.

amateurist i share your discontent w/ most of the coens' stuff but 'srs man' is every bit as good as this thread would suggest

amateurist i share your discontent w/ most of the coens' stuff

YOU'RE BOTH CRAZY

ok i'll stop