[ecrea] Call for Papers: “Mythical Movie Jews: Anti- and Philo-Semitic Stereotypes on the Silver Screen”

*Call for Papers *“Mythical Movie Jews: Anti- and Philo-Semitic 
Stereotypes on the Silver Screen.” An Area of Multiple Panels for the 
/Film and History/ Conference on “Film and Myth: Septemember 26-30, 2012 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. www.uwosh.edu/filmandhistory * Deadline: June 
1, 2012*

Feature films usually have projected stereotypical motivations and 
traits onto characters belonging to ethnic, racial, and religious 
minorities. Thus, the individual antagonist or protagonist typifies his 
or her group. The cinematic image of Jews, in particular, has been 
shaped by the legacy of Christianity’s views of Jews and Judaism, the 
economic and professional roles Jews have been associated with, and the 
conspiratorial or constructive goals Jews pursue to subvert or 
strengthen modern nation states and their economic and political 
systems. These stereotypes have changed dramatically over the course of 
the 20^th century as the status of Jews has been transformed by the 
attainment of de jure civic equality in liberal and socialist societies, 
the Holocaust, the establishment of the state of Israel, and the rise of 
multiculturalism. The panels in this area will explore the traditional 
and modern stereotypes of Jews that have informed cinematic depictions 
of Jews as threatening others, fellow citizens or loyal allies. It will 
also examine how Jews personify various gender orientations. Possible 
topics include, but are not limited to, the following*:*

The Jew in Christian Theology (/King of Kings, The Passion/, /Jesus 
Christ Superstar/) Contemporary Stereotypes and Biblical Jews (/The Ten 
Commandments, Solomon and Sheba/) The Jews as Usurer (/The Merchant of 
Venice, The Pawnbroker/, /The House of Rothschild/) The Jewish American 
Princess (/Marjorie Morningstar, Goodbye Columbus, Private Benjamin/) 
The Orthodox Jewish Man /(The Chosen/, /A Stranger Among Us/, /Kadosh/, 
/Crossing Delancey/) Smart Jews (/Independence Day/, /Bee Season/, 
/Barton Fink/, /Insignificance/, /Quiz Show/) Jewish Radicals (/Street 
Scene, Daniel, Norma Mae,/ /Running on Empty/, /The Way We Were/) The 
Neurotic Jew (/Annie Hall/, /Miami Rhapsody/, /The Hebrew Hammer/, /Curb 
Your Enthusiasm/) Jewish Parvenus(/The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz/, 
/Chariots of Fire, Disraeli/) Passive Jews (/The Diary of Anne Frank, 
Fiddler on the Roof/, Tough Jews (/Exodus, Inglourious Defiance, 
Basterds, Munich/, /Bugsy/, /The Young Lions/) My Son the Doctor 
(/Symphony of Six Million, The Last Angry Man, Northern Expo/sure), The 
Independent Jewish Woman (/The Way We Were/, /Meet the Fokkers/, 
/House/) Images of Israelis (/Exodus,/ /The Little Drummer Girl,/ /Walk 
on Water/, /Waltz with Bashir/) The Gay Jew (/Boys in the Band/, /Torch 
Song Trilogy, Kissing Jessica Stein/, /The Bird Cage/)

Proposals for complete panels (related presentations) are welcome, but 
they must include an abstract and contact information, including an 
e-mail address, for each presenter. Please e-mail your 200 word paper 
proposal or panel proposals by June 1, 2012 to:

Lawrence Baron, Area Chair, 2012 /Film and History/ Conference “Jewish 
Monotheism in the Movies: From Abstraction to Personification” San Diego 
State University (lbaron /at/ mail.sdsu.edu) <mailto:(lbaron /at/ mail.sdsu.edu)>