🎥 MMLA 2024 Presentation: Thoughts

In November, I presented a paper on teaching "Jews in American Film" on a panel at MMLA featuring discussion on Film and Culture. Below is the accepted abstract:

     In the Fall of 2023, I was set to teach “Jews in American Film.” I was worried about two things: that my students would struggle with class discussion due to varied backgrounds (it was cross-listed as a literature, film, and Judaic studies course), and how they would respond to films by controversial filmmakers (like Woody Allen) or films that were themselves controversial (like Blazing Saddles). Once classes began, my fears subsided. The variety of students did not present as an obstacle, but a boon. Film students focused on performances, editing, staging, while literature students weighed in on story and theme, and Judaic studies students highlighted Jewish elements, religious, cultural, and historical, that others might have missed. Midway through the semester, however, trouble emerged: on October 7th, Israel was attacked by Hamas, which led to horrific continued retaliation in Gaza. My classroom played host to people with opposing opinions on the conflict, which I worried would re-color our conversations—or worse. To my surprise, discussions continued as insightfully and inclusively as usual, and, by the end, a number of my students (Jewish and otherwise) approached me separately expressing gratitude for creating a space where they could both openly be, and discover, themselves. In this presentation, I will discuss the changes to the classroom after the renewed violence began, what my students took away from the class, and what I hope the class can become in the future.

The other panelists brought really fascinating work to the discussion. While I struggled my way through understanding the first talk (which was delightfully delivered in Spanish--great practice for my Spanish competency, which I haven't worked on in years) another, which was delivered on Mayan representation in films, was especially intriguing.