Good movies to convey Jewish culture to 7th graders?

[DebJ]

I'm about to teach a unit on the Hebrews/ancient Jews to a class of inner-city 7th graders. Does anyone have a suggestion for
a good movie/book appropriate for their age level that will give them somewhat of a feel/respect for Jewish culture and religion?
I read Chaim Potok's books in 9th grade; after The Chosen, I was just absolutely hooked. I felt immersed in the culture of the
Orthodox Jews. There is a DVD available online but its $55....any thoughts from anyone before I invest?

For my advanced class, I'm considering buying several copies of the paperback (used), reading aloud to the whole class, and trying
to hook some of the students into reading it. (Most of our students are below basic in reading skills, so I'm only considering
trying this with the advanced class and another select student or two).

Appreciate any feedback.
Thanks.

[begin_within]

1. Fiddler on the Roof?

[DebJ]

4. I was thinking about that one too

The Chosen brings it into a more modern perspective, but the students might enjoy Fiddler more...and it is cheaper.
Maybe I should show the Fiddler movie, or part of it, and use The Chosen book.

I like the emphasis on 'Tradition' in Fiddler.

Thanks.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. That is a favorite of ours. My boys have loved it since they were just tiny, and used to get up to

dance whenever everyone else was. LOL (ALso, they just really got a kick out of Topol. But then, who doesn't? :))

[Matariki]

2. A Serious Man.

heh, heh.

[timeforpeace]

3. Otto Preminger's Exodus with Paul Newman and Sir Ralph Richardson.

[DebJ]

6. Thanks.

[grassfed]

9. Exodus is discredited, trumped up propaganda

Anne Frank would be a better choice.

[JackRiddler]

18. Anne Frank's diary isn't an introduction to Jewish culture per se.

[slampoet]

26. Also Exodus has veiled rape references. Not bad by today's standard, but some might complain.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. A fairly easy series of books that I enjoyed as a kid

called The All-of-a-Kind Family portrays the life of a family of Jewish immigrants around 1900 in New York.

[DebJ]

10. Wow! Just read the comments on Amazon. Sounds great.

Sounds like the problems in the book...loss of loved ones..will also be something my inner city kids can connect with.
One comment noted that old stereotypes of others (Poles and others) are rather harsh and presented from the 1950s
viewpoint, but that is educational as well.... I like to tell my students about my mother's descriptions of DC in
the 1930s 1940s, when the city was still divided by many different ethnicities....her stories told to me as a child
were what convinced me that bigotry against African Americans in the 1960s was just as arbitrary as the prejudices
of my mother's time and place (although she never held those prejudices herself.)

This just sounds fantastic, and I can use it with my non-advanced classes. Thank you so much!!!!!!

[Misskittycat]

23. I loved that series!

[Hannah Bell]

34. i loved those books too.

[HeresyLives]

8. My first thought was The Chosen

and/or My Name is Asher Lev, books that revealed a wholly different world to me.

Would your 7th graders be up to that? You know them best, but I'd sure be tempted to try. :)

[grassfed]

11. "Hester Street"

[niyad]

12. "yentl"

[DebJ]

14. Oops. A woman marrying another woman won't go but thanks!

[niyad]

17. self-delete

[slampoet]

27. Yentl has naked male asses. NOT suitable.

[no_hypocrisy]

13. "The Fixer" if you can find it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fixer_(film)

[WCGreen]

15. I think I would start with Fiddler to show the kids why so many Jewish

folk ended up in New York. Then the Chosen to show how being Jewish was to young people. I would also show the Pawnbroker and Hester Street and then to make it fun, anything by Mel Brooks...

[DebJ]

20. Thanks for the reminder about Brooks....

but I think he would only be funny after students have a basic understanding of whatever period in history we are jabbing

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DebJ]

19. LOL I don't ....

It's just a unit in our Ancient History curriculum. We began the year discussing how history is written, using artifacts, archaeology, etc...and now comes a unit based almost entirely on what many might call legend or myth. I am a Christian, but believe we all come to
God by our own means, through one of the infinite ways God created for us to be with God. In other words, I don't push religion on
anyone, and as a history major, I can't bring myself to teach this as pure history....I have to add caveats. As a woman of 54, I've heard
comments in former occupations like "What are you doing here! You are a woman! (that was for an accounting job, sheesh). A large part
of my motivation to become a teacher (just able to do this now, at my age) was to teach tolerance and understanding/empathy, etc.

This unit is being taught (by me) solely as an exploration of culture. And the concept of "Tradition" explains more history than just that
of the Jews. Part of social studies is culture.......a very important part.... culture is a huge factor in shaping the events of history...particularly egocentric events....like the Crusades, etc., ad nauseum. You know, We are right and everyone else is wrong so let's
kill them all mentality.

And of course, and understanding of all of this is quite necessary to understand events going on today... Osama's motivations, for one.
I have my students struggle to find tiny Israel on the world map, and then tell them that this little piece of land is where so much
mayhem, chaos and death over the centuries has originated....without, of course, presenting any judgments on who is wrong or right. I explain
the Palestinians situation by saying What if the world courts decided that the USA should cede California to the Native Americans to redress
the genocide performed by the US Government in the past? How would you feel if you lived in California? If your family had been there for many
generations? That gets them thinking. Wouldn't you agree that they need to begin to have some understanding of what is going on there? Most adults to whom I have spoken in recent political campaigns are utterly clueless about any of this. The farther right, of course, the more clueless.....they are caught in their own Traditions....

[Generic Other]

21. Avalon

About 3 generations of an immigrant family. Really good film based on Barry Levinson's family.

[DebJ]

22. Thanks

[Kaleva]

24. Spaceballs

[Aristus]

25. "Take This Sabbath Day". Episode from Season 1 of 'The West Wing.'

It portrays Judaism in a very positive, humane, and humanistic light. "Vengeance is not Jewish."

The female cantor singing the funeral song is one of the most startlingly beautiful things I've ever seen on television.

[provis99]

28. show them episodes of Seinfeld. Seriously.

Seinfeld gives a more realistic impression of Jewish life as it is today than all the "Fidder on the Roof" or "The Ten Commandments" nonsense you can collect. Too much of the Jewish stuff in movies is more of a caricature of supposed Jewish history than an explanation of contemporary reality.

[Behind the Aegis]

29. I suggest you see this website.

http://www.pbs.org/jewishamericans/

The video is a documentary and is well-done.

Hopefully this will help.

Edit to add: Amazon dvd

[ChicagoSuz219]

30. "Brighton Beach Memoirs" (Neil Simon)...

"The Chosen" is wonderful and it's about the Hassidim... which may, or may not, be as foreign a culture to your students as a movie about the Amish would be.

Chaim Potok is my favorite writer. "The Promise," "My Name is Asher Lev" (not for 7th graders), "The Book of Lights."

As a kid, I remember "Exodus," "The Ten Commandments" and "The Diary of Anne Frank."

For older kids/adults "The Nuremburg Trials," "Annie Hall," "Portnoy's Complaint," "Schindler's List," "The Piano," a movie w/Ali MacGraw & Richard Benjamin... I forget the name," "Meet the Fockers" & sequels, "Marjorie Morningstar".

I read a great book by Pete Hamill called "Snow in August." You might want to read it first to make sure it's appropriate. I think it is.

[ChicagoSuz219]

31. And, of course...

"Fiddler on the Roof," "Funny Girl," & "Funny Lady."

[NuttyFluffers]

32. hmm, maybe a bit much for 7th graders, but "Everything is Illuminated"

talks about the diaspora and oppression, but with a culturally sensitive and humane look at a pluralistic and complex world. also the latter half of the movie is far more potent than the first half leads you to believe. a good tear jerker, expresses the value of collecting history, but shows that history is very much alive in our own blood. edit: it's very "Magical Realism" by the way. i don't know if that's good or bad for your teaching...

i'd recommend the book "The Bread Givers" by Anzia Yezierska, as well. not so much for the story, it's a bit simple and unpolished -- but that's the point for the recommendation. it's sort of a Horatio Algiers story of a young Jewish immigrant girl in America during the early 20th century. you read it because it captures the cadence of speech and little details of culture and nuance that are irreplaceable.

you may also want to find a few cookbooks, too. no better way to spread understanding than through the hungry stomach. especially since Jewish food has its own aesthetic principles and tradition, while at the same time adapting to the far flung regions of the diaspora. having Jewish Chinese, Jewish Indian, Jewish Mediterranean Basin, or Jewish Latin American food definitely makes you see the Jewish world in a far more multifaceted light, whereas still reinforcing similarities that are at the heart of cultural cohesion.

[Ten Bears]

33. The Devils Arithmetic.

Book and movie. A young girl, about 7th grade, is complaining about having to participate in the Passover Seder and finds herself transported to Poland in 1942. http://www.google.com/search?q=the+devils+arithmetic&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

[NoPasaran]

35. Radio Days