MY BIG FAT JEWISH MOTHER
BY JON SPIRA
FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST
PHOTO FROM THE GUARDIAN (SEE ORIGINAL ARTICLE BELOW)
Channel 4 is searching for the ‘ultimate Jewish mother’ – maybe someone like Maureen Lipman as Beattie in the BT ad campaign from the 1980s?
Channel 4 revels in the muck of the human sideshow and has become increasingly adept at disguising it not just as documentary but
also as justifiable entertainment. Straddling these two forums is
the hit show My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding which both invites us to
observe a culture and mock it until our hatred of them is
superseded only by our joyful derision. So gleeful are we about
the laughs the gypsy community can provide us with that we
literally place them beyond contempt.
I saw Channel 4's new ad for documentaries the other day, it
proclaimed itself either the home of modern documentary or the
future of documentary. Something hyperbolic and worrying. Just
when I thought I couldn't be more depressed by the situation, I
found this article on
------------------------------------------------------
Here is that article from the Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/tvandradioblog/2012/mar/15/channel4-television?INTCMP=SRCH
BEGINNING OF ARTICLE:
Channel 4 is searching for the ‘ultimate Jewish mother’ – maybe someone like Maureen Lipman as Beattie in the BT ad campaign from the 1980s?
Channel 4 will launch a nationwide hunt for the "ultimate Jewish mother" in which contestants will be tested on their cooking, home-making and matchmaking skills.
The broadcaster has faced accusations of stereotyping with its breakout hit, Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, and may face similar criticism over the new four-part series.
Channel 4 has joined forces with The Jewish News for the show, Jewish Mum of the Year, which will air in the autumn.
"The competition will seek out the traditional, the overbearing, the cheek-pinching and the charming," said Channel 4.
"The winner is out there somewhere in the land of the Jewish princess and the over-pampered bar mitzvah boys, and no strudel will be left unturned in his quest to find the perfect Jewish mum. It's a television show with a heart of gold."
Channel 4 head of factual entertainment Liam Humphreys, who commissioned the show, emphasised the partnership with the newspaper behind the show.
"We hope the Jewish News' search for the greatest Jewish mum in Britain will provide new insights for all of us as we enter the wonderful world of bar mitzvahs, match making and Friday night dinners, discovering the secrets behind one of the most successful and engaging communities in Britain," he said.
The Jewish News will be the driving force of the competition, joined by a judge who will be a pillar of the community and a "classic Jewish mother figure".
Contestants will be put through their paces in a number of "gruelling tasks" including cooking, matchmaking, home-making, event organising and how well they know their children.
Each programme will also feature guest judges in their respective fields as the candidates are narrowed down to the eventual winner.
------------------------END OF ARTICLE/RETURN TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE-------
MY BIG FAT JEWISH MOTHER
BY JON SPIRA
It might sound innocent enough but if you read between the lines, they're not looking for the Jewish Mum of The Year. They're
looking for the Jewish female stereotype of the year. They're
looking for a cheek-pinching, fish-frying, son-smothering
stereotype. They're looking to display the easiest, most mockable
parts of my heritage for the edification of people who find the
world an easier place to exist in when they can write-off whole
cultures as risible.
They might as well be looking for Nigerian Traffic Warden of the
Year, French Waiter of the Year or Irish Labourer of the Year but
they would never be that forthright. Just like with Gypsy
Weddings, Channel 4 seems to think if they expose their viewers
to a stereotype they weren't previously familiar with, it can be
passed off as enlightenment rather than mockery.
It seems just as Channel 4 provided us with ammunition we were
previously unaware of to sling at the gypsy community, they're
now extending the favour to my own people.
First they came for the gypsies, and I didn't speak out because I
wasn't a gypsy.
Then they came for the people who only eat weird things, and I
didn't speak out because I don't only eat weird things.
Then they came for the people who have strange facial
disfigurements, and I didn't speak out because I don't have one
of those.
Then they came for the fat people who couldn't get out of bed,
and I didn't speak out because I could still get out of bed.
Then they came for me.
And there was no one left to speak for me because they were all
having too much fun watching these shitty TV programmes without
stopping to think how they pander to our lowest base prejudices
and that despite how easy they may be to watch, all we're really
doing is feeling better about ourselves through the denigration
of others.
--------THANK YOU JON SPIRA, AN OBVIOUS ALLY.
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