A Mission to demystify Minorities
It is true that British Television in general and Channel 4 in particular seem to be on a mission to ‘demystify’ minorities. It recently ran two successful seasons on Irish Travellers and Roma in Britain entitled “My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding,” which offered a “window into the secretive, extravagant and surprising world of gypsies and travellers in Britain today”.
However, the series received a stern rebuke from the Advertising Standards Agency for an “irresponsible” and “offensive” portrayal that “reaffirmed negative stereotypes” of itinerant communities.
The Sunday Times’ A.A. Gill does not buy the window-into-a -secret-world argument either, “It’s one thing to mock the Americans or the English upper classes” he writes, “…and quite another to hold up confirming stereotypes of gypsies and Jews. There is already a poisonous undercurrent of racism against them.”
The Jewish Mum of the Year
Judging from the blogosphere and the comments on social media sites, Jewish punters themselves are as divided about Jewish Mum of the Year as the critics. “These are real women, not figments of the producers’ imaginations. …As a card- carrying, schul-going Jew I recognise them…and there’s humour in it…it did show you a bit of what life is like inside the community and the kind of characters one might find. I say Mazal Tov to the producers.”
On the other hand, “As a British Jewish Mum, disgust is too weak a word to use…we do cook, we do love our families and guess what, we work at all the professions: legal, medical and others and look just like our neighbours!”
Ghettoisation is not an option
Richard Ferrer, editor of London’s Jewish News which sponsored Jewish Mum of the Year says he is not surprised that some members of the community, particularly those from a more Orthodox background, strongly objected to the programmes.
But he doesn’t think that his paper’s endorsement constitutes a self-inflicted injury, and tells the Times of Israel “Finally here’s a show which is not about black hats, beards, lulavs and etrogs, but about women getting on with life, figuring out how to raise their families.
Underpinning the epicentre of their lives, Judaism …We all know what we’ve gone through in the 20th century. We are now in the 21st century, and the media is bonkers. Everyone wants to know everything. Jews need to adapt and change in a way that makes us part of the culture. Ghettoisation is not an option”.
Ingrid Hassler is a freelance journalist and a former Senior Producer for BBC News and Current Affairs.