July is a month of Jewish superhero films and Jewish 'villains' on TV
Superman, The Sandman, Son of Sam and more.
Two big Jewish superhero movies are coming out this month. First, there’s “Superman” (July 11) starring ridiculously handsome Jewish actor David Corenswet as Superman/Kal-El (“swift/easy God” or maybe voice of God in Hebrew?) Superman himself is of course, not Jewish, but his creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster sure were. Then there’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” (July 25) with zaddy Pedro Pascal and Jewish “The Bear” star Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the Jewish Thing (who is definitely sharing his Jewish pride on “Spidey and His Amazing Friends”).
On the flipside, new TV is rife with Jewish “villains,” real and perceived. In all cases, their Jewish identity has nothing to do with their (alleged) terrible actions, but it is, in true Jewish fashion, making me ask all kinds of questions. Let’s talk about it.
“The Sandman” (Netflix) — Part I Out July 3, Part II Out July 24
The final episode of season one of “The Sandman” features the Shema prayer in a poignant moment that exists in the comic that the show is based on. The comic is written by Neil Gaiman, who was raised by Jewish parents who were followers of Scientology. “Sandman” and Gaiman’s other mythology and religion-inspired works had a huge impact on me and generations of artsy, outsider kids.
This week, season two of the Netflix adaptation premiered, the first season of a Gaiman-related TV show (“Lucifer,” “American Gods” and “Good Omens” are all based on works by the writer) to come out in the aftermath of harrowing allegations of sexual abuse and assault published against him mostly made by younger and much more vulnerable women.
Gaiman was not involved in the making of the show, and the season was shot before the allegations were made public, but it’s still proving hard to separate art from artist. It’s especially tough when Dream/Morpheus, the comic’s and show’s protagonist, is based on a young Gaiman’s likeness and, arguably, character — he is fascinated with stories and he seems to have a grandiosity complex, too. If you’re a “Sandman” fan, I’d love to know — are you watching, or skipping this season?
“Trainwreck: The Cult of American Apparel” (Netflix) — Out July 2
I still remember my favorite American Apparel dress. It was purple and mostly backless. I bought it at the shop on Houston Street (not far from Katz’s!) my first year living in New York when I still sometimes called it YU-STON by mistake. I was always too intimidated to go into the Tel Aviv store in Dizengoff’s center, where teens with neon streaks in their hair like myself often hung out in the corridors.
All that to say, man, did watching this documentary, part of Netflix’s “Trainwreck” series, make me feel bad. It was full, again, of young vulnerable people taken advantage of by the company’s Jewish-Canadian founder Dov Charney (who is related to the Safdie brothers, not so fun fact? Please don’t ever be problematic, Safdie brothers!!!). And the way that it ended, touting his collaboration with Ye (who he no longer works with as far as I know)? Brutal. If I hadn’t already gotten rid of all my American Apparel clothes, I probably would’ve this week after watching.
“Conversations With a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes” (Netflix) — Out July 30
Are you a true crime fan? Because I have such complicated feelings about our fascination with serial killers. On the one hand, very same. On the other hand, it feels so disrespectful to their victims, who wind up being footnotes, obscured by the same people who stole their lives.
Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated Jewish director Joe Berlinger is inarguably a true crime doc master, and he brings us this fourth part of the Netflix series. This part focuses on perhaps the most infamous Jewish serial killer, David Berkowitz, aka the “.44 Caliber Killer” or more famously, “Son of Sam,” who terrorized New York City in the 1970s. (He also gets mentioned in, but isn’t the inspiration behind, the Elliott Smith song — may Elliot’s memory be a blessing.)
Writing about Jews behaving badly is always tricky because of antisemitism. As I said, Jewishness doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that the bad men on this list are so bad (lol, don’t I have a way with words???). Maybe it’s just proof that, like anyone, Jews can be anything, including serial killers and the literal worst?
And also, obviously, we can make really good TV. Someone who makes really good Jewish TV and has been made into a “villain” a lot is Lena Dunham, and she’s finally making her triumphant return to writing, directing and showrunning a show inspired by her life with “Too Much,” coming to Netflix on July 10, starring Megan Stalter as a messy Jewess who falls in love with a British musician played by Will Sharpe.
That same day, “Off Road” is premiering on Netflix too — it’s a travel reality show from Lior Raz, creator of and star of “Fauda.” You can read all about all the excellent Jewish TV coming in July on Kveller.
Do you still have American Apparel clothes? Were you a geeky misfit teen too? And most importantly: What are you most excited to watch this month? Let me know in the comments!