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Posted By admin on September 17, 2021

At a time when most people were glued to screens, streaming non-stop to escape pandemic realties, Netflixs Indian Matchmaking, released in July 2020, created global buzz for all the wrong reasons.

What was it about a show with Indian in the title that made it trend not only on Netflix India, but also Netflix Canada? The show eventually scored an Emmy nomination that was met with disconcerted displeasure from Indians and the Indian diaspora.

With the Emmys airing on Sunday, how did a show that hinges on regressive principles of caste and colorism, not to mention flippant misogyny, land itself a nomination?

Nostalgic affirmations

At the outset, the premise of Indian Matchmaking is about normalizing, or even valorizing the tired trope of arranged marriages in India.

The institution of arranged marriage essentially dictates caste-based discrimination in India, falling prey to blatant religious politics. The fundamental backbone of Hindu religion has been the historically violent caste system rigid social groups characterized by hereditary transmission of life style, occupation and social status which has been relayed and protected through generations by same-caste marriages.

In the show, the Indian diaspora in the United States is shown to idolize marrying in ones own culture (read: caste). Cultural theorist Stuart Hall explains that any diaspora tends to hook itself in familiarized, nostalgic affirmations with ones culture of origin, which he terms as associational identification. The characters and framing of the show reinforce such notions, suggesting that the couples similarity in culture is based on their religion and upper caste.

Upper class, upper caste

The show is called Indian Matchmaking, but Indian is substitute for Hindu traditionalism, and glorifies upper-class, upper-caste, Hindu marriages.

Defending the lack of inclusivity in the show, executive producer Smriti Mundhra said in a recent interview one cannot make a show thats going to represent 1.3 billion people across the globe. While Mundhras response might have some truth to it, why was it important to tell this story? Are we meant to be drawn in by the story of the shows matchmaker, Sima Taparia?

While introducing herself as Sima from Mumbai to characters in the U.S., Taparia implicitly dissociates herself from India, affirming her allegiance to a privileged Mumbai-based reality.

Her Indian matchmaking only engages Hindu, upper caste, upper class, while blatantly favoring men. The only people who get equal, if not more, screen time than Taparia are Pradyuman and Akshay two painfully wealthy, privileged, upper caste Mumbai men.

While the shows creators try to spin it as a progressive version of matchmaking that upholds renewed cultural values, it is an evident miss.

A return to roots

Despite the shows portrayal of Indians in the American diaspora, the idea of a return to roots works as a redeeming angle on a global platform but panders to a foreign (non-Indian), North American gaze.

Sure, Indian Matchmaking is a show about Indians, featured in Netflix India, but it fails to capture an Indianness that is nuanced and personal to people of Indian origin. Instead of portraying a complex narrative of human relationships informed by generational differences and regressive customs, the show refashions it all into a skewed idea of India. By indulging the common stereotype of rich Indians following regressive customs, the show ends up becoming another weary caricature of India and Indians on a global platform.

The show highlights the diasporic Indian as a guardian of traditional Indian identity, as they yearn for a partner from home.

What does an Emmy nomination say?

The Emmy nomination under the category of Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program is not only problematic, but it also fuels fantasies of the fantastical Orient. In post-colonial studies, this signifies the misconstrued notion of the East as backward and exotic an antonym to the flourishing, modern West.

For years, the only palatable portrayal of India for the West was often seen in the likes of Slumdog Millionaire or Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom or even Eat, Pray, Love. These portrayals are palatable as they feed a stereotypical notion of the India, which are more compatible with orientalist assumptions.

While the show has been widely critiqued, and many viewers are aware of the shows problems, receiving an Emmy nomination has become cause for confusion.

While there is no way one can imagine the forces that came into play for its nomination, the fact that Indian Matchmaking received the recognition is unsettling. It goes without saying that to witness South Asian representation on a global platform is liberating, but what one is being represented for is of more importance, if not the most.

Receiving recognition for romanticizing the deeply flawed institution of arranged marriages, which is an unfortunate reality for many Indians, is worrying. Indian Matchmaking threw away a glorious opportunity to engage in critical, cultural conversation. As a second season is underway, will it take its criticisms into consideration?

(The author is a Ph.D. student in English Studies, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. This piece first appeared on theconversation.com and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.)

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Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi exhorting the gathering to support and build a new IndiaConsul General Randhir Kumar Jaswal in his welcome to the minister said it is a special occasion because it is the maiden visit of Madam Lekhi to New York as a ministerMaithili Patel giving a Kathak performance.Bani Ray gave a performance of Odissi dance.Deputy Consul General Dr. Varun Jeph thanked the Minister and the guests.

NEW YORK CITY (TIP): Indias Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi praised the Indian diaspora at the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a program commemorating 75 years of Indias Independence, at the Indian Consulate here on September 8.

Members of the Indian diaspora are innovators, engineers and have contributed to the well-being of your adopted nation. That is the positivity of India which Indians bring together the Minister said.

Ms Lekhi added: We tend to assimilate ourselves in the societies we live in. We believe in working for the well-being of mankind and not cause disruption, which several other people do. India is for peaceful purposes, India is for the progress of mankind, India stands truly for Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and that message is carried on by all of you. While India is innovating, India is trying to help the world and help itself and that is what Atmanirbharta and self-sustenance is all about. We have to ensure we meet our goal of building Aatmanirbhar Bharat when we celebrate 100 years of Indias Independence. I cannot thank you enough that when the world was battling pandemic and COVID-19, how the entire community across the globe stood together. India launched its own Atmanirbhar vaccine in January 2021 and many skeptics talked against the vaccine and the result was that second wave (of the pandemic) took its toll. But before the second wave could take its toll, because we were stable and we had fought the first wave well due to timely lockdown and other procedures, we were helping the countries which were going through difficult times. At the same time when the second wave hit us, because of people like you across the globe we were helped by several other countries who we stood for, and they stood for us. We stand for friendship, we stand for goodwill, we stand for cooperation. Meenakshi Lekhi posted on social media after the event Addressed the vibrant Indian community in New York and witnessed how deeply they are connected to their roots. Invited the diaspora to support and build a new India. Earlier, the Consul General Randhir Kumar Jaiswal welcomed the minister. Its a very special occasion because it is the maiden visit of Madam Lekhito New York as a minister. The Indian community here welcomes you in their own style, and their own colorful manner. There is a reason to celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, with you being here. For us it is a privilege to have you here at the Indian consulate, Mr. Jaiswal said. Representatives of various organizations and media persons were invited to the event which witnessed impressive Indian classical dance performances. Maithili Patel gave a performance of Kathak while Bani Ray impressed with the Odissi performance. Both the artists are associated with Sneh arts. Deputy Consul General Dr. Varun Jeph thanked the Minister and the guests.

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LONDON (JTA) Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz was a teenager when she began to feel Judaism calling her back. Her family had left the synagogue behind, and in the mid-1970s she was living in Cornwall, about as far away from Britains Jewish centers as one can.

She wrote letters to Jewish institutions and asked them to send her pamphlets. She pored over Jewish entries in the thin pages of an Encyclopedia Britannica. She began deciphering unfamiliar words and learning about Israel. She couldnt yet visualize all the traditions, and there were things that she knew werent in the books for the moment everything was theoretical.

Theory became practice at Cambridge University, where Taylor-Guthartz would attend synagogue and learn Hebrew. She would eventually live in Israel. She went on to teach at the London School of Jewish Studies, or LSJS, which is associated with the United Synagogue roughly equivalent to the Modern Orthodox movement in the United States.

Taylor-Guthartz, now 62, burst onto the agenda of Britains Jewish community after being ordained in June by New Yorks Yeshivat Maharat. The egalitarian Open Orthodox yeshiva is where other women like her in Britain go for what the seminary calls a traditional Orthodox semikha [ordination] curriculum for women. Graduates choose their own titles, and Taylor-Guthartz chose rabba.

Britains traditionalist Orthodox establishment reacted quickly, sacking Taylor-Guthartz from her teaching position at LSJS, where she had been for 16 years. Her research fellowship at the school was similarly revoked.

That might have been the end of it, but something unusual happened: A senior research fellow at the school resigned in protest, donors threatened to take their money elsewhere, community figures wrote critical opinion pieces in communal newspapers and many people spoke angrily behind closed doors.

The controversy has kickstarted a conversation about how far British Orthodoxy is willing or able to adapt to women who want to see it move in amore egalitarian direction.

A letter signed by 30 Liberal and Reform rabbis accused the United Kingdoms chief rabbi of maintaining a glass ceiling of Torah above which half your community may not ascend. Taylor-Guthartz was even given a hearing on the BBCs flagship womens issues radio program Womans Hour.

The establishment backed down. Her teaching roles were restored but only after a compromise in which she agreed not to use the rabba title.

For all the protestation that nothing had changed, she told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, something has changed.

Some suggested that Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, spiritual leader of United Synagogue as well as president of LSJS, was worried how more conservative elements of the Jewish community both at home and abroad would react if he were to permit a female rabbi to teach at a college under his watch.

Like Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks before him, Mirvis is squeezed between the liberals and the increasingly assertive haredi Orthodox community that is growing in numbers and influence.

Others wrote letters supporting Mirvis, saying he was was holding the line in support of a position that is widely accepted across a range of Orthodox streams. Yeshivat Maharats graduates have found positions within the Orthodox world, but seldom in roles that would conflict with the notion that only men may serve as congregational rabbis or ordained clergy. In 2015, the Modern Orthodox Rabbinic Council of America ruled that Orthodox institutions may not allow a title implying rabbinic ordination to be used by a teacher of Limudei Kodesh [Jewish studies] in an Orthodox institution.

Rachie Binstock, the senior rebbetzin at St. Johns Wood Synagogue in London, defended the Orthodox position during Taylor-Guthartzs appearance on Womans Hour.

The title of rabbi today connotes the leader of a community in a synagogal context, she explained. Thats problematic to Orthodoxy, its always going to be, because the synagogue is built as the place for male prayer. Women and men have different roles in prayer, different expressions of prayer.

Binstocks title indicates that she is the wife of the rabbi at St Johns Wood, where she serves as an educator and program director in her own right.

We dont believe that equality is sameness, she said. Judaism celebrates difference, and we have many different roles.

Others noted that Rabbanit Shira Marili Mirvis, the wife of the chief rabbis nephew, in April became the first woman to be appointed albeit not under the formal title rabbi as the spiritual and halakhic, or Jewish legal, authority of an Orthodox community in Israel.

Taylor-Guthartz says Britain lags 10 to 15 years behind Israel and the United States.

Were a small provincial community in comparison, she told JTA in a Zoom interview. Were very old-fashioned. Were very conservative. We preserve a conservativeness that I think as characteristic of Britain in the 1950s, but which Britain has grown out of. Britain has moved on, but the Jewish community preserves it.

She is hoping to change that.

It may take a long time, Taylor-Guthartz said. It may take an age it may even take more than my lifetime but youve got to keep moving. Youve got to keep coming. I think were at the beginning of that process.

I am a great believer in facts on the ground, and there are now facts on the ground that there werent before, she added.

Taylor-Guthartz, who during her time in Israel attended an egalitarian Orthodox synagogue that prided itself on a decentralized and democratic model, said she experienced culture shock when she came back to Britain in 1998.

The London communities just seemed odd to me, she said. They were all very frightened of things. I wasnt used to this.

Taylor-Guthartz talks about female pioneers who came before her, and friends encouraged her to think about investigating Maharat. She talks about her dissertation on Orthodox women for her doctorate at University College London, which has recently been published.

But there is one story that jumps out to her: Shortly after she had returned to Britain, a Jewish woman came up to her and asked: Can I pray in my own words, and can I pray outside the synagogue?

Taylor-Guthartz was floored.

I thought it was devastatingly sad, she said. Even before I got ordained, I was already being asked questions by people who didnt feel comfortable going to their rabbi for one reason or another: Either they were asking something that was a bit out of the box, or for whatever reason didnt feel they could ask somebody.

Its very important that there are women who are resources for other women.

The United Synagogue movement has taken a hard stance against allowing women to take on rabbinic posts, even as Britains progressive denominations have had female clergy since the 1970s. Because of that, United Synagogue has been accused of lagging behind other mainstream denominations and wider society in opening itself up to women. The organization only allowed women to become trustees in 2014 after opening synagogue chairmanships to them two years earlier.

It is such a lumbering, prehistoric beast, Taylor-Guthartz said. I dont know if it can adapt. It has tried, but it is always playing catch-up.

Still, she is optimistic.

I think the community is way ahead of its leaders here, she said. They are getting a bit impatient, and it just seems ridiculous to many people that you can have top judges and top doctors sitting silently in shul where they cant say anything.

Taylor-Guthartz says the communal reaction to her firing from LSJS proves her point.

What surprised me, and what I think is really significant about what happened, is the amount of solidly centrist United Synagogue people that stood up and said this is not OK, this is ridiculous, this is crazy, she said.

Britains most recognizable Reform and Liberal Jewish figures, such as Rabbis Julia Neuberger, Laura Janner Klausner and Charley Baginsky, are all women. By contrast, Britains Orthodox women are invisible both inside and outside the community, Taylor-Guthartz said.

A lot of people are very angry and a lot of people have left. There is a silent drain of people because they feel unwanted, unheard, disrespected, she said.

Youve got to have women. Youve got to talk to women.

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A GROUP EXHIBITION in Memphis, Tenn., brings together a slate of mostly rising artists whose work explores notions of Blackness, space, place, and belonging. Tone Memphis, a Black arts nonprofit in Memphis, Tenn., is presenting On The Road: Chocolate Cities: Exploration of Space Across the Black Diaspora.

Organized by Larry Ossei-Mensah, the exhibition reflects the independent curators inveterate travels and constant engagement with artists across the United States.

KEVIN BRISCO, I Was Full Grown Before I Knew I Came From A Broken Home, 2016 (oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches). | Kevin Brisco, Courtesy the artist and Tone Memphis

The concept for the show draws on two books, a new treatise and a classic: Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life by scholars Marcus Anthony Hunter and Zandria F. Robinson and Beat Generation author Jack Kerouacs On The Road, the novel about freedom and the quest for meaning and authenticity that follows the cross-country travels of two young men in post-war America.

Bronx, N.Y.-based Ossei-Mensah is showcasing contemporary works by 18 artists who express themselves in a variety of mediums. All of the art is for sale.

An installation of hanging hair beads that spells out Ebony in the iconic magazines signature red and white logo colors is by Mississippi-born, New York-based artist Felandus Thames. Sojourn (2021), Memphis artist Brittney Boyd Bullocks sculptural fiber art evokes an abstract landscape in marigold, sunny yellow, moss green, and chocolate brown. Memphis-born, Baltimore-based Brandon J. Donahues Basketball Bloom Series repurposes deflated basketballs to create concentric layers of petals that form floral assemblages.

Memphis-born and raised, Kevin Briscos painting I Was Full Grown Before I Knew I Came From a Broken Home (2016) depicts the familiar living room from the set of The Cosby Show.

Featured painters also include Baltimore-based Amani Lewis who hails from Columbia, Md.; Ashante Kindle, an MFA candidate at the University of Connecticut, originally from Clarksdale, Tenn.; and New Jersey-born Adrienne Elise Tarver, who splits her time between Brooklyn, N.Y., and Atlanta.

Memphis native Frank Stewart, the New York-based photographer who documented Romare Bearden and for about five decades has traveled the world training his lens on jazz musicians, contributed a pair of black-and-white photographs. The striking images include a tight crop of Black bodies dancing on Juneteenth (1993) and an intimate diner scene titled Smoke and the Lovers (1992).

Photographic works by Memphis based Lester Merriwether; Memphis-born, New York-based Freddie Rankin II; and Jackson, Miss.-born DAngelo Lovell Williams, who lives and works in New York, are also on view.

In a statement about his vision for the exhibition, Ossei-Mensah said: The Black community has always made a way when there was no way. Black people, because we are a communal group, organically create space for ourselves to fellowship, thrive, survive, and aspire to new heights regardless of our immediate circumstance or the city they reside in.

The Black community has always made a way when there was no way. Black people, because we are a communal group, organically create space for ourselves to fellowship, thrive, survive, and aspire to new heights regardless of our immediate circumstance or the city they reside in. Larry Ossei-Mensah

AMANI LEWIS, Early From Yonder (Galatians 6:9), 2020 (acrylic, glitter, pastel, digital collage on canvas, 58 x 72 inches). | Amani Lewis, Courtesy the artist and Tone Memphis

GIVEN HIS SENTIMENT, TONE MEMPHIS is an ideal venue for the exhibition. A nexus of Black culture, creativity, and community located in the citys historically Black Orange Mound neighborhood, the organization took time during the pandemic to refocus and rebrand itself.

Previously known as, CLTV (which stood for The Collective), the new name reflects the spectrum of Blackness and nonprofits interdisciplinary programming, across music, film, poetry, performance, dance, photography, and visual art. In addition to presenting exhibitions, Tone hosts concerts, film screenings, talks, and readings. The organization is also thinking more broadly about the community.

When Co-Founder and Executive Director Victoria Jones announced the new identity in May, she said, Today, we reemerge as Tone. An evolved identity to grow an evolved vision for our people and our city. A vision of Memphis realizing and owning its undeniable ability to be a cultural beacon.

Tone is invested in Orange Mound. The organization is the new co-owner with Unapologetic, a local record label and artist collective, of the former United Equipment Building. Tone and Unapologetic purchased the property for $400,000 in May 2020, with local and national grant funds.

A storied industrial property that dates to the 1950s, the building served as an animal feed mill. Although its been vacant for two decades, the building remains a visible beacon in the city standing 200-feet high. Sited in a commercial area, the acquisition includes the mill, an 80,000-square-foot warehouse, and several acres of land.

The arts organizations plan to convert the property to house Tone and Unapologetic, and provide 120 apartment or condominium residences, along with commercial space. Affordable housing and accessible leasing rates for Black-owned businesses and organizations are a priority.

Today, we reemerge as Tone. An evolved identity to grow an evolved vision for our people and our city. A vision of Memphis realizing and owning its undeniable ability to be a cultural beacon. Tone Memphis Co-Founder and Executive Director Victoria Jones

FRANK STEWART, Juneteenth 93, 1993 (pigment Print, 30 x 40 inches), Edition 1 of 1. | Frank Stewart, Courtesy the artist and Tone Memphis

Refusing to concede to the gentrification and outsider development that has transformed the culture and identity of countless Black neighborhoods and urban centers across the country, Tone seeking to preserve and better the community for the benefit of residents who already call the neighborhood home.

The project is called Orange Mound Tower. Musicians, a health and wellness coach, an animator/filmmaker, and a Black-owned coffee shop have already expressed interest in becoming commercial tenants, according to a report by Elle Perry in the Daily Memphian.

A new website describes the development as is a new hub for Black business and innovation. A place where Black creatives and cultural organizations can live, collaborate, build, and perform amidst the monumental history and culture of Orange Mound, Memphis. The groundbreaking is expected in 2022.

Shortly before On the Road opened, I spoke with Kimberly Jacobs, who was serving as Tones development director at the time, and M. Fraankie, the marketing and sales director, to learn more about the organization and plans for the exhibition. Tone had hosted a Juneteenth Family Reunion Celebration at Orange Mound Tower the previous weekend, the organizations first event after more than a yearlong pause in programming.

I asked what the gathering was like. Fraankie, who is also a photographer with a couple works in the exhibition, said there was a cookout, concerts, DJs, Black vendors, and phenomenal artists. She guestimated there were more than 1,000 people in attendanceall kinds of Black people coming together for a common purpose, having a good time. It was like a family reunion, Fraankie said. The exhibition can be viewed through the same lens. CT

On The Road: Chocolate Cities: Exploration of Space Across the Black Diaspora, Curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah, is on view at Tone Memphis, in Memphis, Tenn., from July 10-Sept. 18, 2021

Participating artists: Adrienne Elise Tarver, Amani Lewis, Amber Ahmad (Tone Curator), Ashante Kindle, Ashley Teamer, Brandon J. Donahue, Brittney Boyd Bullock, DAngelo Lovell Williams, Felandus Thames, Frank Stewart, Jamea Richmond-Edwards, Jonathan Payne, Kevin Brisco, Lawrence Matthews, Lester Merriweather, MadameFraankie (Tone Director of Marketing and Sales), TJ Dedeaux-Norris, and Ufuoma Essi.

FIND MORE about Tone Memphis and Orange Mound Tower

FELANDUS THAMSES, Installation view of Ebony, 2021 (hair Beads, coated wire, aluminum, and fasteners and two drops of Juju and sweat from field negro du-rag, 76.5 x 96.5 x 30.25 inches). | Felandus Thames, Courtesy the artist and Tone Memphis, Photo by M. Fraankie

Installation view of On The Road: Chocolate Cities: Exploration of Space Across the Black Diaspora, Tone Memphis, Memphis, Tenn. (July 10-Sept. 18, 2021). | Courtesy Tone Memphis, Photo by M. Fraankie

BRITTNEY BOYD BULLOCK, Installation view of Sojourn, 2021 (fiber, pipe cleaner, zip ties, sequins, beads, cord, twine, tulle, mylar, yarn, 2 x 4 feet). | Brittney Boyd Bullock, Courtesy the artist and Tone Memphis, Photo by M. Fraankie

FREDDIE RANKIN II, Approximating an idea of completeness No.8, 2018 (silver Gelatin photograph, 16 x 20 inches), Edition of 3. | Freddie Rankin II, Courtesy the artist and Tone Memphis

AMBER AHMAD, Scorpion & Frog, 2021 (acrylic, polytab, wallpaper on birch panel, 4 x 6 feet). | Amber Ahmad, Courtesy the artist and Tone Memphis

Installation view of On The Road: Chocolate Cities: Exploration of Space Across the Black Diaspora, Tone Memphis, Memphis, Tenn. (July 10-Sept. 18, 2021). | Courtesy Tone Memphis, Photo by M. Fraankie

ADRIENNE ELISE TARVER, The Shadow, 2018 (oil on canvas, 36 x 24 inches). | Adrienne Elise Tarver, Courtesy the artist and Tone Memphis

BRANDON J. DONAHUE, Installation view of Basketball Bloom (TRCC), 2021 (Searched for and collected basketballs, shoestrings, 48 x 48 inches). | Brandon J. Donahue, Courtesy of the artist and David Lusk Gallery, Photo by M. Fraankie

MADAMEFRAANKIE, Weightless, 2019 (enhanced matte digital photograph mounted on black beveled sintra with wood frame, 24 x 36 inches), 1 of 10. | MadameFraankie, Courtesy the artist and Tone Memphis

Installation view of On The Road: Chocolate Cities: Exploration of Space Across the Black Diaspora, Tone Memphis, Memphis, Tenn. (July 10-Sept. 18, 2021). | Courtesy Tone Memphis, Photo by M. Fraankie

JAMEA RICHMOND-EDWARDS, Installation view of Cosmic Memories, 2021 (acrylic, colored pencil, glitter, oil stick, fabric, and mixed media collage on canvas, 30 x 30 inches). | Jamea Richmond-Edwards, Courtesy the artist and Tone Memphis, Photo by M. Fraankie

ASHANTE KINDLE, Eve, 2021 (acrylic on canvas, 36 inches diameter). | Ashante Kindle, Courtesy the artist and Tone Memphis

Installation view of On The Road: Chocolate Cities: Exploration of Space Across the Black Diaspora, Tone Memphis, Memphis, Tenn. (July 10-Sept. 18, 2021). | Courtesy Tone Memphis, Photo by M. Fraankie

LAWRENCE MATTHEWS, Flip, 2019 (35 mm film negative, giclee print, pigment-based, 40 x 60 inches), Edition 2 of 3. | Lawrence Matthews, Courtesy of Friends of the Brooks

DANGELO LOVELL WILLIAMS, Untitled (Portrait), 2017 (Pigment print, 24 x 30 inches). | DAngelo Lovell Williams, Courtesy Tone Memphis

Installation view of On The Road: Chocolate Cities: Exploration of Space Across the Black Diaspora, Tone Memphis, Memphis, Tenn. (July 10-Sept. 18, 2021). Shown, Center, LESTER MERRIWEATHER, #BetterGardensandJungles (series), 2018-2019. | Courtesy Tone Memphis, Photo by M. Fraankie

READ MORE about the development of Orange Mound Tower in Memphis magazine

READ MORE about Orange Mound, Memphis on Medium

BOOKSHELFCurating the exhibition, Larry Ossei-Mensah was inspired by two books Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life by Marcus Anthony Hunter and Zandria F. Robinson and On The Road by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. Also consider, Black in Place: The Spatial Aesthetics of Race in a Post-Chocolate City by Brandi Thompson Summers and Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nations Capital by Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove.

SUPPORT CULTURE TYPEDo you enjoy and value Culture Type? Please consider supporting its ongoing production by making a donation. Culture Type is an independent art history project that requires countless hours and expense to research, report, write, and produce. To help sustain it, make a one-time donation or sign up for a recurring monthly contribution. It only takes a minute. Many Thanks for Your Support.

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A Nexus for the Black Community, Tone Memphis is Presenting 'On The Road: Chocolate Cities,' Group Exhibition Explores Space, Place, and Belonging -...

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Posted By admin on September 17, 2021

Hebrew College launched its centennial year on Sept. 12, 2021, with the opening of Seeing Torah: AVisual Midrash, an art exhibit representing the spiritual, political and feminist lessons of the Torah by Boston artist and Hebrew College adult learner Anita Rabinoff-Goldman.

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This visual diary, which will be on display through December, consists of 54 squares filled with patterns, colors and textures that encourage viewers to reflect on what Torah means to them, to relate to it through their own experiences and to consider how Torah can be a continuing source of learning and discourse.

As a Jewish woman, these are my stories, my familys history, and they tie me to every other Jewish person. By understanding more of our history, I gain a greater understanding and appreciation of Judaism and a greater understanding of myself, Rabinoff-Goldman said at the opening. I created a body of work that illustrated and deepened my understanding of Torah as well as its relevance to our 21st-century lives. Hopefully, by sharing it with more people, others will benefit from a different way of entering the text. We are called a people of the book and there are many explorations of Torah by many experts in many books that fill many libraries.

Rabinoff-Goldman launched Seeing Torah when looking for a new artistic project and realized there would be value in reading the entire Torah from start to finish, beginning on Simchat Torah (this year, Sept. 28-29). She later enrolled inMeah Classic, Hebrew Colleges intensive two-year, 100-hour adult-learning program. This coming year, she will be part ofa newArtist Beit Midrash, a collaboration between Hebrew College and the Jewish Arts Collaborative.

Rabinoff-Goldmans exhibit was initially scheduled to open in March 2020, but was postponed due to COVID-19. Hebrew College president, Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, said that now is an even more perfect time for the exhibit to openexactly 100 years after Hebrew College first opened its doorsin the fallof 1921.

It isthroughdeep literacy that we give riseto rich intellectual, spiritual and cultural creativity, [and]it isthroughJewish education that we give birth to a vibrant Jewish future, Anisfeldsaid. What better expression of those values than an art exhibit born of deep and sustained study of the yearly Torah cyclethat is itself a work of visual midrash? Undertakenincidentallyby someone who had supposedly retiredbut has shown us all what it means to cultivate a lifelong capacity for learning, creativity and renewal.

TheHebrew College ArtsInitiative, chaired by trustee Deborah Feinstein, seeks to partner with different areas of the college and focus on bridging the academy and the community through the gallery exhibits and lunch-and-learn conversations. This fall, in the Seeing Torah gallery, Hebrew College will host aseries of alumni-led public conversations, all from 1:15-2 p.m.: Oct. 4 with Rabbi Jessica Lowenthal 19; Oct. 26 with Rabbi Allison Poirier 19; and Nov. 17 with Rav-Hazzan Aliza Berger 17.

As part of the centennial celebration, Hebrew College will also hold other special events, including a November new shared-campus groundbreaking, winter day of learning and Centennial Gala on June 2, 2022. Hebrew College is also offering a special centennial lecture seriesadult learning course,The Old Made New and the New Made Holy: Leading Scholars & Thinkers Reflect on a Century of Jewish Experience andExplore the Challenges That Lie Ahead,taught by leading scholars and rabbis, includingRabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld(Hebrew College);Rabbi Angela Buchdahl (People of Central Synagogue, New York); Rabbi David Ellenson(HUC-JIR); Rabbi Arthur Green(Hebrew College);Rabbi Shai Held(Hadar);Rabbi Benay Lappe(SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva); andJonathan Sarna, Ph.D.(Brandeis University).

Anita, your work gives exquisite expression to this abiding truth.You have enlarged and expanded our understanding of Torahby sharing so generously your own creative encounter with the text, Anisfeld said at the art exhibit opening. In this moment, what a blessing to experience the gift of beauty, of color and texture and an artists hand reaching out, connecting us all with stories and texts that are timeless and striving to touch that which is transcendent.

Seeing Torahruns Sept. 12 to Dec. 10. Due to the numerous High Holidays in September, please call 617-559-8600 before visiting to confirm whether the college will be open at your desired date and time. From Oct. 1 through Dec. 10, the exhibit will be open Mondays through Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Learn more at hebrewcollege.edu/events/seeing-torah.

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Posted By admin on September 17, 2021

File this under better late than never.

That is, if you have $4 million lying around.

Its not too late to get sukkah decorations but its probably too late to order custom-made sukkah decorations online.

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One of Emily Kesselmans images of Jewish partisans

But theres always next year, and the work of two young designers who just came to our attention are strong candidates for our collection of sukkah decorations, if not in 5782 then in 5783. In fact, you might even want to display their Jewish-themed art inside the house year round.

We discovered Emily Kesselman through a Yiddish language poster she created welcoming Afghan refugees to America. The poster borrowed the style and much of the Yiddish language text from an early 20th-century HIAS poster. That led us to her Etsy site EmilyKShop where we discovered the particularly sukkah-worthy print of a World War II Jewish partisan fighter brandishing a lulav and a hand grenade.

The poster behind her says in Yiddish Let us not be taken like sheep to the slaughter!

Welcome Afghan refugees! declares this poster by Emily Kesselman.

It turns out that Ms. Kesselman, a Philadelphia graduate of Temple Universitys Tyler School of Art, is an accomplished comic artist whose work includes a trilingual cartoon, Maimonides the Bridge, that was exhibited in the National Liberty Museums Caretoon exhibition in 2015, as well as a yet unfinished Jewish fantasy graphic novel.

Rabbi Zac Kamenetzs art re-envisions a more spiritual group of 20th-century Jewish heroes. The 14 images he uploaded to redbubble.com/people/Dirshuni feature 13 Jewish thinkers, ranging from Rabbis Abraham Isaac Kook, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Zalman Schachter-Shalomi to the Hebrew poet Zelda, the Bible scholar Nechama Leibowitz, and the little known, highly influential mystic Madame Colette Aboulker-Muscat. In keeping with his position as founder of Shefa, a San Francisco-based nonprofit dedicated to Building a Jewish framework for expanded states of consciousness & psychedelic therapy, the images are colorful, trippy variations of classic and often monochrome photographs. These images are available in everything from stickers, postcard, and notebooks, to iPhone covers, wall posters, and canvas prints.

Given the tradition of inviting spiritual guests into your sukkah, these images make perfect holiday decorations. Sadly, theyre not available in the format that would make them most versatile and useful in your sukkah you cant get them as shower curtains.

Heres hoping theyll be available that way before next years Sukkot shopping season begins.

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Up against the wall - The Jewish Standard

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Posted By admin on September 17, 2021

Avijatrik has been travelling all over the world and now it is all set to have its exclusive UK theatrical premiere in London, Birmingham, and Manchester in September 2021 and in Berlin too. The film directed by Subhrajit Mitra is part of London Indian Film Festival (LIFF), Birmingham Indian Film Festival (BIFF) and Manchester Indian Film Festival (MIFF) September edition of 2021, where the film will have exclusive UK premieres in three cities in a span of two consecutive weekends. A t2 chat with Team Avijatrik.... producers Madhur Bhandarkar and Gaurang Jalan

What are your thoughts on this festival run?

Madhur Bhandarkar: We have worked hard to make Avijatrik. My other films have also gone to various festivals and I hope this joint venture with Gaurang Jalan also receives the same love and affection.

Gaurang Jalan: Indeed, we are glad that Avijatrik is travelling far and wide. UK has a very large diaspora of movie-loving Bengali community, both from India and Bangladesh, and we hope that this film will be watched by them. Berlin will also give us an opportunity to reach out to its mature audiences, who have appreciated Indian cinema over decades.

What are your expectations from the screenings?

Madhur Bhandarkar: We hope that the film-loving audiences of UK and Germany will relish this film and support it by attending it in large numbers. It is also a good opportunity to return to theatres and enjoy cinema and entertainment on the large screen.

Gaurang Jalan: Since we only have one theatrical show in each city, we would like audiences there to flock in large numbers, as the film festival organisers are making humungous and untiring efforts to bring back good cinema to theatres.We have also sought horizontal support from Nehru Centre (Cultural arm of the Indian High Commission), Bengal Heritage Foundation (BHF) etc, besides the film- and art-loving audiences of the South Asian diaspora.

Since it has travelled across the world, how different has the response been?

Madhur Bhandarkar: The response to Avijatrik has been fantastic as it has connected emotionally. Starting from KIFF to LIFF it has been appreciated across the world as there is a huge fan base for the Ray genre of films all over the world.

Gaurang Jalan: I agree with Madhur. There is a captive audience for such cinema and response has been most encouraging.

What are your thoughts on the festival run?

These are prestigious film festivals primarily aimed at the enormous Indian diaspora in England. In Berlin the film is part of the International competition section of Indo-German film week, and hence its a German premiere. I am really happy and sharing my joy with the entire team of Avijatrik for these exclusive selections. Premiering a Bengali film in four cities in Europe in a span of two consecutive weeks is perhaps unprecedented and I am really grateful to the almighty for all the blessings.

What are your expectations from the screenings?

I do hope the viewers will enjoy the complete audio-visual experience in a huge movie theatre, the best possible way one can enjoy a movie. I hope they love my creation.

The theatres in UK and Berlin are steeped in history. They look amazing. Have you heard stories about these theatres?The London premiere will be held at the prestigious Cine Lumiere theatre. The theatre mostly showcases new wave and classic French cinemas. The Berlin premiere will be held at the Babylon Cinemas. The Kino Babylon is a part of a listed building complex in Berlin. Since 2001, the Babylon has been used primarily as an arthouse cinema. The Birmingham premiere will be held at the theatre of Midlands Arts Centre, which is a large cultural complex built in early 1960s. The place for Manchester premiere is Home, which is a relatively modern cultural complex.

Avijatrik has travelled to almost 25 film fests. What makes it such a festival favourite?

Avijatrik has garnered 21 laurels of Official Selections in International Competition, winning and nomination laurels combined from 18 festivals. We have also participated in Marche Du Films, Cannes. The film has travelled to many countries of North America, Europe and Asia. This is where we stand as of September 2021. Were hoping to add many more in the near future. I guess the honesty that went into the making of the film reflects on the screen and the international audience is loving the exotic Indian audio-visual experience through a heart-melting story of a father and a son. It is technically at par with the international standards, executed to perfection by the best of the senior technical and creative team that our industry has to offer, and I guess aesthetically it is touching all the right chords, in every aspect of film-making. Avijatrik is almost a near flawless film, in our collective opinion. As we put it, it is an international film which happens to be in Bengali.

What do the festival laurels and awards mean for you?

It means recognition, it means love, it means I have to work double hard to maintain and excel the standard or the benchmark I am creating for myself. Not only festival laurels, I was awarded with the Iconic Achievers Award 2021 by Rotary Benevolence Club and also awarded with an Honorary Doctorate of Literature [D.Litt.] degree for my contribution to Bengali/Indian cinema, on my understanding and expertise in writing screenplay and directing literature-based classics, by Saint Mother Teresa Open University, Bangalore, which will be presented to me at the convocation ceremony, later this month.

Do you remember the crowd response when Avijatrik was screened for the first time at a fest?

Avijatrik was first screened at Kolkata International Film Festival, 2021 in January. It was a spontaneous standing ovation by the full-house audience at Nandan at the end of the show. I was overwhelmed.

Were you nervous initially?

I was. Couldnt sleep at all the previous night before the first show in KIFF. Was talking or chatting well past midnight to some of my close friends and colleagues who are part of the senior crew and cast of Avijatrik. We were all trying to calm our nerves down .

What has been your favourite compliment so far?

There are many from India and abroad. In fact, each compliment means a lot to me. Bumbada (Prosenjit), Rituparna (Sengupta) personally congratulated me for Avijatrik.

Do you get anxious even now when the film travels to a fest?

Now I am far more relaxed for Avijatrik in terms of festivals. But anxiousness is bound to return during the time of theatrical release, which is expected soon enough, depending on the Covid situation.

Since it has travelled across the world, how different has the response been?

It is mostly positive so far barring very few negative criticism. But I welcome all responses. It is humanly not possible to satisfy or cater to everyones tastes or likings. As long as I am true and honest to my own craft and art, rest will fall into place by divine intervention.

Are there commonalties too in the response?

Yes, there are. Everybody (critics and audience) is appreciating the screenplay and dialogues, Arjuns portrayal of Apu, the actors performances overall, music direction, cinematography, production design and direction. The majority is of opinion that Avijatrik is a worthy sequel to the Apu trilogy.

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Avijatrik set to have its UK premiere - Telegraph India

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Posted By admin on September 17, 2021

O Canada!

Come From AwayNow streaming on Apple TV+.

We are a site that focuses on (mainly) genre films and television shows, but we are also a site that was founded by a Canadian (Todd Brown) and is edited, in part, by Canadians (Andrew Mack and Shelagh Rowan-Legg) and written, in part, by Canadians (including Kurt Halfyard). So sometimes, in my own head, I feel like an honorary Canadian, even though I live in Dallas, Texas.

In that spirit, I watched Come From Away, a musical which we would not ordinarily cover here at the site, since it features mainstream pop songs and is a musical!, which may tend to cause sneering and/or dismissal. Add to that the subject matter -- 9/11 and its immediate aftermath -- which I had every intention in the world of not dwelling upon this year.

The stage musical was, however, written and developed in Canada by Canadians, and, though I have assiduously avoided similar projects out of my personal choice and my delicate emotional condition, it turns out to be quite Canadian. Again, I am an outsider, and I have no right to describe anything as "quite Canadian," so I should say that it fits this outsider's common perception of Canada as a very, very nice country, filled with very, very nice people.

All that being said, the mainstream-pop nature of the musical started to fray at my nerves, though the emotions felt authentically depicted and honesty portrayed. It's all based on real life, about a small town in Newfoundland (Gander) that played host to thousands of strangers when 38 airplanes were grounded at their airport in the immediate aftermath of the strange and terrifying days that followed 9/11. As it happens, I ended up very moved and touched and happy that people can see the brighter side of any situation, no matter how horrible.

Your mileage may vary.

The Donut KingNow streaming on Hulu .

We are more naturally inclined around this site toward films from or about Asia, especially the ones that kick butts in an entertaining fashion.

Directed by Alice Gu, The Donut King examines how a survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia fled to California, worked hard, learned how to make doughnuts, learned how to run a doughnut shop, bought a doughnut shop, built an empire of independent doughnut shops, became rich beyond his dreams, helped more than 100 families emigrate from Cambodia, empowered all of them to learn how to make doughnuts and run their own shops, and then ran afoul of his own success and personal demons.

It's a great story that filmmaker Gu constructs around archival footage and many, many new interviews. She puts it all together artfully, and, like doughnuts themselves, it's hard to stop eating -- er, watching -- once you start. It's also a great history lesson, for those of us who don't know enough about Cambodia, beyond The Killing Fields. Highly recommended.

The Rabbi's Cat (Le chat du rabbin)Now streaming on The Criterion Channel.

French comic book artist Joann Sfar is the son of Jewish parents; his father is from Ukraine and his mother is from Algeria. With that background in mind, his initial foray into feature animation, The Rabbi's Cat, co-directed by Antoine Delesvaux, is remarkably open and nimble.

Set in Algeria in the late 1920s/30s, the film is told largely from the perspective of a widowed rabbi, who dotes on his only daughter, who, in turn, dotes on her beloved cat. (Ok, the film is largely told from the cat's perspective.) One day, the cat becomes tired of the rabbi's parrot talking all the time, and gulps him down. Suddenly, the cat can talk!

The surprises continue, as the talk gets into deep, meaningful questions about God and god and religion and its place in the world, then moves onto other equally meaningful questions about national and world politics. I couldn't guess where the plot was leading, but I enjoyed each and every twist and turn.

The animation is delightfully perky and the film itself is filled with genuine wit. The running time was perfect to watch over a leisurely weekend meal, and I enjoyed myself immensely. Highly recommended.

Now Streaming covers international and indie genre films and TV shows that are available on legal streaming services.

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Now Streaming: COME FROM AWAY, THE DONUT KING, THE RABBI'S CAT - ScreenAnarchy

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Posted By admin on September 17, 2021

Over the last year, Yeshiva Ohr Simcha in Englewood raised $800,000 for renovations. Over the summer, it put the finishing touches on its library, to the tune of $30,000.

On the night of September 1, Hurricane Idas floodwaters swept it all away.

But as Rabbi Elchonon Butrimovitz, the schools administrator, contemplated the more than one million dollars worth of damage to the 22,000 square foot, one-story building on West Forest Avenue in an Englewood business district, he knew that things could have been a lot worse.

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All of the residential schools 50 students and the five faculty members who lived there were ferried safely to dry ground that night.

And Ohr Simcha students saved two passersby from drowning in the floodwaters.

There was a car driven by a 29-year-old fellow, Rabbi Butrimovitz said. He got caught in the flood on the street by the yeshiva. My guys pulled him out through the sunroof.

Another man, 75 years old, was driving past the yeshiva on his way home to Teaneck after visiting his wife in Englewood Hospital. He got out of his stalled car and vanished. He had fallen through a manhole whose cover had been dislodged by surging floodwaters. They dived in and had to pull him out by his arms.

On Monday, New Jerseys Governor Phil Murphy reported that the death toll from the storm in the state had risen to 30 people.

As the floodwaters rose outside the building, school administrators tried calling 911 for two hours but they were unable to get through the jammed lines. Then the waters burst through the front door, and the yeshiva was flooded with two and a half feet of water.

It was really scary, Rabbi Butrimovitz said. He was at home in Spring Valley, watching on the schools security cameras.

Rescue initially came in the form of volunteers from Chaverim groups, volunteer Orthodox emergency rescue organizations from across the tristate area. Finally, the Englewood police arrived with boats.

Congregation Shomrei Emunah half a mile away, and well uphill opened as a staging area for the evacuation. The Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe put the students and faculty up for the night. The Chaverim volunteers brought food. It was amazing what the chesed organizations did, Rabbi Butrimovitz said.

Beyond furniture and flooring, the water damaged kitchen equipment, walls, and outlets.

The morning after, it was clear how much damage the floodwaters had done.

Basically, the whole building was destroyed, Rabbi Butrimovitz said.

All the drywall was wet. All the insulation was ruined. All the electric sockets had to be replaced, although the wiring was unharmed.

Every chair, all the beds, dressers. Everything is gone. The hot water heater, the boiler, the kitchen refrigerator all shot, Rabbi Butrimovitz said. Even the parking lot was destroyed.

For now, the school which draws from Monsey, Passaic, Lakewood, and places further away, such as Baltimore has set up shop in Camp Monroe in New Yorks Orange County.

Water rose to two and a half feet high during the flood.

Were hoping we can move quickly and get these guys back in, Rabbi Butrimovitz said.

The now-ruined renovations include redone floors and upgraded bathrooms, as well as renovations to the library.

We were about to install a new kitchen, Rabbi Butrimovitz said. Thank goodness we didnt.

The yeshiva has flood insurance because it is in a flood zone Overpeck Creek runs through the lot across the street but that, Rabbi Butrimovitz said, only gives us $300,000 with a $50,000 deductible. He didnt expect his standard insurance to help.

As of Monday, the yeshiva had raised nearly a quarter of million dollars in a fundraising campaign at TheChesedFund.org. That means thats its a quarter of the way toward its goal of one million dollars. Meanwhile, its annual lulav-and-etrog sale has been relocated to Englewoods East Hill Synagogue.

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Down but not out in the flood - The Jewish Standard

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Posted By admin on September 17, 2021

(Cleveland Jewish News via JTA) An Ohio city hired a private investigator to observe Jews entering and exiting a local synagogue on the first day of Rosh Hashanah as evidence for an ongoing lawsuit, outraging Orthodox Jews there and further inflaming tensions in a local dispute over worship protocols.

University Heights officials said the investigator, who had been hired by the mayor at an undisclosed cost, was there to monitor the number of people entering the Aleksander Shul to determine if the congregation was adhering to court-ordered rules on maximum occupancy. The city also said the community outrage was the result of miscommunication stemming from the local federations failure to alert the synagogue to the investigators presence.

The Aleksander Shul has had a long, drawn-out dispute with University Heights, an area with a large Jewish population and many synagogues. Operating out of a private residence, the synagogue was cited in 2019 for not complying with local code and zoning ordinances that prohibit a private residence from serving as a house of assembly. Earlier this year, the city tried to block its operation and fined the shuls owner $65,000 over building code violations he has appealed the fine as a prelude to suing the Aleksander Shul in June.

In addition to operating unlawfully as a house of assembly, the suit alleges, the synagogue also performed work and construction without building permits or city inspection. Lawyers for the Aleksander Shul countered that the mayor was discriminating against Orthodox Jews.

After attempting to shut down the shul in July, the citys order was temporarily stayed on July 27 by a Cuyahoga County judge, who issued an amended order that allowed the Aleksander Shul to continue operations on Shabbat and the High Holidays through Sukkot, provided maximum occupancy in the building was limited to 36. But the city said the worshippers violated the occupancy limit on Rosh Hashanah.

The investigator observed 50 people entering the house, in seeming violation of the courts order limiting capacity to 36, University Heights Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan told the Cleveland Jewish News in a Sept. 13 email.

Yet it was the investigators presence that drew the ire of the local community.

At a Sept. 9 City Council meeting, Rabbi Eric Yitz Frank, executive director of Agudath Israel of Ohio, which represents Orthodox families and day schools, called the incident an absolute outrage.

Mothers walking with their children to synagogue were deeply traumatized by this event, he said at the meeting.

Michele Weiss, the vice mayor of University Heights who is Jewish, criticized Brennan and the law firm that authorized the move at the council meeting.

A city should not be spying on its own residents ever, especially during one of the holiest days of the year for our Jewish residents, Weiss said at the meeting. Its unconscionable that if this was Easter or Christmas that this would even be contemplated. City Council is shocked by the behavior of the mayor and the outside law firm and will look at our options in dealing with the situation.

Weiss told the Cleveland Jewish News that the situation could have been handled in other ways that would not have inspired fear.She added that she first heard about the investigator when neighbors came to her house on Sept. 7, the first day of Rosh Hashanah, to inform her.

Wednesday evening I was just fielding phone calls and texts all night, she said.

Weiss said she spoke with the police chief and law director on the morning of Sept. 9 to understand what this meant.

In a Sept. 13 email to CJN, Brennan laid the blame on the Jewish Federation of Clevelands security contractor, JFC Security. Brennan and other city officials said they had alerted the federations security director that an investigator would be present outside services at the Aleksander Shul. But the contractor, Brennan wrote, did not disseminate word of this to those working in the field, resulting in the confusion the city expressly sought to avoid.

A federation spokesperson responded, JFC Security, LLCs job is to work with law enforcement to help provide security to Jewish Cleveland. When we were notified of a suspicious vehicle, we responded promptly as the community expects us to do.

Brennan, who was not present at the Sept. 9 City Council meeting owing to the sudden illness and death of his father, told CJN that the city nevertheless remains willing to go to mediation to bring about a mutually agreeable resolution.

At the council meeting, Frank said it was incumbent on the city to foster a community feeling.

We have a responsibility to take overt steps to promote our sense of community, sense of safety and unity, and this is just one sad example of that breakdown, he said. Id like to make sure that this type of activity never happens again. And if residents continue to feel targeted or threatened, that in itself is a breakdown.

A version of this story originally appeared in the Cleveland Jewish News.It has been reprinted with permission.

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A private investigator observed a Cleveland-area synagogue during the High Holidays. Its worshippers are outraged. - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic...

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