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Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

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The CGI Chosen One: The Other-Worldly and Judaism in Avi Nesher’s The Wonders

Presenter: 
Julia Rothkoff (Barnard College)
Presentation type: 
Paper
Abstract: 

An examination of Israel’s film output reveals an extreme lack of blockbuster cinema, with the highest grossing Israeli films in recent years being a romantic comedy, Tel Aviv on Fire (2019), an anti-war drama, Foxtrot (2018), and a feminist drama, In Between (2016). Andrew Darley defines the blockbuster as, films that are “technologically dense and laden with special effects [and are] firmly established as a deliberate and pivotal commercial strategy.” With big-budget, effects-heavy American films filling screens in many Israeli theaters, Israeli filmmakers instead focus their efforts on character-based dramas and comedies. This saturation of moderately-budgeted, character-focused cinema in Israeli film production creates little conflict with the depictions of religious life inherent in Israeli culture. However, how do Israeli films that utilize blockbuster aesthetics interact with the Jewish traditions present on screen? What do the fantastical qualities of the CGI add to the character development? How can effects-heavy filmmaking coexist with the Haredi Jewish characters who reject secular and modern Jewish life? Through an examination of Avi Nesher’s The Wonders (2013), this presentation will expand upon Yaron Peleg and Yael Friedman’s previous scholarship on depictions of Jewish life in Israeli media by introducing CGI into the discussion. The goal of this presentation is to argue that the presence of visual effects creates religious undertones for the secular characters and to focus on the implications of this observation.

Scheduled on: 
Friday, November 8, 11:00 am to 12:15 pm

About the presenter

Julia Rothkoff

Julia Rothkoff is a senior film studies student at Barnard College, with previous coursework completed at Sarah Lawrence College. Her interests include digital cinema, on-screen depictions of religious life, and Yiddish cinema. She has previously presented a paper on the time loop film at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Undergraduate Conference held at Muhlenberg College. Julia would like to thank all of her professors for their assistance with her research.

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