The Evolution of Popular Representations of Jewish Characters

Jews on Television, the second chapter of Popular Representations of Jewish Identity on Primetime Television: The Case of The O.C., discusses various representations of Jewish characters on television in America since about 1950. Olson's goal is to show that over time, the Jewish identity shown on T.V. changed from "ethnic Other" to "White" as time passed. There was a show in the 50s whose main characters were a Jewish family; this was a time when assimilation of Jewish citizens was a big issue in mainstream America. However, as time went on, the show became not about the mother's traditional Jewish values or the families cultural identity but more basic in an attempt to "avoid anything remotely controversial, political, or overtly ethnic." In fact, The Dick Van Dyke Show was supposed to star a Jewish writer from the Bronx with Carl Reiner, the creator, playing lead; however, it was decided that the premise was "too Jewish." Dick Van Dyke was instead cast as a WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) writer in Westchester County. Jewish representation was scarce after that, with reappearances in the characters of Bernie (Bridget Loves Bernie), Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld), Paul Reiser (Mad About You), Fran Drescher (The Nanny), the Gellers (Friends), and Grace Adler (Will and Grace).

Audiences could accept Jewish identity and culture as long as it remained in the ghetto, but were not ready for “the movement of American Jews outward in American life” (146). 

The only Jewish presence on the show is Buddy Sorrell, portrayed by Morey Amsterdam – a secondary character whose purpose is comic relief, rather than a three-dimensional character whose behavior was central to the show’s plot. 

But televised Jewishness is only stylistically ethnic, and then only in the sense of being witty and self-effacing. Indeed, in most other respects, contemporary televised Jewishness is the same as normative middle-class Whiteness.

Is there even a known show (or even just currently running) that stars a Jewish family? The only one I can think of that came close in my lifetime was Rugrats, which had the half-Jewish Tommy Pickles. I still remember how much I loved every time "A Rugrats Passover" came on because it was representing me and my religion (more than just shoving a Hanukkiah in a window come December), which was something that, as rare as it is on regular television, I never saw on children's shows. These barely-there Jewish characters the report discussed hardly count as representations, and if they were representative, it was only of bad stereotypes, as in the case of Fran Drescher.

Source:
Olson, T. (2006). Popular representations of Jewish identity on primetime television: the case of the O.C. Retrieved from Media and Cultural Studies at DigitalCommons@Macalester College website: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=hmcs_honors