Thursday, July 08, 2004

Spider-Jew, revisited

Apparently, I was too quick to scoff at the idea that Spiderman might have a Jewish connection. According to Totally Jewish, both the comic's inventor and the movie's directors, who are both Jewish themselves, see something in the theory. The rationale: He has a healthy sense of guilt; suffers from 'traditional Jewish neuroses'; is into Tikkun Olam and fighting evil; and likes wearing tights and a mask. No, hold on. They didn't actually say the last bit.
The point is, you can make almost anyone sound Jewish if you try hard enough, pick and choose your evidence and make broad enough generalizations. The last victim: Harry Potter.
It's one thing to Jew-spot and try and identify genuine achieving Jews. But what's this jealous, competitive obsession with making everyone a member of the tribe? Why can't we allow some heroes to be non-Jews? Surely we have enough of our own.
So let's leave Spider-Man alone.

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