Netflix comedy showed stereotypes that some people believe to be true
Jewish Telegraph, April 2023
THE much-maligned Netflix film You People, co-written by Jewish actor Jonah Hill, was “not helpful,” Ari Ingel told me.
“I thought Jonah went all in on a lot of the stereotypes against the Jewish community,” he said.
The film was about a white Jewish man and a black woman falling in love and the reactions of their respective parents.
Ari believes the black community was shown as more rational about the Jews, but “the Jews in the movie came off as just neurotic and racist, but they don’t know they’re racist”.
He added: “You had stereotypes once again about Louis Farrakhan and how the Jews controlled the slave trade, which is absolutely not true.
“All sorts of stereotypes came out, which is really unfortunate because a lot of people believe those stereotypes.
“When you have these stereotypes, and these antisemitic conspiracy theories that people believe are true, a movie like that just reinforces them.”
Ari continued: “I think their hearts are maybe in the right places, but the result had a negative impact.”
Ari spoke about the Tevye Test, created by Scotland-born Ben Freeman, which aims to measure the representation of Jews in the media.
“And it’s really like a test that people in film and TV can plug their script and film in, and put in the sort of tropes and how Jews are being portrayed and it comes out with a score at the end.
“And if you miss one thing, you don’t automatically fail, which I like. But if there’s far too many things that portray Jews in the stereotypical antisemitic ways, then you should probably change your script.
“That’s something we’re working with Ben to get production companies, writers, producers and directors to adopt.”
On the subject of relations between the Jewish and black communities, Ari said: “The Anti-Defamation League came out with stats showing that antisemitic beliefs are a higher percentage in the black community than other communities, which is unfortunate.”
One of the reasons, he claimed, is the influence of Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, “who is probably America’s number one antisemite”.
Ari explained: “He held a three-hour Saviours’ Day event (an annual Nation of Islam commemoration of the birth of Master Fard Muhammad), which the whole thing was dedicated to bashing the Jewish community with the most vile antisemitism.
“But in the inner cities, and with the black community, the Nation of Islam provides a lot of social services, and so they are seen as a legitimate organisation.
“Unfortunately, there’s always been friction between the black and Jewish religious communities in Brooklyn.
“And then there’s the Black Lives Matter movement, not the people who support it, but the leaders of it, who have infused anti-Israel hatred and antisemitism into their principles.
“The only country they called out in their whole manifesto was Israel. Why a domestic American movement has to call out Israel is just absurd. So all of that led to a rise in antisemitism in the black community.”
To counter this, the Creative Community For Peace recently launched the Black Jewish Entertainment Alliance, in partnership with the Recording Academy and a number of record labels and Hollywood production facilities, “to help bring the black and Jewish entertainment communities to really understand each other, stand against racism and stand against antisemitism,” Ari said.
“It is everybody from Louis Gossett Jr to people like Gene Simmons, Tiffany Haddish and Sharon Osbourne. An amazing, incredible group of people.
“Traci was very influential and helpful getting a lot of these people together. We have a number of different initiatives, whether it’s a freedom seder; or whether it’s joint trips to the African American History Museum or the Holocaust Museum for really high level individuals from the entertainment community.
“We’re going to be putting up a mural in Brooklyn to send a message of peace and calm between the black and Jewish communities there.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us. But we’re trying to do our part to help mend those fences and really have people understand the unity that was there.
“People have to remember that we’re stronger when we’re standing together, which, unfortunately, social media has worked to tear those bonds apart.”
