Series for Film Group Discussions

Clash of Lifestyles

FAMILIES: STEREOTYPES AND ARCHETYPES

Ethnic families have been portrayed and stereotyped since the early days of cinema. Perhaps the most detailed iconography has been developed for the Jewish family. Jewish mothers and daughters, fathers and sons have all been stamped with now-familiar characteristics, many borrowed from the immigrant generation that arrived and succeeded in America just as the film industry was coming into its own.

This series provides opportunities to discuss the depiction of the Jewish family in American film in all its ramifications: the stereotyping of particular Jewish family members as well as the Jewish family dynamic itself; how the Jewish film family compared to the mainstream nuclear family; and how the Jewish family itself ultimately entered the mainstream and became a part of popular American culture.

Images of Jewish Mothers

Images of Jewish Fathers

Discussion Questions

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