Comments on: What Irked Me About the Simpsons in Israel http://www.thisnormallife.com/2010/04/what-irked-me-about-the-simpsons-in-israel/ All about "normal" life in Israel Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:25:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Andy Kayman http://www.thisnormallife.com/2010/04/what-irked-me-about-the-simpsons-in-israel/comment-page-1/#comment-325 Andy Kayman Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:59:19 +0000 http://www.thisnormallife.com/?p=1674#comment-325 I thought the sign at the airport that reads: Welcome to Israel, your American tax dollars at work was pretty funny. I thought the sign at the airport that reads: Welcome to Israel, your American tax dollars at work was pretty funny.

]]> By: DovEphraim http://www.thisnormallife.com/2010/04/what-irked-me-about-the-simpsons-in-israel/comment-page-1/#comment-273 DovEphraim Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:04:32 +0000 http://www.thisnormallife.com/?p=1674#comment-273 While I was distracted by all the Old World Ashkenazi references, it made me realize the pervasiveness of Jewish humor. REAL Israeli references would have been lost on the vast majority of "Simpsons" viewers -- but Jewish shtick they get because . . . well, because the Borscht Belt didn't die, its children and grandchildren just became writers, producers, and stars of prime time TV. Sacha Baron Cohen's "Jacob" got laughs because he said funny things in funny ways. But for Jews who know Israeli culture to any degree, there was a whole other level of funny that the other 90%-plus of viewers almost assuredly missed. Heck -- if you've spent any time in Israel or around Israelis, you KNOW that guy. On the other hand, if the entire 30 minutes (okay -- 22 minutes plus commercials) had insisted on authenticity, it likely would have gone over like lead balloons with most fans. A ma'aseh: probably the funniest moment in the episode (to me, anyway) was when Jacob started loudly arguing in Hebrew. The fact that the subtitles accurately reflected what was being said just reinforced the "inside" nature of the humor. The clueless looks on the faces of the Simpsons left you wondering who the joke was really on -- something I'd bet Sacha Baron Cohen can relate to. While I was distracted by all the Old World Ashkenazi references, it made me realize the pervasiveness of Jewish humor. REAL Israeli references would have been lost on the vast majority of “Simpsons” viewers — but Jewish shtick they get because . . . well, because the Borscht Belt didn’t die, its children and grandchildren just became writers, producers, and stars of prime time TV.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Jacob” got laughs because he said funny things in funny ways. But for Jews who know Israeli culture to any degree, there was a whole other level of funny that the other 90%-plus of viewers almost assuredly missed. Heck — if you’ve spent any time in Israel or around Israelis, you KNOW that guy. On the other hand, if the entire 30 minutes (okay — 22 minutes plus commercials) had insisted on authenticity, it likely would have gone over like lead balloons with most fans.

A ma’aseh: probably the funniest moment in the episode (to me, anyway) was when Jacob started loudly arguing in Hebrew. The fact that the subtitles accurately reflected what was being said just reinforced the “inside” nature of the humor. The clueless looks on the faces of the Simpsons left you wondering who the joke was really on — something I’d bet Sacha Baron Cohen can relate to.

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