I wrote this on twitter but Id figure Id bring it here too. Here are my pespectives on the representation of Marc Spectors Judiac Heritage as a Jewish person in the Moonknight Television Show:
So I have mixed feelings when it comes to this. First off I totally agree with the consensus when we were bombarded by Matt Murdock's Cathlocism in Daredevil from left to right we should have had the same amount of emphasis as on Marc's Judaism, especially when it was mentioned he was the son of a rabbi. We do have Jewish characters in media but sometimes it is just mentioned they are Jewish and nothing else.
There are pieces of media that do more to incorporate Jewish faith, Shadowhunters for instance has Simon Lewis digging into his experience as a Jewish man, showing him celebrating Jewish holidays and even mentioning the generational trauma from the shoah with his bubbie:
And as for the experiences of being a son of a Rabbi, It Chapter 1 did very well with this this with Stanley Uris not only showing the pressure he felt, and devotion to his faith being the son of a Rabbi, but they also made sure to show Stan having a Bar Mitzvah:
With these two examples it could have been easy to not have to mention Marc's Judaism every five minutes but enough to say, okay this man is Jewish his faith is an very important part of him and his past and alot of his motivations as a hero and to normalize Judaism as whole. ON THE OTHER HAND, I do like we do see little references to his Judaism. We see Marc always wearing a Star of David Necklace. We do see him participate in rituals and wear a Kippah, even apologizing to it when throwing it to the ground. It is important to mention that Jewish people are commanded to apologize to holy items they drop to the ground like Kippahs, and prayer books to ensure its holiness, so this was a minor detail about Judaism I was very thrilled to see put in. So its clear to me they did take the time to research into the religion and culture so that's another plus on my book. In addition, I also like it the idea that Marc always has a small connection to his faith even if its not his whole world:
This is a match to what modern Judaism looks like. While some Jewish people chose to be less religious, mix other beliefs or even be atheist, they still engage in customs and incorporate judaism somehow into their lives because they know how important it is to keep it alive.
I started to practice a sect of Judaism called Jewitchery this year which combines the idea of the Jewish belief and magik and spirituality. I believe Hashem is still there and I believe they can be busy protecting others who are in more need of help so they send guides and spirits to help us manifest our dreams we call to the universe and help us if we need it (I have three but Ill talk about THAT in another thread one day). But back to the topic of Moonknight.
I do like the take of Marc still having a small connection to his Judaism despite not outright practicing because it shows how Jewish culture has shifted over the years in Modern time.
Another major concern among the consensus is that Oscar Isaac isnt a practicing Jew While I do wish they got both an ethnic AND practicing Jew, I do like Oscar is ethnically a Latino Jew (He mentioned his father having Jewish heritage). The reason I like that is because there's a wild misconception that all Jews are Ashkenazi (conditionally white). Its because of this many instances of antiemetic attacks get thrown under the rug because we dont experience systematic racism like other cultures do which i get considering, every form of systematic discrimination I experience had nothing to do with my judaism, I do get the occasional mocking of my jewish features like my thick eyebrows, my frizzy hair and my nose ofc but not enough to have people be suspicious I am going to steal something from their store, get stopped by a c*p when walking down the street etc.
Having Marc played by a jew of color, does show that while not all Jewish go through systemic racism, there are Jews that do, and not only that like other religions, thanks to dispora there are Jews that share a ethnicity with a variety of races including East Asia! However, I will say next time they do want to have a Jew of Color in a Jewish role, they should have both a practicing and ethic Jew in the role cause it would ensure proper rep. A great example of a Jew of color they could have cast was Daveed Diggs who is black and Jewish.
Finally I will say, that I also commend Marvel for not making Marc a stereotypical Jew you see in Media. For Jewish women we see snooty, spoiled, rich women who are villianized (the slang term is JAP), case in point Rachel Berry from Glee. For Jewish men they are usually neurotic, timid and considered out of their minds, while the Jewish Representation of Stanley Uris in It is great I am still uncomfortable with the fact that the only one who k words himself out of fear is the Jewish character. Basically Jewish people are the butt of all jokes. The only times where comedy involving Jews works because it shows positive traits of Jews as well is Brooklyn 99 with Jake Peralta and Crazy Ex GF with Rebecca Bunch thats because they have Jewish actors behind them.
Marc does has his issues especially because DID is a huge part of Marc's identity, BUT....you dont see him backing out of a fight. You see him as a selfless person. Hes ready to protect people. He knows what is right. He is taken seriously.
And to me who has seen way too many false and tropey representations of my people it was so refreshing to see a Jewish person who is brave and above all a superhero. I feel it truly captures the strength and resilience of the Jewish people because we survived alot of shit. Obviously I do feel like after the Wanda Debacle (that would have been another great oppertunity to cast a Jew of Color with a Romani Jew) Marvel has alot more work to do with proper Jewish rep...but to me its a start and opens the door to better rep in the future.
FINAL DISCLAIMER: I know there will be fellow Jewish fans who disagree on my points and I totally welcome them, but for non Jewish fans....please be respectful when disagreeing with me, i understand if you want to support and be an ally but still be respectful of jews opinions
