Friday, April 5, 2013

Jew in a Box


At the end of yesterday’s presentation we began to question the shift that racism has taken today. So I decided to look through CNN to see if I could find any interesting stories that would relate to this topic. And sure enough I did. The Jewish Museum in Berlin has just opened up a new exhibit called “Jew in a Box”. It is literally an ordinary Jewish person sitting in a open glass box.  As people visit the museum, they are allowed to talk with the person in the box and ask them anything they want, such as religion or everyday life.
                However, many people have expressed a negative attitude towards the exhibit. They say that it is degrading for the person to be placed within a box/cage. Yet, the curator, Michal Friedlander, defends the exhibit. She states that there is nothing demeaning about the box and the exhibit is meant to educate anyone who has ever had questions about the Jewish community within Germany. Plus, many of the people visiting the museum never have the opportunity to meet a Jewish person within Germany. Hopefully, this process will help improve the relationship between Germans and Jews.
                Mrs. Friedlander goes on to say that the idea for the exhibit came from the question, “Are there still Jews in Germany?” Yes there are and what better way to prove it then to have a live Jewish person that lives in Germany come and share their experiences, similar to an information box. While some of the questions asked are pretty silly, such as: are Jews particularly fond of animals, are Jews particularly influential, beautiful, can you ever stop being a Jew, and can you make jokes about the Holocaust? However, there are some people are genially intrigued by the exhibit. They ask about religion and their lifestyle in Germany but they also ask some very stereotypical questions. Such as, why are so many intellectual Jews or why are so many great musicians?   
                How do y’all feel about the “Jew in a box” exhibit? Do think it is degrading or do you believe that it can have a positive effect on the German people?

3 comments:

  1. Before I watched the video, I didn't think I would like the idea of a "Jew in a box." I thought the person would literally be sitting in a box, but now that I've seen the video, I can understand the thinking behind the exhibit. Sure, the way the exhibit is set up could've been different, but I think the idea is innovative. People are getting the opportunity to hear the different perspectives of native Jewish people. I can see why some people would think the exhibit is degrading, but one must keep an open mind.

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  2. Personally it sounds awful, someone being contained in a box as an exhibit for people to watch like animals in a zoo. But then I thought this exhibit allows people to ask questions that might be otherwise considered rude and inappropriate. It is opening up the door that is closed, locked, and bolted shut between Jews and Germany. I guess this could be really good at mending the bond between Jews and Germany because the hurt from the Holocaust is still fresh. We will just have to wait and see how this helps or hurts.

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  3. On the one hand, I think the box represents the confinement of THE JEW (in all caps for emphasis), within the German and World context. Literally, the over-determined identity of Jewish creates a situation, not dissimilar from that of the Black-American, that confines, in different ways, the particular jew the non-THE JEW jew. Because, clearly, THE JEW doesn't exist in reality but instead stands as an amalgamation for all the Jewish stereotypes. On the other hand, by having one person chillen in a Box, being forced to answer for all JEWS in Germany and the world, the viewer and subject alike reproduce the very relationship that exists outside of the gallery. This particular JEW is forced to answer for all other Jew's. He/she sits in that box not as German-Jew, or a Human-Jew, but as THE JEW, who must answer for all Jews.

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