THB #382: Too On The Nose

I read my old friend Mark Harris’ piece on the “Jewface” “controversy” regarding Bradley Cooper and Maestro.

I have a lot of respect for Mark, as a historian, a biographer, and as a human being. I also have enormous admiration for his husband, the many-laurelled Tony Kushner. They are a power couple in action, not just of a moment. They do shit. Serious shit. Shit that helps the world get better. My point being that I take Mark very seriously.

We have also had some fairly challenging disagreements over the years. Reading his op-ed today, I found myself both frustrated and elated.

Frustrated because the piece is written, in my view, with blinders on regarding the context of what I consider mostly a non-issue. He writes, “‘Jewface’ is meant to bind the idea of any non-Jewish actor playing a Jewish role to the inarguably reprehensible traditions of blackface, brownface, and yellowface.” No doubt, this is true for some web numbskulls. We should keep in mind that the term only stuck when u…