Ambiguously Jewish: Difference between revisions

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This is the exact opposite of [[Informed Judaism]], where that trope is when a Jewish character's faith is plainly stated, usually as an afterthought, but never really exhibited by their thoughts or actions and has no relevance in the plot.
This is the exact opposite of [[Informed Judaism]], where that trope is when a Jewish character's faith is plainly stated, usually as an afterthought, but never really exhibited by their thoughts or actions and has no relevance in the plot.


'''[[No Real Life Examples Please]]'''
'''[[No Real Life Examples, Please]]'''
{{examples}}
{{examples}}


== Anime ==
== Anime ==
* Spike Spiegel on ''[[Cowboy Bebop (Anime)|Cowboy Bebop]]'' is considered Jewish by some fans because he has a Yiddish family name, a stereotypically Jewish haircut, and carries an Israeli-made Jericho 941 pistol. Obviously he is not played by a Jewish actor, since he is an animated character, and his Japanese voice actor isn't either. ([[Steve Blum|His American voice-actor]], on the other hand...) When asked, the series creators said he was modeled after actor [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusaku_Matsuda Yusaku] [http://i.imgur.com/nf8cQ.jpg Matsuda], and they just thought the name sounded cool.
* Spike Spiegel on ''[[Cowboy Bebop (Anime)|Cowboy Bebop]]'' is considered Jewish by some fans because he has a Yiddish family name, a stereotypically Jewish haircut, and carries an Israeli-made Jericho 941 pistol. Obviously he is not played by a Jewish actor, since he is an animated character, and his Japanese voice actor isn't either. ([[Steve Blum|His American voice-actor]], on the other hand...) When asked, the series creators said he was modeled after actor [[wikipedia:Yusaku Matsuda|Yusaku]] [http://i.imgur.com/nf8cQ.jpg Matsuda], and they just thought the name sounded cool.
* The ''[[Gundam]]'' metaseries has a few characters with Jewish-sounding names (which might merely be [[Foreign Sounding Gibberish|German names]]) whose background is never really elaborated on. Notable examples include ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 War in The Pocket (Anime)|0080]]'''s Bernie Wiseman, ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory|0083]]'''s Deitrov Kosel and Anavel Gato, ''[[Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (Anime)|Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam]]'''s Jamitov Hyman, and ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (Anime)|Mobile Suit Gundam SEED]]'''s Seigal Klein. What's particularly strange about these examples is that all of them, with the possible exception of Klein, come from factions that had an unfortunate tendency toward [[Putting On the Reich]]. Sure, it's a political divide, not ethnic, but it's still odd to see possibly-[[Ambiguously Jewish]] characters goose-stepping.
* The ''[[Gundam]]'' metaseries has a few characters with Jewish-sounding names (which might merely be [[Foreign Sounding Gibberish|German names]]) whose background is never really elaborated on. Notable examples include ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 War in The Pocket (Anime)|0080]]'''s Bernie Wiseman, ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory|0083]]'''s Deitrov Kosel and Anavel Gato, ''[[Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (Anime)|Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam]]'''s Jamitov Hyman, and ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (Anime)|Mobile Suit Gundam SEED]]'''s Seigal Klein. What's particularly strange about these examples is that all of them, with the possible exception of Klein, come from factions that had an unfortunate tendency toward [[Putting On the Reich]]. Sure, it's a political divide, not ethnic, but it's still odd to see possibly-[[Ambiguously Jewish]] characters goose-stepping.
** In some circles of Gundam fandom, hero Amuro Ray and Captain Bright may or may not be Jewish.
** In some circles of Gundam fandom, hero Amuro Ray and Captain Bright may or may not be Jewish.
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* [[Elliot S Maggin]] [http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/LexLuthor.html stated] that he saw [[Lex Luthor]] as Jewish, and has the character use some [[Yiddish As a Second Language]] in his novel ''[[Last Son of Krypton]]''. It should be noted that A) this was [[Silver Age]] Luthor, who was ''not'' a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] whose primary trait is greed, B) Maggin is Jewish, and C) Maggin is very, ''very'' fond of Luthor.
* [[Elliot S Maggin]] [http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/LexLuthor.html stated] that he saw [[Lex Luthor]] as Jewish, and has the character use some [[Yiddish As a Second Language]] in his novel ''[[Last Son of Krypton]]''. It should be noted that A) this was [[Silver Age]] Luthor, who was ''not'' a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] whose primary trait is greed, B) Maggin is Jewish, and C) Maggin is very, ''very'' fond of Luthor.
* Some suspect ''[[Ultimate Spider Man|Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' is Jewish, mostly because he has [[Yiddish As a Second Language]] and dated Kitty Pryde, Marvel's Jewish poster girl. He's modeled after Stan Lee, who is Jewish, but it's probably just the [[Big Applesauce]] effect.
* Some suspect ''[[Ultimate Spider Man|Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' is Jewish, mostly because he has [[Yiddish As a Second Language]] and dated Kitty Pryde, Marvel's Jewish poster girl. He's modeled after Stan Lee, who is Jewish, but it's probably just the [[Big Applesauce]] effect.
* [[Batman]]. His maternal grandfather is Jewish, which is why his mother has a Jewish last name, Kane. Because ''her'' mother wasn't Jewish, however, she would not have been considered Jewish. The name is probably a [[Shout Out]] to Bob Kane, co-creator of Batman, who was Jewish. Current [[Batwoman]] and distant-relative Kate Kane, however, actually is Jewish.
* [[Batman]]. His maternal grandfather is Jewish, which is why his mother has a Jewish last name, Kane. Because ''her'' mother wasn't Jewish, however, she would not have been considered Jewish. The name is probably a [[Shout-Out]] to Bob Kane, co-creator of Batman, who was Jewish. Current [[Batwoman]] and distant-relative Kate Kane, however, actually is Jewish.
* From ''[[Watchmen (Comic Book)|Watchmen]],'' Dan Dreiberg (Nite Owl), Jonathan Osterman (Dr. Manhattan), and Rorschach, son of Sylvia Glick, and Sally Jupiter (the original Silk Spectre), who changed her last name to hide Polish ancestry. Given Alan Moore's interest in the history of the comic-book medium and the history of superheroes, it is not hard to imagine that he might have made many of his superheroes [[Ambiguously Jewish]] as a deliberate allusion to the religious background of so many of the creators of the superhero-comic form.
* From ''[[Watchmen (Comic Book)|Watchmen]],'' Dan Dreiberg (Nite Owl), Jonathan Osterman (Dr. Manhattan), and Rorschach, son of Sylvia Glick, and Sally Jupiter (the original Silk Spectre), who changed her last name to hide Polish ancestry. Given Alan Moore's interest in the history of the comic-book medium and the history of superheroes, it is not hard to imagine that he might have made many of his superheroes [[Ambiguously Jewish]] as a deliberate allusion to the religious background of so many of the creators of the superhero-comic form.
* Shilo Norman was shown consulting a rabbi in the 2006 [[Grant Morrison]]-written ''[[Seven Soldiers|Mister Miracle]]'' miniseries. This background makes him perhaps the only comic superhero who is [[Twofer Token Minority|both]] black and Jewish. It might also be noted that Norman has escaped death after dying, much like [[Jesus Saves|another Jewish celebrity]].
* Shilo Norman was shown consulting a rabbi in the 2006 [[Grant Morrison]]-written ''[[Seven Soldiers|Mister Miracle]]'' miniseries. This background makes him perhaps the only comic superhero who is [[Twofer Token Minority|both]] black and Jewish. It might also be noted that Norman has escaped death after dying, much like [[Jesus Saves|another Jewish celebrity]].
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* Irene Adler, from the [[Sherlock Holmes]] story "A Scandal in Bohemia," and many other Holmes stories by writers other than Doyle. Certainly, her name sounds Jewish, and it has been theorized that she was inspired, at least in part, by Sarah Bernhardt.
* Irene Adler, from the [[Sherlock Holmes]] story "A Scandal in Bohemia," and many other Holmes stories by writers other than Doyle. Certainly, her name sounds Jewish, and it has been theorized that she was inspired, at least in part, by Sarah Bernhardt.
* ''[[The Clique]]''. A number of minor characters have Jewish-sounding last names and reference bat mitzvahs. Also, Massie Block has a Jewish surname, and (along with her mother) easily fits the Jewish American Princess stereotype, has a mother who sounds "ready to sue" upon believing that Jesus was mentioned in her daughter's history class, and mentions bar mitzvahs. The author, who has a physical appearance not unlike Massie's, is Jewish.
* ''[[The Clique]]''. A number of minor characters have Jewish-sounding last names and reference bat mitzvahs. Also, Massie Block has a Jewish surname, and (along with her mother) easily fits the Jewish American Princess stereotype, has a mother who sounds "ready to sue" upon believing that Jesus was mentioned in her daughter's history class, and mentions bar mitzvahs. The author, who has a physical appearance not unlike Massie's, is Jewish.
* Some have interpreted Black Michael of ''[[The Prisoner of Zenda]]'' as being Jewish/having a Jewish mother. In the novel, Black Michael cannot legitimately take the throne because he's the product of a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morganatic_marriage Morganatic marriage], but adaptations have presented him as a [[Bastard Bastard]] and placed more emphasis on a lack of royal ancestry on his mother's side, leading to the assumption that she must have been of a different religion than that of Ruritania's Catholic monarchy, and the further assumption that this meant she was Jewish. Besides all of the assumptions this requires, it seems unlikely, since if he was intended as Jewish, the book would [[Once Acceptable Targets|have called attention to it]], and Black Michael is supposed to be [[Villain With Good Publicity|beloved]] by the religious, Slavic peasants of Ruritania, a somewhat unlikely feat if he was Jewish.
* Some have interpreted Black Michael of ''[[The Prisoner of Zenda]]'' as being Jewish/having a Jewish mother. In the novel, Black Michael cannot legitimately take the throne because he's the product of a [[wikipedia:Morganatic marriage|Morganatic marriage]], but adaptations have presented him as a [[Bastard Bastard]] and placed more emphasis on a lack of royal ancestry on his mother's side, leading to the assumption that she must have been of a different religion than that of Ruritania's Catholic monarchy, and the further assumption that this meant she was Jewish. Besides all of the assumptions this requires, it seems unlikely, since if he was intended as Jewish, the book would [[Once-Acceptable Targets|have called attention to it]], and Black Michael is supposed to be [[Villain With Good Publicity|beloved]] by the religious, Slavic peasants of Ruritania, a somewhat unlikely feat if he was Jewish.
* Francine in the ''[[Arthur (Literature)|Arthur]]'' books. She's Jewish in the cartoon, though it's most likely a retcon, but in the source books she seems to celebrate Christmas.
* Francine in the ''[[Arthur (Literature)|Arthur]]'' books. She's Jewish in the cartoon, though it's most likely a retcon, but in the source books she seems to celebrate Christmas.
* Many have interpreted Ebeneezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol as a particularly crass anti-Semitic caricature, being that he's an exceptionally stingy moneylender with a Hebrew name, who doesn't celebrate Christmas. This is most likely a case of [[Unfortunate Implications]] though, as Dickens had no problem with stating the similarly offensive Fagin is Jewish in Oliver. Nevertheless, several adaptations have run with this, to varying degrees, [[A Muppets Christmas Carol]] being a notable example.
* Many have interpreted Ebeneezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol as a particularly crass anti-Semitic caricature, being that he's an exceptionally stingy moneylender with a Hebrew name, who doesn't celebrate Christmas. This is most likely a case of [[Unfortunate Implications]] though, as Dickens had no problem with stating the similarly offensive Fagin is Jewish in Oliver. Nevertheless, several adaptations have run with this, to varying degrees, [[A Muppets Christmas Carol]] being a notable example.
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[[Category:A Nice Jewish Index]]
[[Category:A Nice Jewish Index]]
[[Category:Ambiguously Jewish]]
[[Category:Ambiguously Jewish]]
[[Category:Trope]]
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Ambiguously_Jewish"