Mamadrama: The Jewish Mother in Cinema

Jewish mothers are the most easily maligned image of Jewish women found in movies and television today. You know who they are. They can be humorously identified as emasculating, overbearing, oversexed, long suffering, undersexed or overly materialistic. Australian director, Monique Schwarz, takes a lively, penetrating look at the way Jewish mothers have been represented in cinema. Schwarz also discovers that Jewish mamas are portrayed quiet differently in early silent cinema and surprisingly in Israeli cinema today. Film historian, Patricia Erens, suggests the stereotype of more recent times is a fantasy figure of male writers and directors. This is a revealing and amusing probe through the movies. Included are clips from COME BLOW YOUR HORN, WHER'S POPPA, PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT, MY FAVORITE YEAR, THE JAZZ SINGER and much much more!