Jews & SciFi

Jews & SciFi

Osher Marin JCC

Tuesday, August 23, 2022
08:00 PM - 09:00 PM

Join us for part 1 in a two-part series: exploring how Jews, Jewish thinking, and the Torah have played an integral role in Sci-Fi and Comic Books.

Part one: Sci-Fi and Fantasy with Valerie Estelle Frankel

Did you know that Darth Vader's breastplate is inscribed in Hebrew? Or that Spock's world is based on Israel? With his famous salute coming from the Kohanim's blessing? That Israel is the only country created from a fantasy novel? Or that Tolkien's elves and dwarves speak Hebrew? That the comic book was a Jewish invention, and so was nearly every superhero? We'll explore how Frankenstein, the first science fiction novel, is based in the legend of the golem. Likewise, Kafka's cockroach story is a metaphor on Jewish alienation. Then we'll move on through America: with Bugs Bunny, a few Muppets, and certainly Mel Brooks channeling Borscht Belt performers, with robot morality originating in Jewish philosophy, with Captain America and Superman punching out Hitler. We'll explore the Jewish sensibility and creators behind Doctor Who, The Twilight Zone, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. And we'll travel up to today, when an Orthodox superheroine pauses for Shabbat, a girl time travels with a magic tallit, and hot Jewish vampires take to the screen.