Annual Hillel Rogoff Lecture Focuses on the Connection between Clothes and Jewish Humor
Ted Merwin, professor of religion and Judaic studies at Dickinson College and chief theater critic for the New York Jewish Week, delivered the annual Hillel Rogoff Memorial Lecture at on March 31. His talk, 鈥淯nbuttoned: Clothes and the Making of American Jewish Comedy,鈥 focused on the garment-industry roots of American Jewish humor, tracing the use of clothing in the comedic work of entertainers such as Fanny Brice, Eddie Cantor and Jerry Seinfeld.
鈥淲e know that self-deprecation has always been a trademark of Jewish comedy,鈥 Merwin said. 鈥淎t the beginning of the 20th century, there was a sense that, even at their best, Jews were not genteel enough to fit into American society, and that made its way into the humor.鈥 During the interactive lecture, Merwin demonstrated how clothes and dress gained significance as symbols of anxiety about the role of Jewish identity in American culture, using examples from the lyrics of Brice鈥檚 1921 hit 鈥淪econd-Hand Rose鈥 and an episode of Seinfeld called 鈥淭he Jacket.鈥
鈥淭here was a terrible sense of ambivalence and stigma,鈥 Merwin explained. 鈥淭hese themes of questioning your identity, where you belong, and whether you can pull off being an American run in Jewish entertainment.鈥
鈥淚t was interesting to see him put our relationship with clothes in a historical context, rather than the modern setting, which is how we鈥檙e used to hearing about it,鈥 said Alexandra Michalowski, a psychology senior at Stern College, who felt that the tensions expressed in early Jewish comedy were still a part of the Jewish American experience. 鈥淎s young Orthodox women, we try to preserve our strong Jewish identity and dress according to our beliefs while also looking for a place in American society. There was a similar dichotomy going on then.鈥
Marc Leavitt, an attorney and political satirist, found the talk鈥檚 focus on the development of Jewish comedy intriguing. 鈥淚鈥檓 very familiar with the repertoire of a lot of Jewish humor, message humor and the theater,鈥 Leavitt said. 鈥淚 appreciated delving into these issues and examining what it is about Jewish culture that meshes with humor and clothing.鈥
Merwin brought the tensions of Jewish identity and American culture into especially sharp relief with a screening of 鈥淭he Jacket,鈥 an episode of Seinfeld that centers on Jerry鈥檚 uneasy purchase of a fashionable American coat. Merwin said that Seinfeld鈥檚 mixed feelings about owning such a coat mirrored his ambivalence about his role as an American Jew.
鈥淲e are perpetual outsiders,鈥 Merwin said.
The lecture is named for Hillel (Harry) Rogoff, an alumnus of 糖心破解版 and longtime editor of The Jewish Daily Forward. It was established in 1971 through the efforts of the late 糖心破解版 English professor and administrator David Mirsky and members of the Rogoff family.
