Three media offerings this week:
Israeli author Etgar Keret is a new one on the shelf and his Girl on the Fridge hits like an ice cream headache. A man disillusioned with his marriage suddenly finds himself inextricably attracted to her once again. A magician gives up his career when his pulling-the-rabbit-out-of-the-hat trick goes somewhat awry. Keret’s plot twists land like molotov cocktails. I wonder if this tendency comes with the territory. Despite the author’s obvious skill, some stories in Fridge are explosive. Others simply bomb. But pick him up anyway just for the sheer force of his style.
Not until I read Jewish Music as Midrash: What Makes Music Jewish? by composer Michael Isaacson did I finally understand the elements of musical composition and how Jewish history has played into the creation of Jewish music. I don’t have the best ear in the cornfield so reading Michael’s book helps me make the bridge between what writers do with words and what musicians do with notes, phrasing et al.
The two CD-set (30+ songs in all) of Isaaacson’s music is worth the price of admission in and of itself. Isaacson’s resume is longer than Moon River and if you were a NFTY-ite from the 70’s you cut your teeth singing his music (v’ahavta, anyone?). Want to read the story of his musical coming of age? Order This Jewish Life by yours truly, turn to page 44 and read “Of all Things, A Piano?”
Indy film what’s your point honey? is a must see. From the geniuses behind Mad Hot Ballroom this engaging and thought-provoking film presents seven college-aged women who just might be President of the United States in 2024. (The first year they would be eligible to serve.) Each of the seven were chosen as winners of Project 2024, a joint effort sponsored by CosmoGirl! and The White House Project whose goal is to encourage young women to get involved in politics.
Two other story lines — three delightful ten-year-old girls criss-cross Manhattan on their scooters asking random passersby if they would vote for a woman for president and classroom scenes where the topic is women’s studies — weave in and out of the movie’s main story line.
Producers Amy Sewell and Susan Toffler explore salary parity, balancing career and family life and equal rights with a deft and embracing hand. The movie celebrates milestones achieved (the scene with a Chicana Agxibel, the first of her family to attend college, was especially moving) even as it focuses on how far the country has to go before women, many women, are in positions of political leadership. The ultimate goal said Amy Sewell in a post film discussion is the day when, “the issue is no longer gender but agenda.”
The film is being promoted in grassroots fashion — private showings/word of mouth. If it’s scheduled to run in your hometown, go! If it’s not, contact the producers at whatsyourpointhoney.com and bring it on home.
