Erin Foster recently responded to the criticism she received in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. Foster stresses that she intended to tell “positive Jewish stories,” and she finds it “interesting” that people would choose to focus on the negative aspects instead of the fact that the show has “a rabbi as the lead.” She wanted to bring her experience to the big screen, and her intention was purely to tell a story that “shed[s] a positive light on Jewish culture.” Check out her comments below:
I think we need positive Jewish stories right now. I think it’s interesting when people focus on, “Oh, this is a stereotype of Jewish people,” when you have a rabbi as the lead. A hot, cool, young rabbi who smokes weed. That’s the antithesis of how people view a Jewish rabbi, right? If I made the Jewish parents, like, two granola hippies on a farm, then someone would write, ‘I’ve never met a Jewish person like that before. You clearly don’t know how to write Jewish people, you don’t know what you’re doing, and that doesn’t represent us well.’
I did feel like someone who’s not Jewish playing a rabbi as the lead in a show that is putting a positive light on Jewish culture felt wrong. That didn’t sit right with me.
What I really wanted to do was shed a positive light on Jewish culture from my perspective — my positive experience being brought into Jewish culture, sprinkling in a little fun, [and] educational moments.
What Erin Foster’s Comments Say About Representation
It’s About Creating More Space For Jewish Stories
Nobody Wants This is largely inspired by Foster’s own conversion journey after falling in love with her husband. The plot runs parallel to her own experience. In the show, podcast host Joanne falls for “a hot rabbi,” Noah. Due to having different religious beliefs and backgrounds, Noah’s family initially feels reluctant about their relationship, even though Joanne has expressed her intention to convert to Judaism.
It makes sense that some viewers would find the female Jewish characters upsetting given how they are presented in the show.
The series does have less appealing Jewish female characters. As Joanne navigates her relationship and seeks acceptance, she’s bound to receive some pushback. Noah’s sister-in-law at one point called Joanne a “whore” while still favoring Noah’s Jewish ex.
Our Take On the Controversy of Nobody Wants This
Foster Didn’t Tell Someone Else’s Story
Because of her personal connection with the show, Nobody Wants This has more to do with Foster sharing her voice as a Jewish woman, who wasn’t born Jewish but later chose to join the religion. Her experience is bound to be different from anyone else’s. Nobody Wants This tells a story from Foster’s perspective. She didn’t steal someone else’s voice and make it her own. That’s more important than anything else in cultural appreciation.
On the other hand, even as a rom-com, Nobody Wants This’s depiction of less likable characters could have been approached with more sensitivity. It makes sense that some viewers would find the female Jewish characters upsetting given how they are presented in the show. The show would’ve avoided the backlash by spotlighting more positive examples of Jewish women to balance things out.
News
Twitch Promises More Transparency Over Bans After FallenShadow Outcry, Assures “There Is No Mod Who Hates Vtubers”
FallenShadow finger-wags moderators over her ban on Twitch In light of the controversy surrounding the dubious ban of vtuber FallenShadow, Twitch has sworn to be more transparent in communicating their reasons for temporarily removing any given streamer from the platform….
Blizzard Reportedly Working On A New ‘Starcraft’ Shooter – Will The Third Time Be The Charm?
Nova blows Arthas a taunting kiss goodbye in Heroes of the Storm (2015), Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment is reportedly developing a new StarCraft shooter, marking the company’s third attempt at bringing the beloved sci-fi universe into the first-person shooter genre. Bloomberg writer Jason…
‘Helldivers 2’ Introduces The Democracy Space Station: Are You Ready To Change The Course Of The Galactic War?
A Helldiver is ready to spread democracy in Helldivers 2 (2024), Arrowhead Game Studios Arrowhead has thrown a new challenge into the Galactic War of Helldivers 2. There’s a new Major Order that tasks players with securing a location for the…
‘Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’ Still Trying To Cling To Life, Launches New Zoe Lawton DLC To Less Than 300 Players
Zoe Lawless (TBA) is absolutely giddy to join Task Force X in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Rocksteady Studios (2024) Rocksteady has a lot in store for Season 3 of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League – however, the community isn’t…
‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Dev Team Reportedly Using Delay To Address “Many Of The Historical And Cultural Concerns”, Problems Said To Have Been Caused By Historians Being “Brought Onto The Project Much Later Than Usual”
Yasuke (TBA) draws his rifle in Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft A new report has potentially shone a light on just how Ubisoft is planning to use the extra Assassin’s Creed Shadows dev time allotted to them by the game’s recent delay….
‘Ghostbusters: Answer The Call’ Director Paul Feig Blames Backlash On “The Political Climate Of The Time”, Claims Critics Were “Trump Supporters”
Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) lets loose in Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), Columbia Pictures In yet again attempting to blame the film’s failure on the undefined spectre of ‘bigotry’, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call director Paul Feig has claimed that not only was…
End of content
No more pages to load