To say I was reluctant to watch the new Netflix film, You People, is an understatement. I first heard about the film through social media, when my feeds were suddenly full of exasperated Jews venting at yet another lazy, inaccurate, and harmful portrayal of us.
For those who don’t know, You People is a romcom starring Jonah Hill and Lauren London as Ezra Cohen and Amira Mohammed, a couple whose relationship is almost scuppered by (Netflix’s words) his ‘progressive and semi-woke Jewish parents’ (Julia Louis-Dreyfus and David Duchovny) and her ‘unyielding yet concerned Muslim parents’ (Eddie Murphy and Nia Long). The outcome is supposed to be a hilarious ‘interfaith, culture-clash twist on the relationship rite of passage [i.e. meeting the parents].’
So why are people in the Jewish community, myself included, upset about the film?
Well, where should I start …
How about the fact that while Julia Louis-Dreyfus and David Duchovny both have Jewish roots on their fathers' side, neither actor actually identify as Jewish themselves. [For other recent cases of ‘Jewface’, please see: Rachel Brosnahan as Mrs. Maisel and Helen Mirren playing Golda Meir. In the recent words of Sarah Silverman: “In a time when the importance of representation is seen as so essential and so front and center, why does ours constantly get breached even today in the thick of it?”
Or there's the fact that they manage to spectacularly misrepresent Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. They do this in a number of ways, the strangest of which is having Jonah Hill's character, Ezra, go out for lunch with a fellow congregant following the service, despite the fact that Jews fast on Yom Kippur - an inaccuracy which, to my mind, shows an almost callous level of disregard for our traditions and a complete lack of interest in painting a truthful picture of who we are.
We unpack them.
But look, these inaccuracies are just… well… actually, I don’t know what they are (laziness? Stupidity? Arrogance? ) but they’re probably not going to cause any real-world harm. Some of the other things they get wrong, however, could.
Let’s start with the fact that, SHOCKER, The Jews are rich. Rich, rich, rich. In case you don’t get the more subtle hints (the BIG HOUSE, the FLASHY CAR, the fact that Hill’s character works in finance), they throw in some more direct references too, just for good measure.
The trope that Jews are wealthy and greedy is malicious, ancient and deeply woven into our society (see: Shakespeare’s Shylock and Dickens’s Fagin). You can read more about it in this great article, but needless to say, it’s not true. In fact, it’s recently been reported that one-third of Holocaust survivors in Israel live below the poverty line – a national disgrace (and I’m a Zionist), and a reality made even more tragic by the fact that this disgusting racist trope is still so commonly believed today.
Then there’s the fact that Lauren London's character, Amira's parents are portrayed as followers of the Nation of Islam (NOI) – a deeply antisemitic Black nationalist movement. This, of course, is not explained in the film. In one scene, talk turns to Louis Farrakhan, NOI’s current leader – a man the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) calls ‘a notable extremist’ who holds ‘the dubious distinction of being quite possibly America’s most popular anti-Semite.’ Amira's dad, played by Eddie Murphy, is a big fan. In fact, he’s wearing Farrakhan’s kufi! So what do we learn about this man’s dangerous antisemitism? Well, nothing. Ezra's mother makes a passing comment about being "familiar with what he has said about the Jews", before Ezra silences her – and things go from bad to worse.
‘We must remember what happened in those dark times, so that we all stay in the light.’
Further lowlights include:
- Nia Long’s character, Amira's mum, Fatima spouting Farrakhan’s disgusting lie that Jews were responsible for, and financially benefitted from, the slave trade (further reading on why this is a complete fabrication, here). Duchovny’s character, Ezra's dad, Arnold, briefly attempts to counter this – "I would like to see your sources on that" - before the action quickly moves on.
- A repulsive exchange about the Holocaust, where Ezra blithely says: "I'm just gonna be like, it's my grandma's Holocaust ring… I mean, game over. They can't say shit once you drop the Holocaust."
Despite its star-studded cast, You People feels cheap. The script is sloppy, it’s as deep as a paddling pool, and the cast have the chemistry of a cold, unsalted chip. But worse than that, in my opinion, this film is actually dangerous.
Four days after the film’s Netflix release, Louis-Dreyfus sent a jubilant tweet announcing that You People was the number one movie on Netflix in 73 countries. SEVENTY THREE. I’m not sure I can even name 73 countries. And I certainly can’t imagine how many millions of people have now watched this film.
What I do know is, there are 15 million Jews on this planet. We make up just 0.2% of the eight billion worldwide population. I also know that antisemitism is on the rise, globally, and has been for some time. The ADL’s 2022 Antisemitic Attitudes in America survey found there was ‘widespread belief in anti-Jewish tropes, at rates unseen for decades’. To give you a picture, 20% of respondents said Jews have “too much power”, while 36% agreed with the statement: “Jews do not share my values.”
But it’s not just ‘bad feelings’ about Jews that are on the rise. Last year, 94% of antisemitic hate crimes in New York were against Charedi or Orthodox Jews – the most visible members of our community. In France, murderous attacks on Jews have become commonplace. Meanwhile just a few days ago in Jerusalem, seven Jews were murdered outside a synagogue by a Palestinian terrorist (which went down very well with people from the far-left, far-right and far more inbetween).
"A man chased me down the road shouting 'Hitler didn’t finish his job properly''.
Another common trope is that ‘Jews control Hollywood’ – but if this were true, surely there’d be more subtle, fully-round and realistic depictions of Jews on our screens? [obviously like all the other tropes this is nothing more than a pernicious lie. You can read more about it here]. Instead, American representations of Jews come in a smorgasbord of lazy stereotypes: neurotic (Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm), loud and brash (Janice from Friends), weak and cowardly (Woody Allen), greedy and conniving (Max Broussard in Do Revenge – another problematic Netflix film).
And of course, religious Jews only come in one mould – Orthodox: a close-knit, vulnerable community which Netflix seems to be morbidly obsessed with (see shows: UnOrthodox, My UnOrthodox Life, One of Us).
Jonah Hill – who co-wrote and co-produced You People with Kenya Barris (of Black-ish and Girls Trip fame) – is simply the latest A-list Jew to prove how completely detached he is from the rest of the community. Safely tucked away in their glossy Hollywood bubble, they seem to have no real understanding of our history, culture or experiences out in the real world – which is less than ideal, as they insist on portraying us on screen, to millions around the world. Even the basic premise of the film, that Jews are ‘white’, is incorrect (yes, while some Jews – myself included – can 'pass' as white and benefit rom white privilege, there are Jews of all races and nationalities, and historically the vast majority of Jews have not been able to ‘pass’). The fact Jonah Hill seems to be completely unaware of this really says so much.
You People bites off more than it can chew. Or, more than it can be arsed to chew. Topics as explosive as race and interfaith relations deserve to be handled with sensitivity, nuance and care. Yes, comedy can be a great tool for bringing people together, and if that was their aim it was a noble one – but in my opinion they've failed miserably. Something I don't think they can afford to do.
"Hate speech is never OK or excusable."
