Dec 16, 2020
Let’s face it: if you’re looking for a great Hanukkah movie to celebrate with this winter, you’re likely to be left out in the cold. While Christmas movies are a genre of their own, it’s hard to credibly name one Hollywood offering that could be called a Hanukkah classic. Could it be that the only "true" Hanukkah movies in existence are Adam Sandler’s animated comedy Eight Crazy Nights and lesser known cult classic The Hebrew Hammer? And, do these films actually capture how the holiday’s true origins and traditions? Could a Disney Channel original movie made for kids actually feature the most authentic cinematic representation of Hanukkah? All three of these examples are nearly twenty years old now. It’s time to confront the truth about why it’s so hard to find a decent movie about the Jewish holiday. In our latest podcast, we’ll ask founder and editor of feminist Jewish culture site Alma, Molly Tolsky, whether it will take a miracle to find an authentic cinematic representation of the Miracle of Lights.