Reply #11: I didn't see much outrage over "Life is Beautiful" by Roberto Benigni

[Ian David]

It wasn't a comedy about The Holocaust, but was what I would characterize as a movie about a comedic personality in the midst of The Holocaust's tragedy.

There were things in "Life is Beautiful" that make you laugh.

In fact, there were even a few comedic moments in Schindler's List.

I have heard complaints from Jews about things like "The Hebrew Hammer" that was on Comedy Central (some of those complaints are justified) and even about Adam Sandler's Chanukah Song (those complaints are silly) and about Heeb Magazine.

Young, Hip, Heeb
by Rachel Pomerance, Jewish Telegraphic Agency
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=11640


But that's nothing compared to what I have seen from the fundie christians about everything from The Last Temptation of Christ to Teletubbies to Spongebob Squarepants and Shrek 2 (Yes, Shrek 2 has a "transsexual agenda").

So far, I am reminded of an event from the Colonial Williamsburg museum, where they have daily re-enactments of what the lives of everyday people and slaves was like back then.

One year, they announced they would have a re-enactment of a slave auction.

There was an immediate outrage, especially among black leaders.

During the event, there was the inevitable protest. But once people actually saw what was going on, and how it was being presented, many of the protesters went away satisfied that the slave auction was in fact a sensitive, humanizing portrayal of a horrific time that people needed to be educated about.

Also, keep in mind that Ann Coulter, as much as she criticizes Fahrenheit 9-11, has never actually seen the movie.

I will withhold judgment until I either see the movie myself, or hear more from members of the Jewish community. The article says that German Jews love the thing so far.