My Circle of Unanswered Questions

John Adam’s, The Death of Klinghoffer, highlights very controversial topics such as culture, race and religion. In class, we specifically addressed whether the opera had anti-Semitic undertones and how that impacted audiences and critics. A few questions were raised during the discussion. How are some directors and/or composers able to get away with making fun of another culture, whereas others are chastised? What makes a Jewish person more Jewish than the next? How do you define which side has struggled the most? This is only part of a conglomeration of questions asked regarding this perennial struggle that has been going on for ages.

As Toni brought out in class, the idea of the American Jew versus the Israeli Jew is two very different entities. In America, there are more branches of Judaism from relaxed to practicing strictly, whereas the Israeli Jews don’t have as many options. It’s interesting to look at it from this perspective because this could be readily applied to Catholics, Protestants or to Christianity in general. What if Adam’s opera had been applied to a different story, using different religions? What if it were Catholics and Protestants? I know that the struggles Christianity has faced, in the recent past, have not been as catastrophic as other religions, but one must realize that there has been struggle. In fact, Adam’s could have applied his opera to any race, religion or culture. What I find most perplexing is how certain depictions of events are praised, while other events are abhorred. Like it was mentioned in class, a big sister can pick on her little brother, but if someone else chimes in, the older sister will defend her little brother; even if the sister and the friend are saying the same thing. Maybe we make a mockery of ourselves because we need to find the humor in a grim situation, and we know that within our circle of comfort it is okay to do that. For instance, Seinfeld was able to get away with many politically incorrect episodes, but it was deemed acceptable. I guess, I’m just mulling over the same issues we discussed in class in hopes of finding an answer. Yet, I don’t think there will ever be a definite answer regarding such a sensitive topic.