Genres in Jewish and Israeli Cinema

Abstract

Th is issue of Jewish Film & New Media continues the series on Israeli media studies, which began last year with an issue on the treatment of Jewish religious themes in Israeli fi lms and television programs. Th ese special issues are based on small scholars’ conferences usually held once a year at various academic institutions as part of a new scholarly framework for the exploration of Jewish and Israeli media. Th e current issue is dedicated to aspects of genre in Israeli media. Generic boundaries of visual arts have expanded greatly in the last decade or so with the increasing infl uence of the Internet as both a ubiquitous delivery platform as well as a medium in and of itself. In Israel’s multifaceted society these trends have a special restonance and are manifest in various genres, including Mizrahi productions, works that examine religious versus secular tensions, and even those categorized as more “fl uff y” genres, such as horror and other varieties. Th ese works refl ect the many faces of Israeli society and express its various contours. Th e reincarnation of television shows as Internet programs delivered on demand is one of the most obvious examples of this development. In this rapidly evolving world that combines art and commerce in ever-more complex ways, Israeli visual culture has become one of the most dynamic and innovative grounds for such creative activity. Th is is not only valid for so-called television programs, or Internet TV shows, which are an increasingly international trend. It is also true of cinema, which is infl uenced by these trends in various ways as well. Th is issue, which originated at a dedicated conference held at Haifa University in August