Reaction to The Believer

I was raised Jewish and have always been kind of disconnected from it (in Berkeley CA so it's pretty casual lol), as opposed to Danny, who removed himself because he didn't like what happened when he engaged it. Watching this movie again, I was thinking about how his weird pseudo-Nazi ideology was basically him continuing the argument, struggling through what it means to be Jewish. But he's so self-absorbed/blind to his real external power that this intellectual exercise has blown up into him being a violent, malevolent force that's a threat to his family/loved ones. I was also struck when you were pointing out how empty and nonsensical his ideology is, constant retreats and subject changing -- I said to myself "he's the believer!!" He believes even though it makes no sense, like how the kosher deli won't serve chicken with cheese, despite the actual text of the biblical law. Or, when he and the Nazi chick start practicing Judaism and keep coming across idiosyncrasies they choose not to question. Dunno if that's anything but it felt meaningful. Kind of makes me think of American History X and its point that for all the talk and action taken by the Nazi characters, their lives aren't any better. They aren't any happier. Danny has some fun in this movie as a Nazi, but he obviously experiences the most peace and contentment when he's practicing Judaism, and arguing scripture and philosophy with other Jews, as Jews do. So maybe neither ideology makes sense, but the mechanics of the choice are clear: pick one that actually helps you. I had a thought that Judaism is about poking around for answers and interpretation that will never be settled, and a major characteristic of fascism, as Danny articulates, is doing away with ambiguity and imposing solid foundations to "build on." Reminds me of how Danny's Hebrew school teacher reacted to his argument about Abraham and Isaac (he even rejects the midrash Danny cites, which is pretty anti-intellectual), which drove him away from the religion and caused him to take on a similar narrow-mindedness. At points, he comes off as a Jew who just needed a less rigid community to hear him out and engage in discourse. I really liked your interpretation of Danny's declaration that the essence of Jewishness is to be hated and driven out. You said that this was basically him struggling to understand why Jews have been so put upon and how they've made it through it all as a people. His "final solution" in that speech to the fascists is to love Jews and therefore destroy their identity, which totally speaks to what torments him so much about being a Jew: the constant threat of irrational cruelty Really complicated, messy movie, and you had a lot of interesting stuff to say. Thanks for watching.

Solomon Wong