Abstract
This qualitative text analysis examines the journalistic coverage of 4 renowned Israeli film actors: Yosef Shiloach, Assi Dayan, Yehuda Barkan, and Ze’ev Revach. The study focuses on the month following each actor’s death surveying 17 Israeli news websites, encompassing 98 news articles, and 4,488 reader comments. On the surface, these actors were portrayed as cultural icons, symbolic figures, and shapers of Israel’s cultural heritage. However, their deaths also reignited ethnic tensions and sparked heated debates on elitism, militarism, racism, sexual harassment, chauvinism, and ethnic discrimination. Although commemorated as talented creators, cinematic icons, and larger-than-life figures, this study reveals how 4 actors were represented in the media ambivalently after their passing and how commenters relentlessly leveled scathing criticism against them. More specifically, Shiloach was depicted as a master pantomime and comedian, yet also as one who held pro-Palestinian political views. Dayan was seen as the ultimate “sabra” and a brilliant screenwriter, yet also a controversial figure and a self-destructive force. Barkan was portrayed as a cinematic icon and a cultural symbol, yet also as a vulgar and superficial filmmaker who descended into criminal activity. Lastly, Revach was presented as a gifted pantomime and comedian, yet also as a wild and stereotypical “Mizrahi” character.
Recommended Citation
Bar-Zohar, Barak
(2024)
"Final Act: Death Coverage of Prominent Film Actors in Israeli Media,"
Jewish Film & New Media: Vol. 12:
Iss.
1, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/jewishfilm/vol12/iss1/5