Abstract
I argue that many contemporary Israeli films and TV shows imagine an operation of “world reduction”—an entry into social spaces that entails neutralizing social forces. The article gives three examples for this operation: in the TV show Fauda and in the films In Between and The Band’s Visit. I argue that the resulting juxtaposition of different social spaces in each film or TV show is an allegory of the coexistence of different social forms under Israeli capitalism: welfare state, neoliberalism, and absolute precarity. For example, I argue that traditional Arab-Israeli social spaces stand for the welfare state in In Between, while Tel Aviv allegorizes neoliberal social form. The article argues that these three forms coexist in Israel, as a result of the uneven neoliberalization of Israel/Palestine. By indirectly imagining these spaces, the films and TV shows try to unconsciously imagine the overcoming of their antagonisms and this of capitalism itself.
Recommended Citation
Nir, Oded
(2021)
"World Reduction in Contemporary Israeli Film and TV,"
Jewish Film & New Media: Vol. 9:
Iss.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/jewishfilm/vol9/iss1/4