Oy Tee Vey

Related Content

• Beauty Turned Inside Out
  July 6, 2011
• Taste the Smug: Feeling Fine at an Outside Lands Pairing Event
  July 14, 2011
• Steve Jobs Mocked on South Park, Introduces "HumancentiPad" (Video)
  April 27, 2011
• Six Signs of Metallica's Pervasive Influence on Pop Culture
  December 7, 2011
• List: What Does Anonymous Want from the City?
  August 31, 2011

More About

• RuPaul Charles
• Jeffery Shandler
• Rutgers University
• Food and Cooking
• Ethnic and Regional Cuisines

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

By today, the fevered onslaught of Christmas cheer has reached its apex. The land is strewn with tinsel, as if the city had been attacked by a giant, festive monster, subsequently disemboweled. Those who haven’t grown numb to carols chopped up and sprinkled with electric guitar riffs are near madness. But imagine the pain suffered by those who don’t even celebrate the holiday: What’s a Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, etc. to do? Time-honored Jewish tradition, passed on through generations, means that mass quantities of television should be consumed alongside Chinese food takeout. Rutgers University professor Jeffery Shandler puts an academic spin on the TV/takeout phenomenon in his talk, “The ‘December Dilemma’ in American Television and Film.” He presents episodes of popular TV shows that feature Jewish characters stuck in the morass of the Christmas cult. Clips come from The O.C. (Chrismukkah!), South Park, thirtysomething, and, um, the The RuPaul Show, among others. In keeping with tradition, there is a Chinese food buffet following the talk, plus a screening of full episodes. It’s not a Christmas miracle.
Thu., Dec. 25, 2 p.m., 2008