The Stigma? 2014
Distributed by Ruth Diskin Films Ltd., P.O.Box 7153, Jerusalem, 91071, ISRAEL
Produced by Martí Sans & Pablo Sánchez
Directed by Martí Sans
DVD, color, 73 min.
General Adult
Discrimination, Judaism, Judaism History
Date Entered: 08/19/2015
Reviewed by Alexander Rolfe, Technical Services Librarian, George Fox University, Newberg, ORJudeophobia, “the oldest, most persistent, most obsessive, most universal, most deadly form of group hatred,” has had peculiar strength in Spain, and this film sets out to understand why.
This is not a film about Judeophobia in general. It makes no mention of Muslim treatment of Jews, nor does it discuss pre-Christian anti-Semitism, for example. It’s about the factors that have contributed to Judeophobia in Spain, explained primarily by academics in Barcelona. Some of the factors are universal, such as the psychology of persecuting a minority that follows a different way of life. Others are more particular, such as Christian demonizing of Jews, the drive for purity epitomized in the expulsion of 1492, and the Spanish Inquisition.
When a wider European context is mentioned, it’s usually to contrast it with Spain’s experience, as in Franco’s refusal to show footage of concentration camps at the end of World War II, which kept Spain less informed about the Holocaust than the French and English. The eradication of Jewishness from Spain has also produced greater ignorance of Jews and Judaism, as few Spaniards encounter Jews in daily life.
In spite of its local focus, The Stigma? will support study of the larger topics involved, such as European history, modern Judaism, or discrimination in general. It’s worth purchasing for the opening scene alone, where a man explains how he feels accepted as a homosexual, but prefers not to reveal himself as Jewish. This powerful, informative film will be sure to provoke discussion.