Monday night marks the national premier broadcast of the American Masters installment on Mel Brooks. To mark the occasion, we’ve put together a collection of Brooks’ best Jewish clips.
What exactly that means is a good question. As with two others recent subjects on the PBS series – Woody Allen and Phillip Roth (hey, guys, maybe change it up a bit, before Pat Buchanan notices) – you could make the argument that Brooks’ entire oeuvre is an extension of his very Jewish background, sensibilities, hang-ups, etc., and hence any and all of his work can be considered Jewish. Take “Young Frankenstein”: It lacks any explicitly Jewish gags, but some critics (here and here) have no trouble making the case that the film is very Jewish.
Similarly, take what might just be my favorite Mel Brooks scene of all time, courtesy of “Blazing Saddles” (see below). The genius comes in his ability to highlight the racism of God-fearing white folk, while simultaneously leaving us with hope that their better angels will eventually kick in. It wouldn’t be too hard to explain this all as somehow being the product of Brooks’ Jewishness.
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