What do you think of this new ad for HOT? I find it kind of humorous, and they got the hassidic guy a bit more accurately portrayed than ll the American movies with people dressed up as hassidim...
While some are saying it is provocative as anti-haredi as it shows them throwing a haredi off the roof, it is really just someone hiding out dressed up as a haredi. They caught someone hiding out, dressed as a haredi and threw him off the roof. They didnt throw him off because he was haredi - they threw him off because his being dressed as a haredi is irrelevant. Those upset at HOT over this should really be upset that they chose to dress him as a haredi to hide him out, as of saying dress as a haredi and get away with anything, rather than being upset about the 'haredi' being tossed off the roof.
I don't like it. But I think any portrayal of someone being tossed off a roof would bother me the same way - whatever the type of person (probably including a non-Jew).
ReplyDeleteThe Haredi dress-up angle is cute. Although Rafi good point we should be more offended by a criminal masquerading as a Charedi.
I found the whole clip to be in very bad taste. I agree with you about the insinuation about Haredim being able to get away with anything within a closed community. However seeing someone being hung over the edge of the roof and then thrown over is way more tasteless.
ReplyDeleteThe sadism in the the clip is being portrayed as entertaining (the use of a hardei may be key here as well as he is de-humanized - not one of us - to a certain extent), but I just thought of his terror and his painful death on the sidewalk below.
I thought it was hysterical.
ReplyDeleteThis is just a stupid commercial, but I don't see it as anti-hareidi.
ReplyDeleteI find the idea of dropping a person off the roof so causally to be much more disturbing.
Right. But then there's the subliminal effect.... like how Hollywood actively corrupts American values.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it really is anti-Haredi.
RivkA - so you wouild be similarly disturbed by any mafia-themed tv show or movie? This is just a take-off of any standard mafia hit...
ReplyDeleteNot that I watched is so carefully, but he didn't dress up as a charedi to prove he can get away with anything- it was more a play on the irony of charedim don't have TV and this was an ad for Hot's triple play (tv, internet and phone).
ReplyDeleteI think a lot got lost on the way to this commercial, but it has nothing to do with charedi criminal activities.